Matthew C. Nisbet

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."

It used to be that candidates posed with babies, and George W. Bush still does, especially when using photo-ops to frame instantly for the public that stem cell research is […]
It’s been a long and very busy week on campus, with several major articles in the works, and midterm grading in full swing. Yet I had to weigh in briefly […]
I have been meaning to type up a brief summary of last week’s talk at AAAS HQ here in DC. The presentation packed the auditorium with a crowd of about […]
How do you communicate the underlying meaning and values of a political party with a single word or phrase? Republicans have boiled it down to “national security, tax relief, and […]
Last week, I detailed the growing use of YouTube as a strategic communication tool. Now, in today’s Chicago Sun Times, Washington Post, and in other papers across the country, there […]
You know you have reached a new ethical low in advertising when 9/11 is now fair game for selling commercial products, much less pickup trucks.But for those who haven’t caught […]
YouTube is quickly emerging as a new tool for strategic communication. Uses include promoting documentaries by posting trailers and news clips (see this post on Jesus Camp), reaching bigger audiences […]
Turn out at this morning’s presentation at AAAS approached 200, and it looked like the auditorium was completely full. It’s a sign that interest in framing as a public engagement […]
For those in the DC area, tomorrow I will be giving the following presentation at AAAS HQ as part of the Science Policy Alliance speaker series. Breakfast is at 730 […]
Following Pope Benedict’s late August seminar on evolution, the consensus view from Science magazine and intelligent design watchdogs appeared to be that the Vatican was not yet ready to endorse […]
Lanny Davis, former White House counsel under Clinton, veteran of the Monica Lewinsky wars, and a recognized expert on crisis communication was on NPR this morning, offering some very valuable […]
Last week, the online news section of the Columbia Journalism Review ran this very useful reaction to Senator Inhofe’s attack on journalists covering global warming, referencing the analysis posted here.
Everyone here in D.C. is talking about Bob Woodward’s State of Denial, as the book’s insider accounts continue to dominate the news cycle this week. Woodward’s impact offers a leading […]
Email list servs and blogs aren’t the only things buzzing about the new documentary ‘Jesus Camp,’ (trailer) which opens in major cities this weekend, including here in D.C. The news […]
As Inhofe attacks the media for exaggerating the threat of global warming, the GOP continues to pursue its election strategy of making terrorism and the memory of 9/11 the defining […]
Just to show you how out of touch Inhofe and his staff are in their attack on the media, they even label as alarmist Andrew Revkin of the NY Times. […]
Yesterday, Senator James Inhofe, Chair of the Committee on Public Works & the Environment, issued a challenge to journalists to stop what he called the “media hype” over global warming. […]
If it isn’t already obvious, the GOP game plan for the November election is to make September 11 and the war on terror the dominant consideration for voters, rather than […]
Chris Wallace has this to say about the ground rules agreed to by Fox News and Clinton….