Bruno Takahashi Ph.D.

Bruno Takahashi is a professor of environmental journalism and communication at Michigan State University with a joint appointment in the School of Journalism and AgBioResearch. Dr. Takahashi is the research director of the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism. He is also affiliated to the Health and Risk Communication Center, the Environmental Science and Policy Program, and the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies at MSU. He received his bachelor's degree in communication from the University of Lima, Peru, and his M.S. and Ph.D in environmental science from SUNY ESF. His research interests include media coverage of environmental affairs, environmental journalism practices, risk communication, and the links between media and policy. He has a particular interest in the coverage of environmental issues in Latin America media and US Latino media.

Current research projects:

• "Intercultural Science Communication Research and Training to Broaden Participation Among Historically Minoritized Science Practitioners." Project funded by the National Science Foundation (2021-2026).

• Environmental risk perceptions among recent Latin American and Caribbean immigrants: The role of information sources and acculturation processes. Project funded by the Diversity Research Network, Launch Awards Program, MSU (2020-2021).

• "Infrastructure collapse and its effects on news practices during Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico." Project funded by the National Science Foundation (2018-2022).

Recent publications:

• Van Witsen, A. & Takahashi, B. (2021). How science journalists verify numbers and statistics in news stories: Towards a theory. Journalism Practice, 1-20.

• Duan, R., Takahashi, B., & Zwickle, A. K. (2021). Refining the application of construal level theory: Egocentric and nonegocentric psychological distances in climate change visual communication. Environmental Communication.

• Hautea, S., Parks, P., Takahashi, B., & Zeng, J. (2021). Showing they care (or don’t): Affective publics and ambivalent climate activism on TikTok. Social Media + Society. https://doi.org/10.1177/20563051211012344

• Duan, R., Takahashi, B., & Zwickle, A. K. (2021). How engaging are concrete images? The moderating role of construal level in climate change visual communication. Science Communication. https://doi.org/10.1177/10755470211008192

• Camacho, K., Portelli, R. A., Shortridge, A. M., Takahashi, B. (2021). Sentiment mapping: Point pattern analysis of sentiment classified Twitter data. Cartography and Geographic Information Science, 48(3), 241-257. DOI: 10.1080/15230406.2020.1869999

• Albert, L. & Takahashi, B. (2021). Emergency communications policies in Puerto Rico: Regulatory institutions and stakeholders’ interaction during Hurricane Maria. Telecommunications Policy, 45(3).

• Takahashi, B., Adams, E., & Nissen, J. (2020). The Flint water crisis: Local reporting, community attachment, and environmental justice. Local Environment, 25(5), 365-380. 

• Dorrance Hall, E., Ma, M., Azimova, D., Campbell, N. L., Ellithorpe, M., Plasencia, J., Chavez, M, Zeldes, G., Takahashi, B., Bleakley, A., Hennessy, M. (2021). The mediating role of family and cultural food beliefs on the relationship between family communication patterns and diet and health issues across racial/ethnic groups. Health Communication, 36(5), 593-605.    

• Takahashi, B., Zhang, Q., Chavez, M. (2020). Preparing for the worst: Lessons for news media after Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. Journalism Practice. 14(9), 1106-1124.

Teaching

• JRN 365 International News and Governments  (Spring)

• JRN 372 Environment, Health, and Science Jrn Seminar (Spring)

• JRN 873 Environment, Health, and Science Jrn Seminar (Fall)

• Education Abroad (Summer 2018): Environmental Communication and International News in Peru. Summer 2018 program blog 

• Education Abroad (Summer 2022): Environmental and Science Communication in the Netherlands and Belgium

Research Director, Knight Center for Environmental Journalism

Interim Director, Journalism Ph.D. program

Immediate past Chair, Environmental Communication Division, International Communication Association

Associate Editor, Environmental Communication

Environmental journalism

Environmental Communication

Environmental behaviors

Latin America

Research Centers and Labs

Knight Center for Environmental Journalism
Health and Risk Communication Center