Wendy Melillo

Wendy Melillo is an Associate Professor of Journalism and media historian. She studies how persuasive communication influences American society. Melillo was a reporter for The Washington Post, earning a Pulitzer Prize nomination and an award from the White House Correspondents' Association for her coverage of the United Way scandal. She spent nearly a decade covering political advertising and strategic communication planning for the business publication Adweek before joining SOC. Her forthcoming research article, “Using Media to Popularize Hate: A Study of Henry Ford and Charles E. Coughlin's Antisemitic Language,” will be published by American Journalism in August 2026.