Focusing on the idea of communication as an intrinsic part of culture and as a vehicle of transformation (Carey, 2002), my work seeks to look at the concept of journalism and technology as powerful tools of development and empowerment in the developing and developed world. As a qualitative and ethnographic researcher, I am particularly interested in the ideas of participation, empowerment and the social process of development as envisaged by concepts of participatory action research. My research uses various theories of communication, citizen journalism as well as knowledge gap theories. I use both qualitative and qualitative methods and work with different citizen journalism, civic technology users, alternative and mainstream media organizations to understand how citizen journalism and civic technology works to inform and empower communities.

Hashtag activism, especially in the developing world and the digital labor involved are an area of interest. I am particularly motivated to understand social media and journalistic practices in countries where the media is under siege. I have over 25 publications in journals like Social Media + Society, Feminist Media Studies, Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, and various other Sage and Routledge publications including books on gender and media.  I’ve presented more than three dozen papers at conferences like ICA, APSA and AEJMC, and won five Top Paper awards.

A presentation on Child Safety and Cybersecurity for the The Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence (2024): https://vimeo.com/74310754

A presentation on Digital Security Education for Journalism Schools (Jan 2023): https://vimeo.com/74310754

A presentation made at a conference (ISOJ 2013) can be viewed heres here: https://vimeo.com/74310754

My published research is listed below.

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[J29] Pain P. (2024). “I know my work has effect.”– the rise of the woman citizen journalist in India. Communication Research and Practice. (PDF)

[J28] Pain P. (2022). “Will the law not protect survivors who don’t weep”: Twitter as a platform of feminist deliberation and democracy in India. New Media and Society. (PDF)

[J27] Pain P. (2021). “Framing the Affordable Healthcare Act: Examining alternative and mainstream media approaches.” Journal of Communication Inquiry. (PDF)

[J26] Pain P. (2021). “IT TOOK ME QUITE A LONG TIME TO DEVELOP A VOICE”:  Examining feminist digital activism in the Indian #Metoo movement. New Media and Society. (PDF)

[J25] Pain P. & Aaliya, A & Malik, Z. (2021).”Learning in times of COVID: Journalism education in Kashmir, India.” Journalism and Mass Communication Educator. (PDF)

[J24] Pain P. & Korin, E. (2021). “Keeping news alive in Venezuela”: Social media as tactical media.” Global Media and Communication. (PDF)

[J23] Pain P. (2020). Europe. SAGE Encyclopedia of Journalism. (PDF)

[J22] Pain P. (2020). British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). SAGE Encyclopedia of Journalism. (PDF)

[J21] Pain P. & Korin, E (2020). “Everything is dimming out, little by little:” Examining self-censorship among Venezuelan journalists. Communication Research and Practice. (PDF)

[J20] Chen, V. Y., & Pain, P. (2019). News on Facebook: How Facebook and Newspapers Build Mutual Brand Loyalty Through Audience Engagement. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly.  (PDF)

[J19] Tien Vu, Hong; McCombs M; Russell, A; Pain P. (2019). Deepening the concept of ‘compelling arguments’: Linking the substantive and affective dimensions of attributes. The Agenda Setting Journal, ASJ-19009R1. (PDF)

[J18] Pain, P. & Chen, G.M. (2019). “A chance for me to do good, make a real difference”: How citizen journalists in India view their role in social transformation’. Journal of Media Practice and Education, 1-16.  (PDF)

[J17] Pain, P. & Chen, G.M. (2019). “The President is in: Public opinion and the presidential use of Twitter”. Social Media and Society, 1-16. (PDF)

[J16] Pain, P. (2018). Educate. Empower. Revolt: Framing citizen journalism as a creator of social movements. Journalism Practice, 12(7), 799-816. (PDF)

[J15] Pain, P., & Chen, V. (2018). This Reporter is so Ugly, How can She Appear on TV? Negotiating gender online and offline in Taiwanese media. Journalism Practice, 13(2), 140-158. (PDF)

[J14] Pain, P. (2018). Ear to the ground or useless entities? Citizen journalism and mainstream media in India. Communication Research and Practice, 1-16. (PDF)

[J13] Chen, V. Y., & Pain, P. (2018). What changed public opinion on the same-sex marriage issue? New implications of attribute measures and attribute priming in media agenda setting. Newspaper Research Journal. (PDF)

