# Meredith Clark

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{{Short description|American scholar}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{Infobox academic
| honorific_prefix = <!-- see [MOS:CREDENTIAL](/source/MOS%3ACREDENTIAL) and [MOS:HONORIFIC](/source/MOS%3AHONORIFIC) -->
| name = Meredith D. Clark
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| image = Meredith Clark Headshot - Kumolu Studios (cropped).jpg
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| alt = Meredith Clark by Kumolu Studios
| caption = Clark in 2018
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| birth_place = [St. Louis, Missouri](/source/St._Louis%2C_Missouri), US
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| education = [Florida A&M University](/source/Florida_A%26M_University)<br />[University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill](/source/University_of_North_Carolina_at_Chapel_Hill)
| thesis_title = To Tweet Our Own Cause: A Mixed-Methods Study of the Online Phenomenon "Black Twitter"
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| thesis_year = 2014
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| discipline = [Media studies](/source/Media_studies), [Mass communication](/source/Mass_communication)<!--major academic discipline – e.g. Physicist, Sociologist, New Testament scholar, Ancient Near Eastern Linguist-->
| sub_discipline = <!--academic discipline specialist area – e.g. Sub-atomic research, 20th-century Danish specialist, Pauline research, Arcadian and Ugaritic specialist-->
| workplaces = [University of Virginia](/source/University_of_Virginia)
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| notable_students = 
| main_interests = [Black Twitter](/source/Black_Twitter), [Cancel culture](/source/Cancel_culture), Systemic racism in the US news media
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'''Meredith D. Clark''' is an American journalist and scholar.

She was named by ''[The Root](/source/The_Root_(magazine))'' to their 2015 list of 100 most influential Black Americans after her Ph.D. dissertation, ''To Tweet Our Own Cause: A Mixed-Methods Study of the Online Phenomenon "Black Twitter"'', won a Top Dissertation award from the [Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication](/source/Association_for_Education_in_Journalism_and_Mass_Communication).

According to ''The Root'', the dissertation was one of the first analyses of Black Twitter by an academic researcher. [NPR](/source/NPR) called her "the go-to person about Black Twitter".<ref name="Buzz" />

== Early life and education ==
Clark was born to John T. Clark and Dr. Bonnie Mitchell-Clark and raised in [Lexington, Kentucky](/source/Lexington%2C_Kentucky).<ref name="About">{{Cite web|title=About|url=https://www.meredithdclark.com/aboutmdc|access-date=April 24, 2021|website=Meredith D. Clark, Ph.D.|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="UVA">{{Cite web|title=Department of Media Studies|url=https://mediastudies.as.virginia.edu/people/profile/mdc6j|access-date=April 24, 2021|website=mediastudies.as.virginia.edu}}</ref>

Clark attended [Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University](/source/Florida_Agricultural_%26_Mechanical_University), earning a bachelor's degree in political science in 2002 and a master's degree in journalism in 2006.<ref name="About" /> She attended the [University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill](/source/University_of_North_Carolina_at_Chapel_Hill) and earned a Ph.D. in mass communication in 2014.<ref name="About" /> Clark's dissertation for her Ph.D. was titled ''To Tweet Our Own Cause: A Mixed-Methods Study of the Online Phenomenon "Black Twitter"''.<ref name="TheRoot100">{{Cite web|date=January 1, 2015|title=The Root 100 – 2015|url=https://onehundred.theroot.com/facewall/the-root-100-2015/|access-date=April 24, 2021|website=[The Root](/source/The_Root_(magazine))|language=en-US}}</ref> It won a Top Dissertation award from the [Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication](/source/Association_for_Education_in_Journalism_and_Mass_Communication).<ref name="TheRoot100" />

== Career ==
Clark's research interests include [Black Twitter](/source/Black_Twitter), [cancel culture](/source/cancel_culture), and systemic racism in the US news media.<ref name="D&S" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Meredith D. Clark, Chautauqua, NY|url=https://www.tourchautauqua.com/events/meredith-d-clark|access-date=April 25, 2021|website=Chautauqua County Visitors Bureau|language=en}}</ref>

