Cristina Azocar

Biography

Dr. Cristina L. Azocar is a member of the Upper Mattaponi Tribe. Her research focuses on the intersection of race and journalistic practice, particularly in the area of news coverage of Indigenous people. Azocar earned her doctorate in Communication Studies at the University of Michigan. She has master's degree in Ethnic Studies and a bachelor's degree in Journalism, both from San Francisco State University. Her interest in diversity in the news media spans more than 30 years, and began with her concern about negative news media representations of Indigenous people. Dr. Azocar served as a past president of the Native American Journalists Association, directed the Center for Integration and Improvement of Journalism for 10 years, was a former editor of American Indian Issues for the Media Diversity Forum, and was an inaugural board member of the Women’s Media Center. She was the first recipient of AEJMC’s Dr. Paula M. Poindexter Research Grant for a research project on news coverage of the tribal federal recognition process forthcoming at Lexington Books. Her work is published at American Indian Quarterly, Howard Journal of Communications, Health Communication, Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, Journal of Communication, Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, International Journal of Home Economics, Family & Consumer Sciences Research Journal, and Communication Booknotes Quarterly.