Digital Cultures · Journalism · Media
I study how people seek truth, justice, and belief on platforms, and what happens when algorithms become the new sites of authority.
About
I'm a digital cultures scholar finishing my Ph.D. at the University of Iowa, with thirteen years of teaching experience and a past life as a television news producer in San Diego.
My research asks what happens when publics look to platforms, not courts or newsrooms, to do the work of truth-finding, judgment, and justice. I'm drawn to the questions formal disciplines often treat separately: Who gets believed? Who gets held accountable? And what happens when a recommendation feed starts answering those questions instead? I think the best research starts with genuine curiosity about how ordinary people make sense of extraordinary systems.
On my personal laptop, I keep a folder titled "nice things students say." This is a collection of emails, letters, and unsolicited pieces of feedback to keep me encouraged during times of stress. They remind me that good teaching is collaborative, not performative. The work we do matters.
My Ph.D. cohort at the University of Iowa, the colleagues who turn a dissertation into something survivable, and often joyful.
Graduate student awards ceremony at the University of Iowa, celebrating the work, and the people who will carry it into the next classroom.
Planning a research project with Ph.D. students, the kind of collaborative work that rarely shows up on a CV, but shapes everything that does.
Research
As formal institutions lose credibility, where does the public turn instead, and what does that migration of trust cost, and produce?
My book project, Digital Divination, theorizes the algorithmic feed as an emerging site of civic and spiritual authority. Drawing on TikTok creators, comments, and videos, I trace how audiences construct belief around opaque recommendation systems, in terms structurally similar to divination.
What happens when crowds on TikTok hold alleged perpetrators accountable when legal channels fail? I examine crowdsourced justice campaigns, distinguish ethical accountability from vigilantism, and study how participatory podcast journalism redistributes authority.
Whose geography, language, and labor get built into algorithmic systems? Using VPN-simulated location methods, I study how platforms and generative AI systems produce uneven epistemic claims across physical and infrastructural contexts.
Teaching
I spent my early teaching years running classrooms like newsrooms: strict deadlines, critical feedback, heavy workloads. Students left with technical skills but not always a sense of why their work mattered. Over thirteen years, my philosophy shifted: I design courses so students can shape their own trajectories, not mine.
My signature lesson, "That can't be right," uses counterintuitive statistics to create productive cognitive dissonance. Students unpack not just what they misunderstood, but why, interrogating how media narratives and social media shape what feels like common sense.
5.6 to 6.0/6.0
Consistent student evaluation scores · Outstanding Teaching Award, 2026
Receiving the 2026 Outstanding Teaching Award, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Iowa.
Speaking on a panel about kindness pedagogy, making the case that rigorous teaching and care for students are not opposites.
PR class field trip to the San Diego County Administration Courthouse to watch a live CDC press conference. Point Loma Nazarene University, 2020.
Outside the San Diego County Administration Center after the press conference visit, the side of teaching that never makes it into a syllabus.
Student Voices
Search committees see the teaching statement. This is what students say when nobody is grading them for it.
“There's a difference between a professor who is simply ‘chill’ and one who creates a space where students feel comfortable participating, and she's done the latter.”
“Professor Witmer comes across as relaxed and friendly, but I've also realized how intentional she is with the way she structures class and how much experience she brings. The ‘fun and chill’ part is still true, but it's paired with high expectations and a strong understanding of the journalism world.”
“As the semester has gone on, I've realized she isn't just easygoing; she's also incredibly patient, supportive, and genuinely interested in helping us improve.”
“Professor Witmer brings a grounded, patient, and understanding attitude to her teaching and seems genuinely invested in her students as people.”
“She was considerate of our time and existing knowledge and explained concepts in terms that made sense and were approachable.”
“I was very pleased to be in such a warm environment that Sarah created. From each class, I can tell even more how much she cares about her students and their success inside and outside of her classroom.”
“I really enjoy coming to this class because I feel as though I am actually learning valuable information that will benefit me in the future, and I am learning it from someone who is passionate about what she has to say… I genuinely get a positive vibe from her whenever I enter the classroom.”
Selected Writing
2027
Bloomsbury Academic · Book under contract
2026
Journalism and Media, 7(1) · Research Excellence Award
doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia70100202025
Social Media + Society, 11(3)
doi.org/10.1177/205630512513824732025
In M. Perrotta (Ed.), Podcast in the Future of Journalism (p. 45) · Roma Tre University Press · with David O. Dowling
2024
Journalism and Media, 5(4) · with David O. Dowling
doi.org/10.3390/journalmedia5040104Under review
Crime, Media, Culture
Under review
Law & Society Review
Accepted
Media and Communication · Kananovich, Jung, Stoldt, Ekdale, Zhang, Hossain, & Witmer
Accepted
In S. Wamba (Ed.), Organizational Implications of Digital Sovereignty in the Age of AI · IGI Global Scientific Publishing · Hunt, Berthon, & Witmer
Contact
Whether you're on a search committee, a potential collaborator, or a student with a question, I'd love to hear from you.