Magnusson Durham discusses 'Anxiety, Social Media and the News' at Media Masters
Tristan Brew |
With the seeming prevalence of bad news headlines, a sense of fear and anxiety may arise as a result. This past fall, clinical psychologist Nancy Magnusson Durham, led a discussion of “Anxiety, Social Media and the News” as part of the Nov. 14 Media Masters event.
“The world this past summer seemed to be filled with protest, miscommunication and hatred,” said Magnusson Durham, professor of psychology, counseling and family science at Lipscomb. “There was a shift in the respect we, as a society, have for others; especially for journalists. In August I was grappling with how to best handle these situations and prepare our students for a changing environment.”
During the hour-long conversation, Magnusson Durham spoke about the media’s ability to “effect and exacerbate” personal anxieties as well as how to facilitate healthy and difficult conversations with others.
Durham began her career at Pepperdine University as an assistant professor and has more than 35 years of experience in higher education. She has an undergraduate degree from Westmont College, a Master of Arts degree from San Francisco State University and a Ph.D. from Washington State University.
Throughout each academic school year, Lipscomb’s Department of Communication and Journalism, housed in the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, hosts a series of Media Master evenings with highly accomplished and respected professionals within the fields of communication and journalism.
During the 2017 fall semester, Sarah Gibson, associate professor of communication, led the department through a series of conversations that relate to the studies of communication and journalism. Gibson said the motivation behind this semester’s Media Masters presentations, “is to bring in speakers outside of our field and have them help us understand these issues and how we [as communicators] should engage in these conversations.”
Want to know more about Lipscomb’s Department of Communication and Journalism? Visit www.lipscomb.edu/communication