Manuel Chavez

Manuel Chavez is a Professor in the School of Journalism at Michigan State University, affiliated with the Julian Samora Research Institute and Chicano/Latino Studies Program. He serves as Co-Director of the International Collaboratory on Crisis Communication and President of the Association for Latino Media Markets and Communication Research, following prior leadership roles in the Association for Borderlands Studies and Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies.

His research centers on sociology of media, media law, and crisis reporting with emphasis on disinformation dynamics and international press systems in Ibero America. He examines accountability frameworks, access-to-information models, and minority representation in U.S. media, extending to environmental/science/health reporting contexts.

Dr. Chavez secures grants from National Science Foundation, Tinker Foundation, US Department of Education, US Department of State, and NEH while serving as expert reviewer for federal competitions and academic journals. He engages media outlets including NPR, BBC, and UNIVISION as a regular commentator on journalism issues.

He operates within the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism, Health and Risk Communication Center, and Center for Journalism Studies, teaching graduate-level courses in media law, crisis reporting, qualitative research methods, and sociology of journalism.