AF Battocchio

Ava Francesca Battocchio is an assistant professor of journalism at Medill, where they specialize in community information systems and rural media environments.

Using a mixed methods approach that combines ethnographic fieldwork, computational analysis of social media and historical data, and spatial mapping, Battocchio explores how people navigate and make sense of the information that shapes their daily lives. Battocchio's research investigates how residents in rural, remote, and post-industrial communities—especially across the Upper Great Lakes—learn about public issues amid technological change, digital inequality, and shifting local news landscapes. Their work emphasizes the flow of civic and critical information within hybrid media ecosystems, focusing on the roles of local journalism, non-news organizations, volunteer moderators, interpersonal storytelling, and place-based identity.

Battocchio’s research has been published in Digital Journalism, Communication Theory, The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Information, Communication, & Society, and the Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising. In 2021, they received the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication News Audience Research Award. They have contributed to projects supported by the National Science Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, and the Merit Network, and serve as a member of the advisory board for the American Communities Project.

As a non-traditional undergraduate student, Battocchio draws on experiences from before returning to the classroom, including work with feminist zine collectives and community-centered guerrilla media projects. They also collaborated with nonprofits like Chicago for Chicagoans and Gary's Decay Devils on storytelling initiatives that bring local history to diverse audiences. This experience with alternative print media, grassroots distribution, and community partnerships influences their research, focusing on how communities share and produce information outside mainstream media.

Battocchio continues this community-driven approach by working with nonprofits in Michigan's Upper Peninsula to enhance information access through community-driven initiatives tailored to local digital connectivity and news environments. Their efforts aim to make academic research more participatory and aligned with community needs.