Katerina Eva Matsa

Katerina Eva Matsa serves as the director of news and information research at Pew Research Center, specializing in news habits and attitudes in the United States and Europe. Matsa focuses on the impact of technology and politics on the news and information environment, employing multiple methodologies, including survey methods, content analysis, and computational science. Her work operates at the intersection of journalism, political science, and data, contributing significantly to contemporary media research.

Matsa's research addresses key questions in modern media, with studies covering local news, social media, news consumption, political polarization, and media habits. She led a study on news influencers through the Pew-Knight Initiative, a partnership between The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. This project examined a sample of 500 popular news influencers and their content, based on a review of more than 28,000 social media accounts, as well as a nationally representative survey of Americans to better understand news consumption from influencers. Her findings highlight a shift in how Americans consume information, noting that news organizations are no longer the sole source of news.

Matsa's work also explores trends in public trust and media consumption. Her research indicates that young Americans trust news and information from social media at about the same rate as news from national news organizations. She has authored studies on network and local television, political polarization and media habits, Millennials and news, and long-form reading on mobile devices, providing insight into the evolving media landscape.

In addition to her research, Matsa provides commentary to NPR, BBC, and World Economic Forum, and regularly engages with academic, commercial, nonprofit, and government stakeholders in North America and Europe. She holds an M.A. in communication, culture and technology from Georgetown University, an M.Sc. in politics and government in the EU from London School of Economics, and a B.A. in political science and history from Panteion University of Athens, Greece. Matsa also completed graduate work in the communications doctoral program at American University. Her early career includes roles at the office of Rep. Shelley Berkley, the public relations firm Ketchum, and as a trainee for the European Commission's DG for Communication. Matsa's combination of policy experience, academic training, and research output positions her as a credible expert on the news and information ecosystem.