She has been researching the relationship between reporters and government public relations professionals. Reports on her research received widespread attention during national Sunshine Week in March 2012 and 2013. In August 2012, she took a group of Communication students to the Republican National Convention to report on it for a campus website. Before entering academia, Dr. Carlson worked as a political press secretary and as a longtime reporter and editor for The Associated Press, as well as a newspaper reporter. She is a former national president of SPJ, a former chair of the SPJ Ethics Committee and a current member of the SPJ Freedom of Information Committee. She is also adviser to the SPJ chapter at Kennesaw State. She received the Wells Key in 1993 and the SPJ First Amendment Award in 1998.