Faculty & Staff
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Sahara Byrne Assistant Professor 314 Kennedy Hall 607.255.8058 seb272@cornell.edu |
Dr. Sahara Byrne’s research focuses on the intersection of media effects, strategic communication and cognitive development. She examines strategies that attempt to reduce the negative effects of the media on individuals, particularly those intending to protect children, such as media literacy interventions, governmental policies, censorship, disclaimers, ratings systems, household restrictions, co-viewing and technological filters. She is most interested in why these strategies are sometimes ineffective or actually cause harm. Her most recent research aims to explain why this ‘boomerang effect’ is likely to occur in response to many types of strategic messages. She has been the principal investigator on several experiments investigating children and media effects. She also has several years of experience as a production executive and writer in the entertainment industry. She received her B.F.A in Film and Television from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, and her M.A. and Ph. D. in Communication from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Recent courses taught include:
Media Literacy
Persuasion
Media Effects
Selected Publications
Nabi, R., Moyer-Guse, E. & Byrne, S. (2007) An investigation of humor’s effect on the processing of social issue messages. Communication Monographs.
Potter, W. J. & Byrne S. (2007). What are the effects of media literacy? In Mazzerella, S. R. (Ed.), Twenty Questions about Youth and the Media. New York: Peter Lang Publ.
