Research Interests

Journalism, local news, nonprofit news, public media, media policy, journalism philanthropy, media sociology, news deserts, political economy, qualitative research methods, sustainable funding models for journalism

Education

2025 (anticipated) - PhD, Communication, Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania

2022 - MA, Communication, Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania

2017 - BS with Honors, Journalism & Political Science, Certificate in Gender and Women’s Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Research

2025 to present - Research Assistant, Dr. Jennifer Henrichsen, Journalism Infrastructure Working Group, Local News Impact Consortium

2021 to present - Doctoral Fellow, Center for Media at Risk, Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania

2020 to present - Graduate Fellow, Media Inequality and Change (MIC) Center, Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania

2022 to 2023 - Doctoral Fellow, Center on Digital Culture and Society, Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania

2017 - Research Assistant, Dr. Madeleine Pape, Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Fellowships

2022 - COMPASS Summer Fellow, Consortium on Media Policy Studies, MIC Center, Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania

2021 to 2022 - Lipman Family Prize Fellow, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

Grants

2024 - Research Stipend (2024-2025), Rockefeller Archive Center (RAC)

2022 - Student Research Grant, Newspaper and Online News Division, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)

Awards

2024 - Top Student Paper Award, Journalism Studies Division, International Communication Association (ICA)

2017 - Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society, Alpha Chapter of Wisconsin

2017 - James L. Baughman Senior Achievement Award, School of Journalism and Mass Communication

Publications

Peer-Reviewed

Perreault, G., Lincoln, L., Perreault, M., & Walsh, J. F. (2024). “That s**t is hard to get away from”: Working alone in US rural journalism. Journalism Practice, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2024.2443228

Lincoln, L. (2024). Universal access? Investigating news deserts in the American public media system. International Journal of Communication. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/19756

Moon, R., Perreault, M., Fargen Walsh, J., Perreault, G., & Lincoln, L. (2024). “Scooped by the town drunk”: Unpacking the effects of COVID-19 on rural journalism work. Digital Journalism. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2024.2344125

Lincoln, L. & Pickard, V. (2024). Reimagining American public media: A key infrastructure for local journalism. Journalism. https://doi.org/10.1177/14648849241248018

Lincoln, L. (2024). “A hard road with personal costs”: How digital-first nonprofit news founders navigate precarity. Digital Journalism. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2024.2333847

Perreault, M.F., Walsh, J. Perreault, G. P., Lincoln, L. & Moon, R. (2024). What is rural journalism? Occupational precarity and social cohesion in US rural journalism epistemology. Journalism Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2024.2314206

Lincoln, L. (2023). 50 years of NPR: Collective memory, anniversary journalism & public media. Journalism Studies. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2023.2230316 

Perreault, M., Fargen Walsh, J., Lincoln, L., Moon, R., & Perreault, G. (2023). “Everything else is public relations”: How rural journalists draw the boundary between journalism and public relations in rural communities. Mass Communication and Society. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2023.2243920

Book Reviews

Lincoln, L. (2022). The Sound of Exclusion: NPR and the Latinx Public by Christopher Chávez, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1177/10776990221117775

Other

Lincoln, L. (2024, December 18). News & civic information. Center for High Impact Philanthropy. https://www.impact.upenn.edu/news-and-information/

Lincoln, L. (2024, August 1). Rural journalism at risk. Center for Media at Risk. https://www.ascmediarisk.org/takeaways/rural-journalism-at-risk/

Dilliplane, S., Smith, B., & Lincoln, L. (2022). Policing 2020: Local news reporting during a year of racial justice protests. Media, Inequality & Change Center. https://www.asc.upenn.edu/sites/default/files/2022-01/Policing2020_MICReport.pdf   

Lincoln, L. (2021, April 19). Gabe Schneider: Reporter & Editor. Center for Media at Risk. https://www.ascmediarisk.org/2021/04/gabe-schneider-reporter-editor/ 

Conference Presentations

Lincoln, L. “Journalism reform”: Digital-first nonprofit news, labor, and improving working conditions for journalists. Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. Newspaper and Online News Division. Philadelphia, PA, August 2024.

Perreault, G., Lincoln, L., Perreault, M., & Fargen Walsh, J. “That s**t is hard to get away from”: The labor of working alone in rural journalism. Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. Broadcast and Mobile Journalism Division. Philadelphia, PA, August 2024.

Walsh, J., Perreault, M., Perreault, G., & Lincoln, L. ‘I’m not the environment reporter’: Climate change reporting perspectives among rural journalists. Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. Community Journalism Interest Group. Philadelphia, PA, August 2024.

Lincoln, L. “A hard road with personal costs”: How digital-first nonprofit news founders navigate precarity. International Communication Association. Journalism Studies Division. Gold Coast, Australia, June 2024. (Top Student Paper Award)

Lincoln, L., Perreault, G., Perreault, M., & Fargen Walsh, J. Collaborating, not competing: How rural journalists work together within the journalistic field. International Communication Association. Journalism Studies Division. Gold Coast, Australia, June 2024.

Lincoln, L. “A hard road with personal costs”: Examining the labor conditions of nonprofit news founders in the U.S. The DeWitt Wallace Center for Media & Democracy at Duke University and the Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 2024 Local Journalism Researchers’ Workshop, Durham, North Carolina, March 2024.

Lincoln, L. “A stronger future for journalism”: Considering ambivalence in coverage of corporate journalism philanthropy. 4th Lisbon Winter School for the Study of Communication. Lisbon, Portugal, January 2024.

Lincoln, L. & Pickard, V. Reimagining American public media: A key infrastructure for local journalism. Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. Media Management, Economics, and Entrepreneurship Division. Washington, DC, August 2023.

