Christoph Mergerson

Christoph Mergerson, who is completing his Ph.D. in Communication, Information and Media at Rutgers University, joined the Philip Merrill College of Journalism in Fall 2021 as a visiting assistant professor in race and media.

Mergerson is a Washington, D.C., area native whose research interests include race and media, media and democracy, local journalism and media policy. He will teach courses in areas related to his research. 

Mergerson comes to Merrill with ongoing research that examines whether news media in the Southern United States are producing racially inclusive, public-service journalism. His research is supported by a Knight News Innovation Fellowship from the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University.

He brings award-winning classroom experience from teaching courses at Rutgers, including Communication Law, Global News, and Writing for Media. He has also been a teaching assistant for the Gender, Race, and Class in the Media course.

Mergerson earned his master’s degree in public affairs from The University of Texas at Austin in 2010. He completed his bachelor’s degree in political science at California State University, Northridge in 2008. In addition, he worked with the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., as a research fellow in telecommunications policy.