Academic Biography

Katie Hedberg is currently a second year master's student in the Department of Communication at North Dakota State University working on her master's thesis. She graduated with her B.A. from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota in 2008 with a dual major in public relations and print journalism and a minor in French.

Hedberg works mostly with public relations research, social media and mass media. Hedberg is very interested in the impact that social and mass media have on everyday life contexts. More specifically, she is interested in the impact social media has on the field of public relations. She is a strong believer in the applied nature of research, choosing studies that can have direct application in everyday life. Just one example is her master's thesis, which highlights how public relations organizations can use social networking sites to connect and interact with their publics.

Hedberg is currently working on a few research projects. She is collaborating with Whitney Frahm and Ashley Fandrich on a study of sexual communication between mothers and daughters. She also recently finished researching how social media can impact health information seeking behaviors. Hedberg will soon be starting a project looking at information seeking behaviors of for-profit organizations on Facebook as well.

Hedberg is currently teaching public speaking courses at NDSU. She has also taught courses in media writing. Hedberg has had much experience in public relations, including work with Concordia College Habitat for Humanity and the Chamber of Commerce of Fargo Moorhead. She has also worked as a journalist for both her college and hometown newspaper.