TYLER, Texas — Dr. Terry Britt, an assistant professor of communication at The University of Texas at Tyler, earned a top faculty paper award in the Communication Theory and Methodology Division at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication annual conference.
His paper, “Mediated Temporal Consciousness: Memory and Concepts of Time Through Engagement with Online News Archives,” instigates a innovative media theory that dives into how humans construct autobiographical memory from media content, according to Britt.
“We have so much access through the Internet and streaming applications to news and entertainment media from the past –– decades of it,” said Britt.
Britt added the theory works on both macro and micro levels for news awareness and significance.
“For instance, those 30 and older probably have a lot of autobiographical memory about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But this theory also applies to more localized media experiences,” Britt said.
In 2022, Britt introduced the first research facility for the UT Tyler Department of Communication.
The Media and Communication Research Laboratory features equipment for psychophysiology and neuroscience studies that branches out to news and media content. Britt is already planning several studies for the MCRL this fall and in 2024.