Matthew C. Nisbet

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Matthew C. Nisbet

Associate Professor of Communication, Northeastern University

Matthew C. Nisbet, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Communication Studies, Public Policy, and Urban Affairs  at Northeastern University. Nisbet studies the role of communication and advocacy in policymaking and public affairs, focusing on debates over over climate change, energy, and sustainability. Among awards and recognition, Nisbet has been a Visiting Shorenstein Fellow on Press, Politics, and Public Policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, a Health Policy Investigator at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and a Google Science Communication Fellow. In 2011, the editors at the journal Nature recommended Nisbet's research as “essential reading for anyone with a passing interest in the climate change debate,” and the New Republic highlighted his work as a “fascinating dissection of the shortcomings of climate activism."

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Guest Thinkers
The Right Room for a Dialogue: New Policy on Anonymous Comments
I’ve long questioned the value of anonymous blogging or commenting. Much of the incivility online can be attributed to anonymity. And with a rare few exceptions, if you can’t participate […]
Matthew C. Nisbet
Guest Thinkers
The NYTimes, the IPCC, and Perceived Conflict of Interest
In my remarks as part of a panel at Harvard last week, I predicted that a new public accountability narrative about climate scientists had been locked in by the “ClimateGate” […]
Matthew C. Nisbet
Guest Thinkers
AU School of Communication Teams with PBS Frontline to Examine The Safety of Regional Air Carriers
Matthew C. Nisbet
Guest Thinkers
AU Forum and Report on The Climate Change Generation: Youth, Media, and Politics in an Unsustainable World
UPDATE: Due to the weather, the Forum is postponed until the end of February or early March. When a date is finalized, I will post details.Tuesday night at 7pm, American […]
Matthew C. Nisbet
Guest Thinkers
Text of Remarks from Harvard Kennedy School Panel on Climate Change, Skeptics, and the Media
Below are text of the remarks that I opened with at the Harvard panel last week on “The Public Divide over Climate Change: Science, Skeptics and the Media.” To listen […]
Matthew C. Nisbet
Guest Thinkers
Audio and Highlights of the Harvard Kennedy School Panel w/ Andrew Revkin on Climate Change, Skeptics, and the Media
On Thursday, at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard, I served as one of the panelists at the event “The Public Divide over Climate Change: Science, Skeptics and the […]
Matthew C. Nisbet
Guest Thinkers
ON THURS: Harvard Panel with Andrew Revkin
A reminder for readers in Boston and Cambridge: Thursday this week I will be a panelist on a discussion about climate change and the media at the Kennedy School of […]
Matthew C. Nisbet
Guest Thinkers
AU Report on the Lobbying Strategy of the Nuclear Industry
In his State of the Union speech last week, President Obama called for significant government investment in nuclear energy, telling Congress that “to create more of these clean energy jobs, […]
Matthew C. Nisbet
Guest Thinkers
UnPolitical America: A Crisis of Political Illiteracy?
Much calamity has been made in popular books and by liberal commentators about the public’s scores on quiz like survey questions tapping basic knowledge of scientific facts or the public’s […]
Matthew C. Nisbet
Guest Thinkers
Do Surveys This Week Show More Signs of Climate Fatigue?
Two surveys released this week provide more information on how public opinion may or may not be shifting relative to climate change and energy. I provide some highlights and quick […]
Matthew C. Nisbet
Guest Thinkers
AAAS Conference on “Climate Literacy and Informal Learning”
In the two days leading up to their annual conference in San Diego later this month, AAAS will be sponsoring a two-day workshop on improving climate change literacy through informal […]
Matthew C. Nisbet
Guest Thinkers
Nature on Climate Change Communication
Nature magazine ran an editorial last week arguing the need for new directions in climate change communication, reflecting directly many of the themes shared at this blog and in past […]
Matthew C. Nisbet
Guest Thinkers
Harvard Panel with Andrew Revkin on “Climate Scientists, Skeptics, & the Media”
For readers at Harvard, I will be participating in a panel discussion at the Kennedy School of Government on Thurs. Feb. 4 from noon to 2pm. Details are below and […]
Matthew C. Nisbet
Guest Thinkers
The American Jeremiad About Science and Society
Last week the NSF Science Indicators report was released, triggering more dramatic calls to action and overstated warnings from commentators about the alleged decline of science in American society. This […]
Matthew C. Nisbet
Guest Thinkers
AU Forum to Focus on “The Climate Change Generation: Youth, Media, and Politics In an Unsustainable World”
The Katzen Arts Center on the American University campus will be host to a discussion of the civic and personal challenges that college students face on climate change.Here’s a head […]
Matthew C. Nisbet
Guest Thinkers
Richard Gallagher Steps Down as Editor of The Scientist
After nearly 8 years as founding editor of The Scientist magazine, Richard Gallagher is stepping down to pursue new journalistic ventures. Gallagher helmed The Scientist as it grew into one […]
Matthew C. Nisbet
Guest Thinkers
A Model For Training Scientists in Science-Society Relations
A recent article at the journal Science Communicationreports on an innovative EU program that trained scientists in public engagement and science-society relations. Along with the Leopold Leadership Program, it is […]
Matthew C. Nisbet
Guest Thinkers
NSF Science Indicators To Be Released Wednesday
CORRECTION: The Indicators Report will be released Friday, Jan. 15.The bi-annual NSF Science Indicators report will be released on Wednesday. Chapter 7 of the report will contain a useful synthesis […]
Matthew C. Nisbet
Guest Thinkers
ClimateGate: Not Time to Fight Back, But to Engage
Last month, I did an interview with the Philadelphia City Paper on the stolen CRU emails. The feature story provides useful background and context on the communication dynamics of the […]
Matthew C. Nisbet
Guest Thinkers
Q&A on Framing, Public Engagement, and Social Media
The American University news media relations office is running a Web feature that focuses on many of the themes discussed at this blog. The feature is in the form of […]
Matthew C. Nisbet
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