[J12] Chen, Victoria, Pain, P. “News sources and the same sex marriage issue.” The Agenda Setting Journal 1, no. 2 (2017): 158-179. (PDF)

[J11] Chen, G. M., Pain, P., Chen, V. Y., Mekelburg, M., Springer, N., & Troger, F. (2018). ‘You really have to have a thick skin’: A cross-cultural perspective on how online harassment influences female journalists. Journalism, 1464884918768500. (PDF)

[J10] Pain, P. (2017). Framing citizen activism: a comparative study of the CGNET Swara and Mobile Voices projects. Media Asia, 1-14. (PDF)

[J9] Bock, M. A., Pain, P., & Jhang, J. (2017). Covering nipples: news discourse and the framing of breastfeeding. Feminist Media Studies, 1-17. (PDF)

[J8] Pain, P. (2017). “When I Ask a Question, They Look at me Strangely” An exploratory study of women political reporters in India. Journalism Practice, 1-19.10. (PDF)

[J7] Chen, G. M., & Pain, P. (2017). Normalizing online comments. Journalism Practice, 11(7), 876-892. (PDF)

[J6] Bock, M. A., Istek, P., Pain, P., & Araiza, J. A. (2016). Mastering the Mug Shot: Visual journalism and embodied gatekeeping. Journalism Studies, 1-20. (PDF)

[J5] Pain, P., Masullo Chen, G., & Campbell, C. P. (2016). Learning by Doing: Teaching Multimedia Journalism Through Coverage of the 50th Anniversary of Freedom Summer. Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, 71(4), 400-412. (PDF)

[J4] Marathe, M., O’Neill, J., Pain, P., & Thies, W. (2016, June). ICT-enabled grievance redressal in Central India: A comparative analysis. In Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (pp. 1-11). (PDF)

[J3] Marathe, M., O’Neill, J., Pain, P., & Thies, W. (2015, May). Revisiting CGNet Swara and its impact in rural India. In Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (pp. 1-10). (PDF)

[J2] Pain, P. (2013). “Finding Their Voice: Examining Some Internet-Based Initiatives That Are Changing the Face of the Indian Media Industry: An Exploratory Study. Volume 3, Number 2 Issue of the #ISOJ Journal. (PDF)

[J1] Pain, P. (2012). Wide Angled View of Afghanistan Airwaves: Radio Sahar, an Independent Women’s Community Radio Station in Herat, Afghanistan. Asia Pacific Media Educator, 22(1), 75-80. (PDF)

Peer-Reviewed Book chapters

[B17] Pain, P. (2023). Pain, P., & Chen, V. Y. (2023). THE LGBTQ ACTIVIST ON SOCIAL MEDIA. Global LGBTQ Activism: Social Media, Digital Technologies, and Protest Mechanisms, 180. (PDF)

[B16] Pain, P. (2022). “Suddenly We Were the Story”: Women Journalists, the# MeToo Movement, & Online Misogyny in India. In Gender Violence, Social Media, and Online Environments (pp. 113-129). Routledge.(PDF)

[B15] Pain., P., Mallik Z., & A, Aaliya: “CGNet Swara encourages us to participate and bring about change:” Analyzing the role of   media and development: Narratives and New Voices from India: Cases of Community Development for Social Change: 8 (Communication, Culture and Change in Asia) Alankar Kaushik (Editor), Abir Suchiang (Editor): 2022 (PDF) https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-19-2496-5_4

[B14] Saha, A., Manchanda, U., Pain, P. Exploring digital divides as a component of intersectionality through #Dalitlivesmatter moment’: ed. by Manchanda, U. Routledge, NY. 2022. (PDF)

[B13] Pain, P. Teaching Gender and Race Online. In Online Instructional Communication.ed. by Stephanie Kelly. Cambridge Scholars Publishers, USA. ISBN 13: 978-1-5275-7558-5 (2022) (PDF)

[B12] Pain, P. Testing Tolerance and Tough Topics in the Journalism and Mass Communication Classroom and on College Campuses. In Testing Tolerance: Addressing controversy in the Journalism and Mass Communication Classroom ed. by Candi carter Olson and Tracy Everbach. Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, USA. (2019) (PDF)

[B11] Pain, P. Fundamentals of Effective Social Media Posts. In Computer-Mediated Communication for Business: Theory to Practice ed. by Stephanie E Kelly. Cambridge Scholars Publishing, USA. (Forthcoming 2019) (PDF)

