Educational Background

Ph.D. in mass communication, University of Florida, 2010 

M.A. in communication, University of South Florida, 2007 

B.A. in communication, Bethany Lutheran College, 2003

Professional Experience

Prior to joining the faculty at Florida Tech, Dr. Petersen taught communication courses at the University of Florida and Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Fla. He taught Introduction to Public Speaking, Introduction to Interpersonal Communication, Nonverbal Communication, and Writing for Mass Media. He has also written for Florida TODAY, the Gainesville Sun, the Independent Florida Alligator, and the Florida Engineer. Before beginning his doctoral work, Dr. Petersen worked for the UF athletic association.

Additional Duties

Faculty adviser for the Florida Tech Crimson, the campus newspaper.

Current Courses

COM 5320 New Media and Strategic Communication

COM 5145 Qualitative Research Methods

COM 4226 Online Reporting

COM 3225 Reporting

COM 4301 Media Production-Audio

COM 2225 Writing for Media

COM 2223 Scientific and Technical Communication

COM 0110 Basic Writing

Selected Publications

Petersen, T.G. (2024). Trauma Tips from journalists who covered mass shootings. Teaching Journalism and Mass Communication 14(1): 2-10.

Petersen, T.G. (2021). Bob Dylan’s “New Journalism” coverage of Rubin “Hurricane” Carter’s battle for justice. Studies in Popular Culture 43(2): 1-23.

Petersen, T.G. (2020). Singing the News: How Bob Dylan’s “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll” Functions as Underground Journalism. Americana 19(2): 1-18. http://www.americanpopularculture.com/journal/articles/fall_2020/petersen.htm

Petersen, T.G. (2020). (Book review). Ode to Local Daily Journalism: Gabordi, Bob, The Truth: Real Stories and the Risk of Losing a Free Press. Teaching Journalism and Communication 10(2): 68-70. 

Petersen, T.G., and Soundararajan, S. (2020). Covering Pulse: Understanding the lived experience of journalists who covered a mass shooting. The Qualitative Report 25(1): 74-87.

Petersen, T.G. (2019). (Book Review.) Tweedy, Jeff. Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back): A Memoir of Recording and Discording with Wilco, etc.  Popular Culture Studies Journal 7(1): 192-195.

Petersen, T.G., Boyd, A., Clark, K., and Castor, E.J. (2016). To binge or not to binge: A qualitative analysis of binge watching habits of college students.  Florida Communication Journal 44(1): 77-88.

Petersen, T.G. (2015). Prisoners and Guards: Bob Dylan, George Jackson, and Popular Memory. Popular Culture Studies Journal 3(1): 34-64.

Petersen, T.G. (2015). Revenue and the reporter: Understanding the Modern Journalist’s Relationship with Newspaper Business Models. Florida Communication Journal 43(1): 73-86.

Petersen, T. (2014). Understanding the necessity of free speech events. Teaching Journalism and Mass Communication 3 (1).

Research

Dr. Petersen reseaches how journalists experience the modern newsroom. He specializes in qualiative research and in-depth interviews. Past research focused on the role of popular culture artifacts on collective memory. His doctoral research examined how Bob Dylan's music of the 1960s and '70s shaped, and continue to shape, popular memory. Dr. Petersen is also exploring the way new media impacts the way news is distributed, created, and used.