Vargo, C., Hopp, T. (2021). Systems and Methods for Detecting Social Diversity and Inclusion. Patent Application. No. 63/133,741. CU Reference No.: CU5462B–PPA1. Filed Jan 4th, 2022.
Vargo, C. (2024) The Computational Content Analyst: Using Machine Learning to Classify Media Messages. Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/The-Computational-Content-Analyst-Using-Machine-Learning-to-Classify-Media-Messages/Vargo/p/book/9781032846309
Shaw, D., Minooie, M., Aikat, D., & Vargo, C. (2019). Agendamelding: News, social media, audiences, and civic community. New York, NY: Peter Lang. https://doi.org/10.3726/b15023
Amazeen, M., Vargo, C., & Hopp, T. (2018). Reinforcing attitudes in a gatewatching news era: Individual–level antecedents to sharing fact–checks on social media. Communication Monographs, 86(1), 112–132. https://doi.org/10.1080/03637751.2018.1521984
Vargo, C. J. , & Hopp, T. (in press). Incivility on popular politics and news subreddits: An analysis of in-groups, community guidelines and relationships with social media engagement [Accepted October 27, 2025]. Social Science Computer Review.
Hopp, T., Ferrucci, P., Vargo, C. J., & Mays, B. (2025). Mainstream news media trust, countermedia attendance, and political learning. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/10776990251329044
Vargo, C. J., & Minooie, M. (2025). Breaking Agenda Setting Boundaries: A Multi-Dimensional Approach to Understanding Salience of Gun Control in the Polarized Public Sphere. Mass Communication & Society, 28(3), 530–553. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2024.2333972
Vargo, C. J., Hopp, T., & Agarwal, P. (2024). Balancing Brand Safety and User Engagement in a Two-Sided Market: An Analysis of Content Monetization on Reddit. Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising, 45(2), 242–256. https://doi.org/10.1080/10641734.2023.2301621
Minooie, M., Taylor, B., & Vargo, C. (2023). Agendamelding and COVID-19: the dance of horizontal and vertical media in a pandemic. Frontiers in Political Science. (5)2023. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpos.2023.1021855
Hopp, T., Ferrucci, P., Vargo, C., & Liu, L. (2025). Is Online Textual Political Expression Associated with Political Knowledge? Communication Research, 52(1), 32–60. https://doi.org/10.1177/00936502221113808
Schmierbach, M., McCombs, M., Valenzuela, S., Dearing, J. W., Guo, L., Iyengar, S., Kiousis, S., Kosicki, G. M., Meraz, S., Scheufele, D. A., Stoycheff, E., Vargo, C., Weaver, D. H., & Willnat, L. W. (2022). Reflections on a Legacy: Thoughts from Scholars about Agenda-Setting Past and Future. Mass Communication and Society, 25(4), 500-527. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2022.2067725
Vargo, C. (2022). Public "agendamelding" in the United States: Assessing the relative influence of different types of online news on partisan agendas from 2015 to 2020. Journal of Information Technology & Politics. 19(3), 284-301. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19331681.2021.1972893
Blankenship, J. & Vargo, C. (2022). The Effect of Corporate Media Ownership on Depth of Local Coverage and Issue Agendas: A Computational Case Study of Six Sinclair TV Station Websites. Electronic News, 15(3-4), 139-158. https://doi.org/10.1177/19312431211043483
Vargo, C. & Amazeen, M. (2021). Agenda-Cutting Versus Agenda-Building: Does Sponsored Content Influence Corporate News Coverage in U.S. Media? International Journal of Communication 15(2021), 1–22. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/17824
Amazeen, M. & Vargo, C. (2021). Sharing Native Advertising on Twitter: Content Analyses Examining Disclosure Practices and Their Inoculating Influence. Journalism Studies 22(7), 916–933. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2021.1906298
Hopp, T., Ferrucci, P., Fisher, J., Vargo, C. (2020). Exposure to Difference on Facebook, Trust, and Political Knowledge. Mass Communication & Society. 23(6), 779–809. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2020.1823002
Guo, L., & Vargo, C. (2020). Predictors of international news flow: Exploring a networked global media system. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media. 64(3), 418–437. https://doi.org/10.1080/08838151.2020.1796391
