Kathryn Cramer Brownell, professor of history at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, has been awarded the 2024 Eugene M. Palmegiano Prize in the History of Journalism from the American Historical Association. She is being honored for her book, 24/7 Politics: Cable Television and the Fragmenting of America from Watergate to Fox News (Princeton University Press, 2023). The book discusses the political battle over cable television from the 1960s through present day.
Dr. Brownell joined the Purdue University faculty in 2013 as an assistant professor of history in the College of Liberal Arts. She previously served as a faculty fellow with the Purdue Center for Instructional Excellence and with the Institute for Civic Communications. Currently, she serves as the director of graduate education for the department of history. She holds faculty affiliations with the American studies program and the School of Interdisciplinary Studies.
As a scholar, Dr. Brownell specializes in United States history, particularly twentieth-century political history, the American presidency, and the media. Her first book, Showbiz Politics: Hollywood in American Political Life (University of North Carolina Press, 2014), explores celebrity political culture and how entertainment became a central feature of American politics.
Dr. Brownell holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. from Boston University.