Jack J. Valenti School of Communication

Gheni Platenburg is an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Houston, formerly of Auburn University, where she primarily teaches news writing, multimedia journalism and solutions journalism courses. Her research agenda primarily focuses on the intersection of Black identity and media, which includes the historic and contemporary Black Press, pop culture and racial impact on journalistic decision-making, identity negotiation and newsroom experiences.

Platenburg earned a doctorate in media and public affairs from Louisiana State University. Prior to her career in academia, she worked full time as a multimedia journalist at both newspapers and television stations across the South. In addition to teaching, she currently works as a freelance journalist for both The Washington Post and Solutions Journalism talent networks. Her recent bylines have appeared in The Washington Post, The Lilly and Yes! Magazine.

Her first co-authored book “Lizzo’s Black, Female and Fat Resistance,” was published with Palgrave MacMillan in May 2021. Other recent publications include a co-authored article, “The 2020 Presidential Election: An Examination of the Social Media Messaging of Divine-9 Sororities & Fraternities,” published in the Southwest Mass Communication Journal, and the book chapter, “Black and Quarantined: Celebrating Black Identity During COVID-19 via Instagram.”

She holds memberships with the National Association of Black Journalists; the American Journalism Historians Association; the Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting; and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.