Elizaveta Kalinina

Elizaveta Kalinina is a doctoral student at the University of Maryland whose research examines media control, authoritarian propaganda and government communication, including freedom of information.

Prior to academia, Kalinina worked as an independent investigative journalist in Russia. Following the Kremlin’s crackdown on independent reporters, Kalinina transitioned to strategic communication, promoting the work of public institutions through written, audio and video storytelling. Kalinina also founded a media literacy studio to help young people critically evaluate information in complex online environments.

Her thesis research on the framing of the Russia-Ukraine War received funding from the 2026 Phi Kappa Phi Love of Learning Award. She published a co-authored textbook chapter on the Framing of Immigration in Race/Gender/Class/Media (ed. R.A. Lind). She presented her research at NCA and AEJMC as well as at public-facing scholarship events, such as Three Minute Thesis (3MT) in 2025, where she advanced to the university final.

As an instructor of record at Texas State University, she taught Media Writing, a writing-intensive introductory course for journalism and public relations students. At UMD, she supports Derek Willis, who teaches Statistics for Journalists.

During her time as a master’s student at Texas State University, Kalinina published data-driven stories on public health disparities in The Texas Tribune. She is an FAA-certified drone operator and received scholarships from the Headliners Foundation and Society of Professional Journalists.

An active member of Investigative Reporters and Editors, incoming research co-chair at the Commission on Graduate Education and newsletter co-chair at the Broadcast and Mobile Journalism Division of AEJMC, Kalinina is committed to bridging industry, research and education.

Areas of interest

• Freedom of information
• Government communication
• Media and democracy
• Media control and censorship
• Media and authoritarianism
• Propaganda and mis-/disinformation

Education 

• B.A. (International Relations), Far Eastern Federal University (Russia)
• M.A. (Digital Media Communication), Texas State University

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