Prior to earning her Ph.D., Clark worked as a journalist for the ''[Capital Outlook](/source/Capital_Outlook)'', the ''[Tallahassee Democrat](/source/Tallahassee_Democrat)'', the ''[Austin American-Statesman](/source/Austin_American-Statesman)'', and the ''[News & Observer](/source/The_News_%26_Observer)''.<ref name="About" /> She wrote a column on diversity at the [Poynter Institute](/source/Poynter_Institute)'s website and was a contributor to ''[USA Today](/source/USA_Today)''.<ref name="About" />

According to ''The Root'', Clark's Ph.D. dissertation was one of the first analyses of [Black Twitter](/source/Black_Twitter) by an academic researcher.<ref name="TheRoot100" /> NPR called her "the go-to person about Black Twitter".<ref name="Buzz">{{Cite web|title=The Buzz Over 'Black Twitter'|url=https://www.npr.org/transcripts/274805914?storyId=274805914?storyId=274805914|access-date=April 25, 2021|website=[NPR](/source/NPR)| date=February 10, 2014 |language=en}}</ref>

After earning her Ph.D., Clark became an assistant professor at the Mayborn School of Journalism at the [University of North Texas](/source/University_of_North_Texas).<ref name="TheRoot100" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Ramsey|first=Donovan X.|date=April 10, 2015|title=The Truth About Black Twitter|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/04/the-truth-about-black-twitter/390120/|access-date=April 25, 2021|website=The Atlantic|language=en}}</ref>

She is an assistant professor of Media Studies at the University of Virginia.<ref name="About" /><ref name="TheRoot100" /> She is a faculty fellow with the Data & Society Research Institute, an advisory board member for the Center for Critical Race and Digital Studies at [New York University](/source/New_York_University), an advisory board member for [Project Information Literacy](/source/Project_Information_Literacy) at Harvard University, and a faculty affiliate of the Center on Digital Culture and Society at the [University of Pennsylvania](/source/University_of_Pennsylvania).<ref name="D&S">{{Cite web|title=Meredith D. Clark|url=https://datasociety.net/people/clark-meredith-d/|access-date=April 24, 2021|website=Data & Society|language=en-US}}</ref>

She received a grant of $1.2 million from the [Andrew W. Mellon Foundation](/source/Andrew_W._Mellon_Foundation) to research African-American social media.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Reid|first=Whitelaw|date=November 28, 2018|title=Black Twitter 101: What Is It? Where Did It Originate? Where Is It Headed?|url=https://news.virginia.edu/content/black-twitter-101-what-it-where-did-it-originate-where-it-headed|access-date=April 25, 2021|website=UVA Today|language=en}}</ref>

As of 2021 she is an associate professor at [Northeastern University](/source/Northeastern_University).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Journalist and social media scholar to found research center focused on race, activism, and media impact |url=https://camd.northeastern.edu/news/leading-journalist-and-social-media-scholar-meredith-clark-to-found-ground-breaking-research-center-in-the-college-of-arts-media-and-design-at-northeastern-university/ |access-date=2022-08-08 |website=Northeastern CAMD |language=en-US}}</ref>

In July 2024 Clark was hired by alma mater The [UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media](/source/UNC_Hussman_School_of_Journalism_and_Media) as an associate professor of race and political communication.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://hussman.unc.edu/news/unc-hussman-welcomes-4-new-thought-leaders-in-research-and-industry-to-the-faculty | title=UNC Hussman welcomes 4 new thought leaders in research and industry to the faculty }}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Clark is married to Willie A. Green III<ref name="UVA" /> The couple live in [Charlottesville, Virginia](/source/Charlottesville%2C_Virginia).<ref name="UVA" />

== See also ==

* [Public sphere](/source/Public_sphere)

== References ==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Clark, Meredith}}
Category:People from Lexington, Kentucky
Category:Florida A&M University alumni
Category:University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni
Category:University of Virginia faculty
Category:People from Charlottesville, Virginia
Category:University of North Texas faculty
Category:Year of birth missing (living people)
Category:Living people
Category:American women academics
Category:Northeastern University faculty

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Meredith Clark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meredith_Clark) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meredith_Clark?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.