Erika Franklin Fowler (Ph.D., University of Wisconsin – Madison) is Assistant Professor of Government at Wesleyan University where she directs the Wesleyan Media Project, which tracks and analyzes all political ads aired on broadcast television in real-time during elections. Fowler specializes in political communication – local media and campaign advertising in particular – and her work on local coverage of politics and policy has been published in political science, communication, law/policy, and medical journals.

At Wesleyan, Fowler teaches courses in American Politics, media and politics, campaigns and elections, public opinion, and empirical methods.  She has secured $1.5M in grants supporting both the Wesleyan Media Project’s efforts and her other research on health policy, and her work with the Media Project has been cited extensively in the nation’s leading media outlets.

Fowler graduated summa cum laude with a BA in mathematics and political science from St. Olaf College.  Prior to arriving at Wesleyan University, she spent two years as a Robert Wood Johnson Scholar in Health Policy Research at the University of Michigan and five years as the Research Director of the University of Wisconsin NewsLab, one of the largest and most systematic local TV tracking projects ever conducted. In addition to her media commentary on election advertising, Fowler has extensive professional experience in conducting survey and focus group research.  She also serves on the ABC News Election Night Decision Desk and occasionally gives talks to health journalists about how to improve their reporting.