Email: rikray2@illinois.edu
RESEARCH INTERESTS
I primarily study how audiences take shape on digital platforms and the ways in which platform logics influence audience behavior. My interest in research design and methodology has also led to collaborations across topical domains such as political communication, public opinion, journalism studies, etc.
Recent Publications/Presentations
Ray, R., Bhalla, S., & Taneja, H. (2025) Partisan news users in the United States and India on either side seldom use fact checkers. Journal of Communication. https://doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqaf018
Ng, Y. M. M., & Ray, R. (2025). The journalists’ exodus: Navigating the transition from Twitter to Mastodon and other alternative platforms. New Media & Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448251321165
Bhalla, S., Ray, R., & Taneja, H. (2024). When news is entertainment: explaining the persistence of misinformation through the information environment. Information, Communication & Society. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2024.2406819
Ray, R. (2023). Online news platforms still matter: Generational news consumption patterns during the 2020 presidential election. Online Media and Global Communication, 2(3), 329-350. https://doi.org/10.1515/omgc-2023-0012
Courses Taught
- ADV 483: Audience Analysis
- JOUR 451: Research Methods in Journalism