[B10] Pain, P. Social Media and LGBT activism in India. In Activism, Campaigning and Political Discourse on Twitter ed. by Innocent Chiluwa. Nova Science Publishing, NY. (Forthcoming 2019) (PDF)

[B9] Pain, P. “It’s hard. It’s even harder when you are a woman.”: An exploratory study of Indian women political journalists. In New Perspectives on Print Journalism in South Asia, ed. by Amelia Bonea and Michael Mann. Oxford University Press, India. (Forthcoming 2019)

[B8] Chen, G. M., Pain, P. (2018). “Never about my work, never about my motivations”: Exploring online experiences of women journalists of colour.” In Lind, R. A. (Ed.).  Race/Gender/Class/Media 4.0: Considering diversity across audiences, content, and producers. (4th ed.). New York: Routledge (2019). (PDF)

[B7] Mandell, H. (2017). The Performance of Unattainable Marital Ideals on Facebook Hinda Mandell, Gina Masullo Chen, and Paromita Pain. The Impact of Social Media in Modern Romantic Relationships, 199. (PDF)

[B6] Chen, G. M., Pain, P., & Zhang, J. (2018). # NastyWomen: Reclaiming the Twitterverse from Misogyny. In Mediating Misogyny (pp. 371-388). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. (PDF)

[B5] Chen G.M., Pain P., Barner B. (2018) “Hashtag Feminism”: Activism or Slacktivism?. In: Harp D., Loke J., Bachmann I. (eds) Feminist Approaches to Media Theory and Research. Comparative Feminist Studies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. (PDF)

[B4] McCombs, M., Zheng, P., & Pain, P. Network intermedia agenda setting.  News scholarship in a transitional age: Research in honor of Pamela J. Shoemaker, New York, NY: Peter Lang; book is under contract and forthcoming in 2018.

[B3] Chen, G. M., Pain, P., & Fadnis, D. (2016). Oversharing in a Political Sex Scandal. In Scandal in a Digital Age (pp. 131-144). Palgrave Macmillan US. (PDF)

[B2] Chen, G.M., & Pain, P. Performance of the political self on Twitter: What the Tea Party’s tweets say about its identity. In G.W. Richardson Jr. (Ed.), Social Media and Politics: A New Way to Participate in the Political Process, Praeger (2016).

[B1] Pain, P., Sayers, R. (2006). Principles of awareness raising: Information literacy, a case   study. UNESCO, 2006

Book reviews

[BR4] Pain, P. (2022). Iranian Feminism and Transnational Ethics in Media Discourse. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 0(0) (PDF)

[BR3] Pain P. (2021). Hear #MeToo in India: News, Social Media, and Anti-Rape and Sexual Harassment Activism. International Journal of Communication. (Book review) (PDF)

[BR2] Paromita Pain (2020). Asian Women Leadership. Chao, C.C. (Ed.), Ha, L. (Ed.). Asian Communication Research. (Book review) (PDF)

[BR1] Paromita Pain (2020) Digital diasporas: labor and affect in gendered Indian digital publics, Feminist Media Studies. (Book review) (PDF)

Peer-Reviewed Research Presentations

[C59] Guha, P., & Pain., P: Online, oppressed, and hesitant: Asian descent girls and racialized sexual harassment: USA SACA session at AEJMC 2023

[C58] Saha, A., Manchanda, U., Pain, P. Exploring digital divides as a component of intersectionality through #Dalitlivesmatter moment’: IAMCR, 2022.

[C57] Pain P. (2022): Beyond the diversity lesson: AEJMC panel presentation

[C56] Pain P. (2022): Intersectionality as Critical Communication Theoretical Tool: AEJMC Theory Colloquium.

[C55] Pain P. (2022): Twitter as a platform of feminist deliberation and democracy in India:  ICA 2021

[C54] Pain P. (2021): Learning in times of COVID: Journalism education in Kashmir, India. ICA 2021

[C53] Pain P. (2021): Technical interventions or innovations: Online technologies at the intersection of sex, gender, race, and sexuality. ICA 2021

[C52] Pain P., Ahmed A. & Malik, Z. (2020). “Misrepresentation is misinformation: Fighting fake news in Kashmir, India.” Presented at MAPOR 2020.

[C51] Korin, E & Pain P. (2020). Citizen journalism in Venezuela–Representative of voices or romantic fantasy? Presented at MAPOR 2020.

