Susan Murray is assistant professor of Culture and Communication at NYU. Her research interests include media history and theory; teen media culture; gender issues; stardom. Her work has appeared in journals such as Television and New Media (2001) and Cinema Journal (2002) as well as numerous anthologies. She is the co-editor (with Laurie Ouellette) of Startling! Heartbreaking! Real!: Reality TV and the Re-making of Television Culture (NYU Press, 2003) and is completing a book on stardom in early television. She earned her Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Austin. [Adapted from the N.Y.U. website.]