About Me
I am a PhD student in Media and Communications at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where I also hold the Illinois Distinguished Fellowship, the most prestigious award for incoming graduate students.
Substantively, my research focuses on political information, its political economy, and spillovers onto political behavior in democratic contexts, particularly within India and the United States. I study how the structure and dynamics of the information environment shape who sees what, when, and how. My work examines the evolving relationship between media supply and user demand in high-choice environments, and how these interactions align (or fail to) with democratic informational needs.
Methodologically, I rely on econometric methods, including advances in spatial and network analyses and causal inference. Some of my work has also used qualitative methods like semi-structured interviews and discourse analysis.
I am also pursuing an MS in Statistics alongside my PhD. Prior to this, I earned an MA in Linguistics from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and a BA (Honors) in Journalism from Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi. You can view my CV here.
If you are in the area or our paths cross at any event, I am always happy to grab a coffee and discuss shared interests or potential collaborations! You can contact me at: sakshib3[at]illinois[dot]edu.
News and Updates
I will be at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association in Denver from Thursday to Saturday -- including the Political Communication Preconference. Let's meet!
Excited to receive the Graduate Student Fellowship from Political Networks methodological society!
My co-authored study "Partisan news users in the United States and India on either side seldom use fact checkers" is fresh off the press at the Journal of Communication.
If you do not have institutional access to the full text, please feel free to contact me.
So happy to receive the Methodology Center Summer Institute Scholarship, Purdue University/National Institute on Drug Addiction! Looking forward to be in West Lafayette this July.
My first-authored study discussing why misinformation can persist despite corrections is now available on Information, Communication & Society.
It is titled "When news is entertainment: explaining the persistence of misinformation through the information environment."
If you do not have institutional access to the full text, please feel free to contact me.
My interview with CISLM is live! I discuss my latest study examining the circulation of local print media (and more). Read it here.
I discussed my working paper on digital and legacy media structures (in India) and how they shape audience behaviors (even) on social media platforms at the Social Media and Society in India Conference at U Michigan. Read a brief draft here.