Dr. Tegan R. Bratcher

Tegan Bratcher, Ph.D. (she/her) is a professional media researcher and a professor of media and public relations. Dr. Bratcher describes herself as someone who is passionate about media research and using research to create real change in the media industry. As a Roy H. Park Doctoral Fellow at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she studied media and communication, becoming an expert in the areas of race and communication, public relations, digital media, podcasts and more. Before then, she studied political science at West Virginia University earning both her bachelors and masters degree. Dr. Bratcher’s work and teaching has been recognized for numerous awards and she has authored/co-authored several publications in peer reviewed journals. Dr. Bratcher’s current work examines the new media from a myriad of perspectives, specifically, investigating the ways that podcasts (and other digital media at large) are used for community, strategic and social communication, and identity. In addition to academic research, Dr. Bratcher serves as a Senior Researcher for the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media —which won the Governor’s Award at the 2022 Emmys— emphasizing her commitment to professional media research and progressive industry change.