Paula Poindexter is an expert on newspaper and television news, including audience, content and coverage content, and leadership and management in the industry. She also studies ethics in research methodologies in the newspaper and television news industries.

Prior to joining the School of Journalism faculty, she worked on both the editorial and business sides of the news media industry. She was a manager and executive at the Los Angeles Times, where she conducted editorial research, participated in the development of pioneering electronic publishing projects and initiated and directed regional, national and international programs to engage young people in the news and increase newspaper readership. She also worked as a reporter and producer at KPRC-TV, the NBC affiliate in Houston.