Perreault, M., Fargen Walsh, J., Lincoln, L., Moon, R., & Perreault, G. “Everything else is public relations”: How rural journalists draw the boundary between journalism and public relations in rural communities. International Communication Association. Journalism Studies Division. Toronto, Canada, May 2023.

Lee, J. & Lincoln, L. Anon, please! The liberatory façade of DeuxMoi’s sousveillant citizen paparazzi. International Communication Association. Popular Media and Culture Division. Toronto, Canada, May 2023.

Lincoln, L. & Pickard, V. Reimagining American public media: A systemic approach to the journalism crisis? The DeWitt Wallace Center for Media & Democracy at Duke University and the Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 2023 Local Journalism Researchers’ Workshop. Chapel Hill, North Carolina, February 2023.

Lincoln, L. & Pickard, V. Reimagining American public media: A systemic approach to the journalism crisis? European Communication Research and Education Association. Journalism Studies Section. Aarhus, Denmark, October 2022.

Lincoln, L. Universal access? Investigating news deserts in the American public media system. International Communication Association. Journalism Studies Division. Paris, France, May 2022.

Lincoln, L. 50 years of NPR: Collective memory, anniversary journalism & public media. International Communication Association. Journalism Studies Division Pre-Conference. Paris, France, May 2022.

Guest Lectures

Lincoln, L. Is celebrity news, news? COMM 1230: Critical Approaches to Popular Culture, Dr. Jessa Lingel. Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania. October 2024.

Lincoln, L. Nonprofit news: An alternative business model for local journalism. COMM 3600: Understanding the Political Economy of Media, Dr. Victor Pickard, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania. February 2024.

Lincoln, L. Qualitative methods in journalism studies research. MMC 6448: Qualitative Research Methods in Mass Communications, Dr. Gregory Perreault. Zimmerman School of Advertising and Mass Communications, University of South Florida. February 2024.

Lincoln, L. Nonprofit news: An alternative business model for local journalism. COMJOUR 350: News and Society, Dr. Jennifer Henrichsen. Edward R. Murrow College of Communication, Washington State University. December 2023.

Lincoln, L. Is celebrity news, news? COMM1230: Critical Approaches to Popular Culture, Dr. Sarah Banet-Weiser. Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania. September 2023.

Lincoln, L. Nonprofit news: An alternative business model for local journalism. COMM110: Media and Democracy, Professor Sydney Forde. Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications, The Pennsylvania State University. February 2023.

Lincoln, L. Is celebrity news, news? COMM1230: Critical Approaches to Popular Culture, Dr. Jessa Lingel. Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania. December 2022.

Leadership & Service

2023 to present - Reviewer, Lipman Family Prize Review Committee, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

2022 to present - Member, Board of Directors, Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (Wisconsin Watch)

2021 to present - Member, Steering Committee, Center for Media at Risk, Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania

2023 - Member, Planning Committee, Annual Symposium: When Media Put Social Justice at Risk, Center for Media at Risk & Annenberg Center for Collaborative Communication (C3), Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania

2022 to 2023 - Student Representative, Graduate Council, Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania

2016 to 2017 - Chief Editor, Sifting & Winnowing: The Wisconsin Undergraduate Journal of Law, Political Science and Public Policy

2015 to 2016 - Editorial Board, Sifting & Winnowing: The Wisconsin Undergraduate Journal of Law, Political Science and Public Policy

Teaching

Fall 2022 - Teaching Fellow, Dr. Jessa Lingel, COMM1230: Critical Approaches to Popular Culture, Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania

Media Coverage

Coddington, M. & Lewis, S. (2025, February 19). How gender affects sources' attitudes toward interviews. RQ1. https://rq1.substack.com/p/how-gender-affects-sources-attitudes (co-authored study on rural journalism labor featured in the “Research Roundup” section of the newsletter)

Reissman, H. (2024, May 9). No vacations, no sleep, but good journalism: What it’s like to start a nonprofit newsroom. Annenberg School for Communication. https://www.asc.upenn.edu/news-events/news/no-vacations-no-sleep-good-journalism-what-its-start-nonprofit-newsroom

Ojebuoboh, A. (2023, March). Q&A with public media researcher Louisa Lincoln. Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media. https://www.cislm.org/qa-with-public-media-researcher-louisa-lincoln/

Porto, M. (2023, March). Takeaways from the 2023 Local News Researchers’ Workshop. Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media. https://www.cislm.org/takeaways-from-the-2023-local-news-researchers-workshop/

Chakradhar, S. (2022, January 20). A new report shows the impact of racial justice protests in 2020 on three local newspapers. NiemanLab. https://www.niemanlab.org/2022/01/a-new-report-shows-the-impact-of-racial-justice-protests-in-2020-on-three-local-newspapers/ 

Ladyzhensky, A. (2022, January 10). Racial justice protests influenced local news reporting, study finds. Annenberg School for Communication. https://www.asc.upenn.edu/news-events/news/racial-justice-protests-influenced-local-news-reporting-study-finds

Industry Experience

2023 to present - Applied Research Analyst, Center for High Impact Philanthropy (CHIP), School of Social Policy & Practice, University of Pennsylvania

2022 to 2023 - Program Coordinator, Lipman Family Prize, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

2022 to 2023 - COMPASS Media Policy Fellow, American Journalism Project

2021 to 2022 - Lipman Family Prize Fellow, The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

2019 to 2020 - Development Specialist, PRX

2018 to 2019 - Development Associate, PRX

2017 to 2018 - Development Associate, Public Radio International

2017 - Sponsorship Marketing Intern, NPR

2017 - Public Engagement and Marketing Assistant, Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism

2016 to 2017 - Public Engagement and Marketing Intern, Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism

Professional Affiliations

International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR)

International Communication Association (ICA)

Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)