Hopp, T., Ferrucci, P., & Vargo, C. (2020). Why Do People Share Ideologically Extreme, False, and Misleading Content on Social Media? A Self–Report and Trace Data–Based Analysis of Countermedia Content Dissemination on Facebook and Twitter. Human Communication Research, 46(4), 357–384. https://doi.org/10.1093/hcr/hqz022
Vargo, C., & Hopp, T. (2020). Associations between advertisement negativity and political advertisement engagement: A computational case study of Russian–linked Facebook and Instagram content. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly. 97(3), 743–761. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077699020911884
Ferrucci, P., Hopp, T., & Vargo, C. (2019). Civic engagement, social capital, and ideological extremity: Exploring online political engagement and political expression on Facebook. New Media & Society, 22(6), 1095–1115. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444819873110
Hopp, T., & Vargo, C. (2019). Social capital as an inhibitor of online political incivility: An analysis of behavioral patterns among politically active Facebook users. International Journal of Communication, 13(2019), 4313–4333. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/10523
Vargo, C., Gangadharbatla, H., & Hopp, T. (2019). eWOM across channels: Comparing the impact of self–enhancement, positivity bias and vengeance on Facebook and Twitter. International Journal Advertising, 38(8), 1153–1172. https://doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2019.1593720
Vargo, C., & Hopp, T. (2019). Attention to issues and facts: Assessing the role of need for orientation as a predictor of political news sharing on Facebook. The Agenda–Setting Journal, 3(2), 186–207. https://doi.org/10.1075/asj.18004.var
Guo, L., & Vargo, C. (2020). "Fake news" and emerging online media ecosystem: An integrated intermedia agenda–setting analysis during the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Communication Research, 47(2), 178–200. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650218777177
Hopp, T., Vargo, C., Dixon, L., & Thain, N. (2018). Correlating self–report and trace data measures of incivility: A proof of concept. Social Science Computer Review, Special Issue "Integrating Survey Data and Digital Trace Data." 38(5), 584–599. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439318814241
Vargo, C. (2018). Fifty years of agenda–setting research: New directions and challenges for the theory. The Agenda–Setting Journal, 2(2), 105–123. https://doi.org/10.1075/asj.18023.var
Vargo, C., Guo, L., & Amazeen, A. (2018). The agenda–setting power of fake news: A big data analysis of the online media landscape from 2014 to 2016. New Media & Society. 20(5) 2028–2049. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444817712086
Guo, L., & Vargo, C. (2017). Global intermedia agenda setting: A big data analysis of international news flow. Journal of Communication, 67(4), 499–520. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12311
Hopp, T., & Vargo, C. (2017). Does negative campaign advertising stimulate uncivil communication on social media? Measuring audience response using big data. Computers in Human Behavior, 68, 368–377. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.11.034
McGregor, S., & Vargo, C. (2017). Election–related talk and agenda setting effects on Twitter: A big data analysis of salience transfer at different levels of user participation. The Agenda–Setting Journal, 1(1), 44–63. https://doi.org/10.1075/asj.1.1.05mcg
Vargo, C., & Guo, L. (2017). Networks, big data, and intermedia agenda–setting: An analysis of traditional, partisan, and emerging online U.S. news. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 94(4), 1031–1055. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077699016679976
Guo, L., Vargo, C., Pan, Z., & Ding, W. (2016). Big social data analytics in journalism and mass communication: Comparing dictionary–based text analysis and unsupervised topic modeling. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 93(2), 332–359. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077699016639231
Kim, Y., Gonzenbach, B., Vargo, C., & Kim, Y. (2016). First and second levels of intermedia agenda setting: Political advertising, newspapers, and Twitter during the 2012 U.S. presidential election. International Journal of Communication, 10(2016), 4550–4569.
