Fiorito

Roberta Fiorito is an instructor of record and doctoral student at the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Georgia, Athens. Prior to pursuing her Ph.D., she worked for nine years at PureWow, a digital lifestyle magazine based in New York City, as a Director of Branded Content and previously, as News Editor. She also cohosted a news and entertainment podcast, called 'Royally Obsessed,' and co-wrote a book, titled 'Royal Trivia: Your Guide to the Modern British Royal Family.' She has appeared as a guest expert on CNN, NPR, MSNBC, BBC and Times Radio London, among others.

Her previous industry experience and academic pursuits, including serving as a Graduate Teaching Fellow while earning her Master of Business Administration degree from NYU's Stern School of Business, reflect her dedication to exploring the future of news, digital media, magazines, podcasting and local journalism.

Education

• M.B.A., Stern School of Business, New York University
• B.S. in Journalism, minor in Business Administration, University of Florida Honors College

PUBLICATIONS

Fiorito, R. (2025). Book Review: Margot Susca, "Hedged: How Private Investment Helped Destroy American Newspapers and Undermine Democracy." News Research Journal, 46(1), 195-196. https://doi.org/10.1177/30497841241312966

Bowie, R. and Fiorito, R. Royal Trivia: Your Guide to the Modern British Royal Family. Ulysses Press, 2021.

Refereed conference papers & presentations

Fiorito, R. (2026). “Catfishing, Clickbait & Single Mothers: Representation of Women Journalists in Peacock Series The Paper,” 2026 PCA conference, Atlanta, GA.

Fiorito, R. & Assmann, K. (2026). “Building a Lifestyle vs. an Empire: How Substack Journalists Reimagine Newsroom Norms, Reporting Beats and Role Conceptions,” 2026 AEJMC Southeast Colloquium, March. Tampa, FL.

Assmann, K. & Fiorito, R. (2026). “The Paper: Mocking or Paying Tribute to Community News? Metajournalistic Discourse Repairing a Broken Local News Paradigm,” 2026 AEJMC Southeast Colloquium, March. Tampa, FL.

Lough, K. & Fiorito, R. (2025). “Behind the Lens, Beyond the Fee: Barriers to Entry in the ‘Best of Photojournalism’ Competition.” 2025 AEJMC conference, San Francisco, CA.

Fiorito, R. (2025). “What Comes After News Deserts? Identifying the Markers of the Potential ‘News Oasis,’” 2025 AEJMC Southeast Colloquium, March. Chapel Hill, NC.

Fiorito, R. (2025). “Financing the Fourth Estate: The Impact of Local Newspaper Ownership Type on Self-Reported Civic Engagement,” 2025 AEJMC Southeast Colloquium, March. Chapel Hill, NC.

RESEARCH AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

Michael Schoenecke Graduate Student Grant presented by the Pop Culture Association, 2026