Nikki Usher studies how news is changing in the digital and platform era. Her research, teaching, and commentary focuses on the myriad challenges and opportunities facing the future of journalism in a democracy. Some key areas of inquiry include trust, partisanship, and polarization in journalism; news innovation, news business models, and new technology; and social media, including misinformation, user-generated content, and algorithmic accountability.
She is the author of two books, Making News at the New York Times, and Interactive Journalism: Hackers, Data, and Code, and she is a co-editor of the Oxford University Press book series, “Journalism and Political Communication Unbound.” Currently she is an associate professor in the University of Illinois’ College of Media (Institute for Communication Research Faculty, Journalism Department) with an affiliate appointment in the Department of Communication. Until July 2019, she was an associate professor at The George Washington University.