UA Journalism Professor Wins National Top Dissertation Award

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Dr. Scott Parrott, an assistant professor of journalism at The University of Alabama, has been named the 2014 recipient of the Nafziger-White-Salwen Dissertation Award, given to the author of the top mass communication dissertation in the nation by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.

Parrott completed his doctorate at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. His dissertation is titled “An Examination of the Use of Disparagement Humor in Online TV Comedy Clips and the Role of Audience Reaction in its Effects.”

“Disparagement humor involves jokes that insult people on the basis of characteristics such as gender, race, age, income, religion or weight,” Parrott said. “I found one in four comedic clips on the major network websites contained disparagement humor, and often an individual’s weight served as the topic of insult. Millions of people watch these programs each day.”

Parrott continues to study disparagement humor and related topics at UA, delving into the stigmatization of weight and mental illness. He recently co-founded the UA Health Communication Research Lab in the College of Communication & Information Sciences with Dr. Kim Bissell, professor and director of the UA Institute for Communication & Information Research.

“Through our lab, faculty and student researchers team to investigate questions related to health and communication, including topics especially important for the state of Alabama,” Parrott said. “We hope to nurture interdisciplinary research projects here at Alabama, reaching out to researchers in other colleges and bringing together the incredible minds and resources we have on this campus.”

Bissell said she expects Parrott to find continued success with his research.

“Dr. Parrott is most deserving of this dissertation award, and he has been a superb addition to the faculty in the department of journalism,” she said. “He has been instrumental in the founding of the UA Health Comm Lab, and I predict he will be one of the top scholars in his area of research. Some of the best work I have produced has been work co-authored with Dr. Parrott.  I am thrilled for him, and I look forward to seeing his progress as a scholar.”

Parrott said UA’s communication research facilities, which he took advantage of as a master’s student at the University, were a huge draw for him when deciding where to accept a professorship upon completing his doctorate.

“Nowhere else in our field do you find laboratories for psychophysiology, child media, content analysis, theater, survey research and other areas under one roof,” Parrott said. “I truly could not imagine a better environment for pursuing a research and teaching career.”