Meg Heckman

Meg Heckman is an Associate Professor of Journalism at Northeastern University’s School of Journalism and Media Innovation, part of the College of Arts, Media, and Design. She is a faculty affiliate of the NULab for Digital Humanities and Computational Social Science and the Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program. Her research focuses on feminist media history and contemporary local news sustainability, leveraging qualitative and computational methods to explore gender dynamics in journalism and digital innovation.

Heckman holds a BA in English from the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and an MA in Journalism from Northeastern University. Her book *Political Godmother: Nackey Scripps Loeb and the Newspaper That Shook the Republican Party* (2020) examines the influence of conservative publisher Nackey Scripps Loeb on American politics through her New Hampshire newspaper.

Her work bridges academia and industry: she advises *The Scope*, a hyperlocal news outlet, and has written for outlets like *WBUR Cognoscenti*, *Politico Magazine*, and *Columbia Journalism Review*. Awards include the CAMD Excellence in Teaching Award (2025) and a Michael S. Sweeny Award finalist nod (2024).

Heckman teaches courses on reporting, digital storytelling, and gender in the newsroom. She advocates for inclusive media ecosystems, addressing challenges like news deserts and gender equity in journalism education. Her research also explores AI applications in journalism, with projects supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Miami Foundation.

Professionally, she has served as president of the New Hampshire Press Association, a Pulitzer Prize juror, and on AEJMC’s Commission on the Status of Women. Her career includes over a decade as a journalist at the *Concord Monitor*, where she developed expertise in local news and digital editing.