[C50] Pain P. & Korin, E. (2020). “Everything is dimming out, little by little:” Examining self-censorship among Venezuelan journalists.” Presented at MAPOR 2020.

[C49] Pain P. PF&R Panel Session (Presenter): Involving Students in Democracy and Journalism: Lessons from the Field: AEJMC 2020

[C48] Pain P. Developing new voices: Exploring feminist digital activism in India: Presented at AEJMC (2020).

[C47] Social media as tactical media in the fight for LGBT rights in India: (Pain, P): Presented at ICA 2019.

[C46] “News in Venezuela aren’t dying”: Examining the impact of censorship on media in Venezuela: Korin, E & Pain, P): Presented at ICA Pre Con 2019.

[C45] “It is not easy, but we hang together.” An exploratory study of women journalists in India and Bangladesh: (Pain, P & Wadud, M): Presented at AEJMC Midwinter 2019.

[C44] Battling complex issues of gender and social bias: An exploratory study of women journalists in Bangladesh: (Pain, P & Wadud, M): Presented at AEJMC Midwinter 2019.

[C43] New spaces and affordances: Social media and LGBT activism in India and Taiwan: (Pain, P & Chen, V.Y): Presented at ICA 2019.

[C42] News on Social Media: Engaging Readers and Building News Brands: Victoria Y. Chen, National Chung Cheng University, Taiwan; Pain, P, University of Nevada-Reno. MAPOR 2018

[C41] The President is in: Public opinion and the presidential use of Twitter: (Pain, P & Chen, GM): Presented at MAPOR 2018.

[C40] Reaching diverse audiences: LGBT activists on social media in Taiwan and India: (Pain, P & Chen, GM): Presented at MAPOR 2018.

[C39] Citizen journalism as a vehicle for social transformation: An Indian case study: (Pain, P): Presented at ICA 2018.

[C38] To publish or nor to publish? Graphic images of women in combat: (McEntee, R & Pain, P): Accepted at NCA 2018.

[C37] The Indian LGBT Activist on Social Media: (Pain, P): Presented at ICA 2018. (Top Paper Award)

[C36] “Facebook and newspapers online: Competing beings or complimentary entities?”: (Chen, V & Pain, P): Presented at AEJMC 2017. (Top paper Award)

[C35] ‘A chance to serve’: Community journalists in India on their role in society to the Community Journalism Interest Group. (Pain, P): Presented at AEJMC 2017 (Top paper Award)

[C34] Communicating public agendas through online comments: (Pain, P): To be presented at MAPOR 2017.

[C33] Citizen Journalism and development communication in India: An exploratory study: (Pain, P): Presented at AEJMC 2017. (Top paper award)

[C32] Mediating the media: Facebook and the dissemination of news online: (Chen, V.Y; Pain, P): To be Presented at MAPOR 2017.

[C31] “This reporter is so ugly, how can she appear on TV?”: Negotiating gender online and offline in Taiwanese media: (Pain, P., & Chen, V., 2016): Presented at ICA 2017.

[C30] Media Justice: Race, borders, disability and data: (Pain, P): Presented at ICA 2017.

[C29] A Pearl Dropped in the Ocean: Reappraising Compelling Argument in Agenda-Setting from the Affective Dimension: (Shuning, L; Hong, TV; Russell, A; Pain, P., McCombs, M; 2017): Presented at ICA 2017.

[C28] “Disrupting Routines: How Gendered Harassment in Online Comments Affects Female Journalists in the United States and Taiwan”: (Chen, G; Pain, P., & Chen, V., 2016): Presented at ICA 2017.

[C27] Gendered practices in Taiwanese newsrooms: An exploratory study: (Pain, P., & Chen, V., 2016): Presented at AEJMC Mid-Winter 2017. (Top paper Award)

[C26] Who told you that? Examining the agenda setting power of sources in mainstream and alternative media: (Pain, P., & Chen, V., 2016): Presented at MAPOR 2016.

[C25] Covering Nipples: News Discourse and the Politics and Framing of Breastfeeding: (Bock, M., Pain, P., &z, Zong., 2016) Presented at the National Communication Association.

[C24] Normalizing Online Commenting: Exploring How Journalists Deal with Incivility on News Sites: (Chen, G., & Pain, P). Presented at the AEJMC Conference 2016 (Minneapolis).

