About

Rhonda Gibson joined the faculty of the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media in 2001. Her teaching areas include journalism writing and reporting, media ethics, sexual minorities and the media, and mass communication pedagogy. Before her tenure at UNC-Chapel Hill, she was on the faculty at Texas Tech University, where she received the inaugural Wendell Mayes Research Scholar Award and the L.U. Kaiser Innovative Teaching Award. She has also taught at the University of Houston and the University of Alabama-Birmingham. Her research focuses on the effects of exemplification in journalism on issue perception and the effects of images of sexual minorities in the media. Her work has been published in several academic journals, including Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Communication Research, Newspaper Research Journal, and Journalism & Mass Communication Educator. She is currently working on a book examining the changing communication strategies and public opinion regarding same-sex marriage.

Research topics

• Sociology
• Political Science
• Media studies
• Psychology
• Gender studies
• Law
• Engineering
• History
• Medicine
• Religious studies
• Medical education
• Marketing
• Philosophy
• Theology
• Business
• Social psychology
• Public relations

Selected publications

• A Longitudinal Content Analysis of the Use of Radical and Mainstream, Pro- and Anti-LGBT Organizations as Sources in The New York Times & The Washington Post

  UNC Libraries · 2025-07-29

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Public opinion about LGBT rights has shifted dramatically in the last 30&nbsp;years. This study, a content analysis of 659 news articles from <em>The New York Times</em> and <em>The Washington Post</em> from 1977-2013, examined the use of pro- and anti-LGBT organizations as sources to explore how coverage changed over time and to examine if there were differences in coverage of mainstream LGBT advocacy organizations versus those that are more radical in nature. Results showed that stories about the topics of marriage/families, entertainment, AIDS, politics and protests were the most likely to use LGBT advocacy organizations as sources. Use of radical organizations as sources peaked in the 1990s, when the majority of AIDS and protest stories were published. Anti-LGBT organizations were used as sources in just under 20 percent of the coded stories but stories covering some topics like marriage/families saw much higher rates of anti-LGBT organizational sourcing. Implications are discussed.

  PublisherDOI

• Still Fighting the God-Vs.-Gays Battle: Twitter Reaction to Presidential Candidate Pete Buttigieg’s Identification as a Gay Member of the Christian Left

  UNC Libraries · 2025-04-03

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  A computational analysis of 2.6 million original tweets from March 2019 to March 2020 about presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, a self-identified gay man and member of the Christian left, showed more interest in his sexuality than his religion. Examination of the most shared tweets suggests that the Twitterverse did not explicitly portray Buttigieg&rsquo;s dual identities as contradictory, a departure from the typical &ldquo;God-vs.-gay&rdquo; rhetoric associated with religion and sexuality. However, the most shared tweet in the data set, from evangelist Franklin Graham, negatively characterized both Buttigieg&rsquo;s religious and sexual identities and questioned whether a gay man could be a true Christian.

  PublisherDOI

• Framing politics and scandal: Mainstream media coverage of George Santos’s sexual identity and ideology

  Atlantic Journal of Communication · 2025-07-23

  articleSenior author
  PublisherDOI

• Still Fighting the God-Vs.-Gays Battle: Twitter Reaction to Presidential Candidate Pete Buttigieg’s Identification as a Gay Member of the Christian Left

  Journal of Media and Religion · 2023 · 3 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Sociology
  • Political Science
  • Sociology

  ABSTRACTA computational analysis of 2.6 million original tweets from March 2019 to March 2020 about presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, a self-identified gay man and member of the Christian left, showed more interest in his sexuality than his religion. Examination of the most shared tweets suggests that the Twitterverse did not explicitly portray Buttigieg's dual identities as contradictory, a departure from the typical "God-vs.-gay" rhetoric associated with religion and sexuality. However, the most shared tweet in the data set, from evangelist Franklin Graham, negatively characterized both Buttigieg's religious and sexual identities and questioned whether a gay man could be a true Christian. Disclosure StatementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1 Tokens used to identify religion-focused tweets are 146 Stemmed Religious Tokens: almighti, almighty, amen, angel, angelic, angels, apostl, apostle, backslid, baptism, baptiz, baptize, believ, believer, bibl, bible, biblic, biblical, bless, cathedr, cathedral, christ, christian, church, churches, churchgo, clergi, clergy, command, commandment, communion, confess, confession, congreg, congregation, consecrat, coven, covenant, creator, creed, crusad, crusade, denomin, denomination, devot, devotion, devout, discipl, disciple, epistl, epistle, evil, faith, fellowship, fruit, fruits, genesi, genesis, god, gospel, grace, hallow, heaven, holi, holy, hymn, immort, immortal, jew, lamp, lord, martyr, miracl, miracle, mission, orthodox, parabl, parable, pastor, peacemak, peacemaker, penanc, penance, pieti, piety, piou, pious, pope, pray, priest, proph, prophe, proverb, psalm, pulpit, rabbi, reap, rebirth, reborn, redeem, redempt, redemption, religi, religio, religion, repent, restor, resurrect, reverend, sabbath, sacr, sacrament, sacred, saint, salvat, salvation, sanctifi, sanctify, sanctiti, sanctity, sanctuari, sanctuary, scriptur, sermon, servant, shrine, sin, sinned, sinner, sinners, sinning, sins, solemn, soul, sow, sowed, sown, sows, spirit, templ, temple, testament, theolog, triniti, trinity, worship.

