Carol Liebler’s research centers on media and diversity issues, and particularly on gender as it intersects with race and ethnicity. Her research explores news media visibility and the concepts of absence and symbolic annihilation. In this context she has studied missing children and women, including media critiques of “The Missing White Woman Syndrome.” A related area of interest is hegemonic beauty ideals across various media platforms, especially in the United States and China.
Liebler’s teaching includes quantitative and qualitative research methods; mass communications theory; race, gender and media; and media, gender and beauty ideals. She also teaches media and diversity, a graduate course she pioneered in the Newhouse curriculum.
Liebler has published her work in such journals as Asian Journal of Communication; Communication, Culture and Critique; Howard Journal of Communications; Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media; Journal of Communication; Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly; and Journalism Practice. She is co-editor of "Media scholarship in a transitional age: Research in honor of Pamela J. Shoemaker" (2018). She serves on the editorial boards of Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly and Journalism and Mass Communication Educator.
Liebler was the Newhouse Rotating Chair of Public Communications 2019-2022. In 2017 she received the Newhouse Excellence in Research Mentoring Award and in 2008 she was recipient of the Syracuse University Excellence in Graduate Education Faculty Recognition Award. From 2011 to 2012 she was a visiting professor at the University of Macau, China.
Liebler is past director of the Newhouse Ph.D. and Media Studies programs, a former head of the Mass Communication and Society division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) and former chair of AEJMC's Standing Committee on Research. She also chaired AEJMC's oversight committee on diversity and has served on AEJMC's publications committee.