Shaw, D., Mousa, I., Vargo, C., Minooie, M., & Cole, R. (2016). The agenda setting in the digital age: How we use media to monitor civic life and reframe community. Jordan Journal of Social Sciences, 9(1), 125–139.
Vargo, C. (2016). Toward a tweet typology: A study of brand message content types and corresponding consumer engagement on social media. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 16(2), 157–168. https://doi.org/10.1080/15252019.2016.1208125
Vargo, C., & Hopp, T. (2016). Social capital, political polarity, and socioeconomic status as predictors of political incivility on Twitter: A congressional district–level analysis. Social Science Computer Review, 35(1), 10–32. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439315602858
Guo, L., & Vargo, C. (2015). The power of message networks: A big–data analysis of the network agenda setting model and issue ownership. Mass Communication & Society, 18(5), 557–576. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2015.1045300
Vargo, C., Basilaia, E., & Shaw, D. (2015). Event vs. issue: Twitter reflections of major news, a case study. Studies in Media and Communication, 9, 215–239. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2050-206020150000009009
Vargo, C., Guo, L., McCombs, M., & Shaw, D. (2014). Network issue agendas on Twitter during the 2012 U.S. presidential election. Journal of Communication, 64(2), 296–316. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcom.12089
Vargo, C. J., Dobolyi, D., & Rahman, S. (2025, Oct 1). Inferring advertising demographics from behavioral data using a local LLM. Manuscript submitted for review to KDD (submitted Feb 1, 2026).
Vargo, C. J., & Barrett, B. (2025, Sept 8). Who gets what ads? Tail-aware metrics and the composition of mobile political exposure. Letter of inquiry submitted to Journal of Quantitative Description: Digital Media (submitted Jan 23, 2026).
Vargo, C. J., & Hopp, T. (2025, Aug 7). Advertising, Not Legalization: Multi Level Evidence Linking Online Gambling Promotion to Problem Gambling in the United States. Manuscript submitted for review to Policy & Internet (submitted Jan 6, 2026).
Vargo, C. J., & Dobolyi, D. (2025, June 4). The hidden costs of misclassified content: Advancing press sustainability and advertising integrity through improved classification [Submitted to the Journal of Interactive Marketing; revise and resubmit; revision in process]
Vargo, C., & Hopp, T. (2018). Is Yik Yak a platform for political communication? Exploring college students' communication on an emergent social media platform. In N. J. Stroud & S. McGregor (Eds.), Digital discussions: How big data informs political communication (pp. 144–165). New York, NY: Routledge.
Vargo, C., & Guo, L. (2015). Exploring the network agenda setting model with big social data. In L. Guo & M. McCombs (Eds.), The power of information networks: New directions for agenda setting (pp. 55–65). New York, NY: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315726540
Vargo, C., Hopp, T., & Gangadharbatla, H. (2025). From Ads to Addiction: The Role of Online Gambling Advertising Spend in Problem Gambling Search Trends over a Decade. Proceedings of the 58th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. Track: Digital and Social Media, Minitrack: Communication, Digital Conversation, and Media Technologies.
Vargo, C., Masullo, G., & Hopp, T. (2024). Deciding to Delete Posts on Reddit: What Factors Influence Content Removal. Proceedings of the 57th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. Track: Digital and Social Media, Minitrack: Decision Making in Online Social Networks.
Vargo, C., Hopp, T., & Agarwal, P. (2023). Inside a Social Media Brand Safety Algorithm: A Computational Investigation of Subreddits, Toxicity, and Advertising Inventory. Proceedings of the 2023 American Academy of Advertising Annual Conference. [With graduate advisee Pritha Agarwal]
Vargo, C., & Hopp, T. (2023). Incivility on Popular Politics and News Subreddits: An Analysis of In-groups, Community Guidelines and Relationships with Social Media Engagement. Proceedings of the 56th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. Track: Digital and Social Media, Minitrack: Mediated Conversation. Maui, HI.
Gangadharbatla, H., Jones, V., Vargo, C., Ferrel, C., Owens, C. & Li, H. (2019). The Role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Advertising. Proceedings of the 2019 American Academy of Advertising Annual Conference.