[C23] “When I ask a question, they look at me strangely”— An exploratory study of women political reporters in India: (Pain, P) Presented at the AEJMC Conference 2016 (Minneapolis).   (Top paper Award)

[C22] The battle of the sources: how diverse are alternative and mainstream media in their use of news sources?: (Pain, P). Presented at the AEJMC Midwinter Conference 2016.

[C21] Media sources and the same sex marriage issue: Through the lens of the agenda setting theory: (Chen, VY.,  P., & Pain, P.). Presented at WAPOR 2016

[C20] OBAMACARE in the news: An alternate and mainstream media frame comparison: (Chen, G.M., & Pain, P.). Presented at the WAPOR 2016

[C19] What changed public opinion on the same sex marriage issue? New implications of attributes in media agenda setting: (Chen, VY.,  P., & Pain, P.). Presented at the International Communication Association, 2016

[C18] Psychological geography through the eyes of the New York Times and People’s Daily: A network agenda-setting analysis. (McCombs, M., Zheng P., & Pain, P.). Presented at the International Communication Association, 2016.

[C17] Marathe, M., O’Neill, J., Pain, P., & Thies, W. (2016, June). ICT-enabled grievance redressal in Central India: A comparative analysis. In Proceedings of the Eighth International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (pp. 1-11).

[C16] No Women’s Land – An Exploratory Study of Women Political Journalists in India: (Pain, P.) Presented at the Commission on the Status of Women at the AEJMC Midwinter Conference 2016.  (Top abstract)

[C15] Framing ‘Obamacare: Comparing Frames of the Affordable Care Act in Mainstream and Alternative media– Pain, P. & Chen, G.M., (2015).  Presented at the MAPOR 2015.

[C14] Computer analysis for understanding compelling arguments. Big data and the unemployment issue in 2011—Saldaña M & Pain, P., Presented at the MAPOR 2015

[C13] Teaching multimedia journalism to high school students through the lens of Freedom Summer— Pain, P., Chen, G.M., & Campbell, C. P. (2015).  Presentation at the AEJMC 2015 Conference

[C12] Why just my children? This is for all our children – The rise of the woman citizen journalist in India: (Pain, P). Presentation at the AEJMC 2015 Conference in San Francisco (Top Student paper Award winner)

[C11] “A chance for me to do good, make a real difference”:(Pain, P, 2015). How citizen journalists in India view their struggles and ability for social transformation: Presented at the Union for Democratic Communications conference, Circuits of Struggle, in Toronto, Ontario, May 1-3, 2015.

[C10] Citizen journalism and The Knowledge Gap Theory: (Pain, P, 2015). Bridging gaps and creating informed audiences: AEJMC Mid-Winter Conference Norman, OK.

[C9] Marathe, M., O’Neill, J., Pain, P., & Thies, W. (2015, May). Revisiting CGNet Swara and its impact in rural India. In Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (pp. 1-10).

[C8] Citizen Journalism and Mainstream Media—Competing Entities or Complementary Beings? (Pain, P): Presented MAPOR 2014 

[C7] Framing mobile media activism: A comparative study of the CGNET Swara and Mobile Voices outlets (Pain, P) (Participatory Journalism Interest Group Division/Interest Group for participation in the 2014 AEJMC Research Paper Competition.)

[C6] Mediating nation-ness: Nationhood and national identity in Indian and Pakistani media, 1947-1997, (Sahin, S. & Pain, P.) (Top paper award) Markham Student Paper Competition-International Communication Division, AEJMC 2014

[C5] Examining some internet based initiatives that is Changing the face of the Indian Media Industry at the 14th International Symposium on Online Journalism held at the University of Texas at Austin (2013).

[C4] Paper presented at the Association of Social Anthropologists of the UK and Commonwealth Conference, 2012, India, titled Citizen Video Producers Changing Indian Media (http://tinyurl.com/89q4ncg)

[C3] Media in situations of conflict: Facilitators and Builders. (Pain, P, 2012): Reporting religion: Dilemmas of Public Discourse Singapore Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.

[C2] Bridging Gaps: The Mobile Way to Sexual and Reproductive Health: (Pain, P, 2011) 110th Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association November 16-20, 2011 Montreal, QC, Canada (http://tinyurl.com/6w2tn6w)

[C1] Children and Disaster Communication: (Pain, P, 2005). Workshop on Awareness Raising in Disaster Management: UNESCO and the National Science Foundation in Sri Lanka.