Akshaya Chandrasekaran

Doctoral Advisor: Keren Henderson, Ph.D.

Education:
M.A., Mass Communication, Symbiosis International University

B.S., Electronic Media, University of Madras

Areas of Research: Journalism studies, media effects, and political communication

Presentations: & Publications:

Chandrasekaran, A. (2026, August). A multimodal critical discourse analysis of Orientalist representations of India on TikTok following the 2020 platform ban. AEJMC Annual Conference, New Orleans. [Poster]

Bio: Akshaya is a quantitative, mixed-methods researcher who focuses on political communication, journalism studies, and media effects research with a special interest in podcasts as a medium. She holds an M.A. in mass communication from Symbiosis International University, India. Prior to joining the Ph.D. program, Akshaya worked as a multimedia journalist for half a decade, contributing to India's top news publications such as The Hindu Group and The Ken. During her time at The Ken, she hosted and produced a podcast show, which went on to become one of the top ten best new shows of 2024 on Spotify India. Her experience joining a COVID newsroom and working with both legacy newspapers and media startups has informed her research interests.