Vargo, C., & Hopp, T. (2019). The effects of ad negativity on political digital advertising engagement: A computational case study of Russian Facebook and Instagram content. Proceedings of the 2019 American Academy of Advertising Annual Conference.
Hopp, T., & Vargo, C. (2016). Does negative campaign advertising stimulate uncivil communication on social media? A big data analysis. Proceedings of the 2016 American Academy of Advertising Conference, 2016, 152–153.
Hester, J., & Vargo, C. (2013). Social network sites and social media: A new research paradigm for strategic communication? Proceedings of the 2013 American Academy of Advertising, 2013, 177–178.
Wang, Z., Guo, L., & Vargo, C. (2025, August). Three worlds imagined through news: A cross-national analysis of country-based issue-ownership networks. Paper accepted for presentation in the International Communication Division at the Annual Conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), San Francisco, CA, United States.
Barrett, B., & Vargo, C. J. (2025, June 16). Divided by ads: Understanding partisan consumerism through online ad exposure. Paper presented in the "High-Density: Strategies in Political Advertising and Campaigns" session at the 75th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association, Denver, CO, United States.
Hopp, T., Ferrucci, P., Vargo, C., & Mays, B. (2024). Mainstream News Media Trust, Countermedia Attendance, and Political Learning. Paper presented at AEJMC 2024 Annual Conference, Political Communication Division, Philadelphia, PA. [With graduate advisee B. Mays]
Vargo, C. & Amazeen, M., (2020, August). The Competing "Content Studio" Agenda: A Large–scale Analysis of Sponsored Content in Elite U.S. Newspapers and Its Agenda Cutting Effect on Corporate News. Paper presented at AEJMC 2020 Annual Conference, Newspapers and Online News Division, Online.
Vargo, C., & Liu, L. (2020, August). Audience "agendamelding" in the United States: assessing the relative influence of different types of online news on partisan agendas from 2015 to 2020. Paper presented at AEJMC 2020 Annual Conference, AEJMC 2020 Theory Colloquium on Agendamelding, Online.
Hopp, T., Ferrucci, P., Vargo, C., & Liu, L. (2020, August). Is Facebook–Based Political Talk Associated with Political Knowledge? Paper presented at AEJMC 2020 Annual Conference, Political Communication Division, Online.
Vargo, C. J. (2020). Agendamelding at Scale: Assessing the Influence of Partisan, Emerging, Mainstream and Elite News Media on U.S. Audiences from 2015 to 2019. Panelist presentation at AEJMC 2020 Virtual Conference, session S066.
Amazeen, M., & Vargo, C. (2019, August). Sharing native advertising on Twitter: Evidence of the inoculating influence of disclosures. Paper presented at AEJMC 2019 Annual Conference, Mass Communication and Society Division, Toronto, Canada.
Blankenship, J., & Vargo, C. (2019, August). The effect of corporate media ownership on depth of local coverage and issue agendas: A computational case study of six Sinclair TV station websites. Paper presented at AEJMC 2019 Annual Conference, Electronic News Division, Toronto, Canada.
El–Toukhy, S., Vargo, C., Hopp, T., & Choi, T. (2018, February). State–level demographics and tobacco–control correlates of smoking cessation behavioral change techniques on Twitter. Paper presented at the 2018 Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco Annual Meeting, Baltimore, MD.
Hopp, T., Ferrucci, P., & Vargo, C. (2018, August). A citizen–based profile of fake news dissemination on Facebook. Paper presented at AEJMC 2018 Annual Conference, Political Communication Interest Group, Washington, DC.
Hopp, T., Ferrucci, P., & Vargo, C. (2018, August). Social capital, civic engagement and identity: Exploring a model for political talk on Facebook. Paper presented at AEJMC 2018 Annual Conference, Political Communication Interest Group, Washington, DC.
Guo, L., & Vargo, C. (2017, May). Who determines the global news agenda? A big data analysis of international news flow on the internet. Paper presented at ICA 2017, Mass Communication and Society Division (Top Faculty Paper for Journalism Studies Division), San Diego, CA.