  PublisherDOI

• The effects of journalistic routines on LGBTQ+ advocates’ efforts to influence media framing of religious exemptions to anti-discrimination laws

  Newspaper Research Journal · 2023 · 2 citations

  1st authorCorresponding
  • Political Science
  • Sociology
  • Law

  In-depth interviews with 26 journalists from large mainstream news outlets who covered the Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission U.S. Supreme Court case indicate that LGBTQ+ advocacy organization efforts to influence journalists’ decision-making processes related to story angle and sourcing were unsuccessful. Instead, journalists relied on official court documents as sources, avoiding press advisories from social movement organizations in an effort to maintain neutrality and impartiality.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• The Long-Term Value of Networking and Diverse Professional Experience in Online Communication Master’s Cohorts: Strategic Benefits of a Closed-Cohort Structure

  Journalism & Mass Communication Educator · 2021 · 2 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding
  • Sociology
  • Political Science
  • Psychology

  A survey of alumni from a 10-year-old cohort-based online master’s program in digital communication showed that respondents felt high levels of sense of community both during the program and after graduation. Respondents reported using Facebook and email to interact with members of their cohorts, and other cohorts, and highly valued the ability to network with industry professionals with a diversity of communication experience. However, respondents felt the need for more identity-based diversity among cohort members.

  PublisherDOI

• Assessment And Improvement Of COVID-19 Unit And Provider Readiness Through Medical Simulation In A Level III Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

  PEDIATRICS · 2021-03-01

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Assessment And Improvement Of COVID-19 Unit And Provider Readiness Through Medical Simulation In A Level III Pediatric Intensive Care Unit

  2021-02-24

  article

  Background The COVID-19 pandemic represents an unprecedented global crisis that has health care workers (HCW) facing unique challenges. The estimated infection risk of HCW treating COVID-19 patients has been demonstrated to be significant. In order to assure patient and provider safety with effective management, optimal preparedness is key. The aim of this project was to assess and optimize HCW and unit readiness for high risk procedures in COVID-19 patients with appropriate use of personal protective equipment (PPE). Methods Two …

  PublisherDOI

• Intercultural Competencies Needed for Evolving Media Professions: Educating the Next Generation of Globally Minded Communicators

  Journalism & Mass Communication Educator · 2019-12-17 · 7 citations

  articleSenior author

  This mixed-methods study was designed to determine which global competencies are most sought after in college students and recent graduates who are applying for internships and jobs that are international in scope. A survey of 40 mostly U.S.-based global communicators in strategic communication and journalism and subsequent in-depth interviews revealed that respect for other cultures, listening/observation skills, and understanding others’ worldviews were highly valued. It was also recommended that college graduates have experience traveling abroad and a global network of contacts to enhance their job prospects. Implications for updating college curricula and extracurricular opportunities are explored.

  PublisherDOI

• “Dog-Involved Bitings?” Construction of Culpability in News Stories About “Officer-Involved Shootings”

  Howard Journal of Communications · 2019-05-27 · 1 citations

  articleSenior authorCorresponding

  A series of police killings of unarmed individuals, as well as the resulting #BlackLivesMatter social movement, has focused attention on police use of force throughout the United States. Historically police and media outlets that cover these incidents have tended to individualize situations where police use force on a citizen rather than consider them from a systemic approach. This qualitative content analysis attempts to demonstrate that calling these incidents by the controversial term officer-involved shooting gives journalists a common reference point for broader discussions about police use of force, race, and accountability, although it also represents a shortcut for reporters who rely primarily on police for information about crime and public safety.

  PublisherDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Dolf Zillmann

  17 shared

• Joe Bob Hester

  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  8 shared

• Charles F. Aust

  5 shared

• Coy Callison

  5 shared

• Swosti Joshi

  St. Christopher's Hospital for Children

  4 shared

• Virginia Ordman

  JMI Laboratories

  3 shared

• Huiuk Yi

  2 shared

• Kathleen Hoffman

  Inspire Institute

  2 shared

Awards & honors

• Inaugural Wendell Mayes Research Scholar Award
• L.U. Kaiser Innovative Teaching Award