Vargo, C., & Guo, L. (2016, August). A network approach to intermedia agenda–setting: A big data analysis of traditional, partisan, and emerging online U.S. news. Paper presented at AEJMC 2016 Annual Conference, Online News Division, Minneapolis, MN.
Vargo, C., & Hopp, T. (2016, September). Is Yik Yak a platform for political communication? Exploring college students' communication on an emergent social media platform. Digital discussions: How big data informs political communication. Paper presented at New Agendas Conference, Austin, TX.
Guo, L., & Vargo, C. (2015, May). The power of "issue ownership network": A big–data analysis of the 2012 U.S. presidential election. Paper presented at ICA 2015, Political Communication Division, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Hopp, T., & Vargo, C. (2015, August). The effect of partisanship on changes in newspaper consumption: A longitudinal study (2008–2012). Paper presented at AEJMC 2015 Annual Conference, Mass Communication & Society Division, San Francisco, CA.
Kim, Y., Gonzenbach, B., Vargo, C., & Kim, Y. (2015, May). First and second levels of intermedia agenda setting: Political advertising, newspapers and Twitter postings during the 2012 U.S. presidential election. Paper presented at ICA 2015, CAT Division, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Shaw, D., Vargo, C., Cole, R., & Minooie, M. (2014, October). The emerging papyrus society: How we are using media to monitor civic life, find personal community and create private identity. Paper presented at the Arab–U.S. Association for Communication Educators Annual Conference, Irbid, Jordan.
Vargo, C., Guo, L., Shaw, D., & McCombs, M. E. (2013, August). Network issue agendas on Twitter during the 2012 U.S. presidential election. Paper presented at AEJMC 2013 Annual Conference, Mass Communication Division, Washington, DC.
Vargo, C., & Shaw, D. (2013, October). When motivated reasoning mediates agenda setting: Effects in the 2012 Republican presidential primaries. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of Media and the Public Sphere, Athens, Georgia.
Shaw, D., & Vargo, C. (2012). The media and social stability: How audiences create personal community. Paper presented at the International Forum of Higher Education in Media and Communication, Beijing, China.
Vargo, C. (2012, March). Internet advertising & interactive computer services: Liability & immunity as provided by the Communications Decency Act. Paper presented at the 2012 Annual Southeast Colloquium of the AEJMC, Blacksburg, VA.
Vargo, C., & Arguello, J. (2012, August). The unintended consequences of "Moderate Mitt:" The ideologies of Mitt Romney & second‐level agenda setting. Paper presented at AEJMC 2012 Annual Conference, Chicago, IL.
Vargo, C. J. (2019). Note from the editor: Key advantages of submitting work to the agenda setting journal. The Agenda Setting Journal, 3(2), 103–105. https://doi.org/10.1075/asj.00002.edi
Vargo, C. J. (2025, April 8). Brand safety and contextual suitability with machine learning applications. Invited guest lecture for Computational Advertising (graduate level), University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign.
Vargo, C. J. (2025, May 6). Doing new media research: Methods, strategy, and emerging directions. Invited guest lecture for "New Media Research" (graduate level), international Zoom presentation at Fudan University.
Vargo, C. J. (2024, September 24). Agenda setting theory: Foundations and modern applications. Invited guest lecture delivered via Zoom to incoming M.S. in Journalism students, Reed School of Media and Communications, West Virginia University.
Vargo, C. J. (2023, July 11). Computational social science across academia and industry. Invited guest lecture at the Summer Institute in Computational Social Science (SICSS–Beijing), Renmin University of China; international program featuring invited faculty from Northwestern University, Duke University, UC Davis, Purdue University, and others.
Vargo, C. J. (2020, October 28). Big data methods for communication research. Invited guest lecture delivered via Zoom to COMM 7020 (graduate level), School of Communication and Journalism, Auburn University.
Vargo, C. J. (2019, April 10). Invited research talk in the Information Science seminar series, Department of Information Science, University of Colorado Boulder.