Latest Publications

Woman stands in front of a group of tv screens

Our commitment to bridging the gap between academia and industry drives our latest endeavors in areas such as artificial intelligence, crisis communication, health communication, social media, esports and more. Our faculty and students are pushing the boundaries of media and communications, translating groundbreaking research into real-world solutions. Discover how our creative activity and cutting-edge research are shaping the future of journalism and mass communications, preparing our graduates to lead and innovate in an ever-evolving media landscape.

Journal Articles

Health Communication

Addiction is Not a Choice.” #narcansaveslives: Collective Voice in Harm Reduction on TikTok

Kelli Boling, Ciera Kirkpatrick and Valerie Jones

Journal of Communication in Healthcare

Neutrality and impartiality in Midwestern U.S. newspapers: community-oriented newspaper journalists reporting of environmental water problems in agricultural and ranching states

Jessica Walsh

Vaccine

COVID-19 Vaccination Communication: Effects of Vaccine Conspiracy Beliefs and Message Framing Among Black and White Participants

Ciera Kirkpatrick

Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

The Impact of Interaction Time and Verbal Engagement with Personal Voice Assistants on Alleviating Loneliness among Older Adults: An Exploratory Study

Changmin Yan and Valerie Jones

Public Relations Review

Analyzing Media Valence Shifts: The Association Between a U.S. PR Firm's Engagement and Kenya's Portrayal in U.S. Media

Dane Kiambi

Encyclopedia of Sport Management

Basic Research

Frauke Hachtmann

Rural Sociology

Gleaning rural journalism: Rural journalists’ agricultural and environmental reporting utilizing community storytelling networks

Jessica Walsh

Communication & Sport

Perjurers, rapists, and zealots are ending abortion”: Sports journalists’ symbolic annihilation of women athletes on social media during the national loss of abortion rights

Kelli Boling, Jessica Walsh, Brian Petrotta and Jason Stamm

Frontiers of Digital Health

Understanding older people's voice interactions with smart voice assistants: A new modified rule-based natural language processing model with human input

Changmin Yan and Valerie Jones

Journal of Health Communication

Exploring the Strategic Use of TikTok for Clinical Trial Recruitment: How Audiences' Prior Short-Form Video Usage Influences Persuasive Effects

Ciera Kirkpatrick

Howard Journal of Communications

From critical pedagogy to communication activism pedagogy in a large lecture classroom: Increasing awareness, knowledge, and a desire for change

Kelli Boling

North Carolina Journal of Law and Technology

A Marketplace (Failure) of Ideas: Foreign Disinformation Campaigns in an Age of Generative-A.I. and a Proportionality Approach to Falsehoods

Michael Park

 Encyclopedia of Sport Management

Applied Research

Frauke Hachtmann

Journal of Extreme Events

Are You Watching or Warning? the Role of Comprehension, Warning Lead Time and Prior Experience On Individual Preparation of Tornadic Events

Cory Armstrong

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Mitigating Identity-Related Anxiety through Humor and Immersive Storytelling with 360-Degree Video in Virtual Reality: A Study on Microaggressions’ Mental Health Effects

Changmin Yan, Adam Wagler and Alan Eno

Contemporary Drug Problems

Algorithmic Doors to Community and the Trap of Visibility: TikTok for Harm Reduction Activism in the U.S. Overdose Crisis

Ciera Kirkpatrick, Kelli Boling and Valerie Jones

Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media

Idealized Motherhood on Social Media: Effects of Mothers’ Social Comparison Orientation and Self-Esteem on Motherhood Social Comparisons

Ciera Kirkpatrick

Journal of Communication Technology

My good friend’: Why “older old” adults continued to use voice assistants during COVID-19

Valerie Jones and Jessica Walsh

Communication & Sports

Displaced and diminished: How the placemaking value of "being there" influences play-by-play broadcasters' professional identity

Brian Petrotta

Encyclopedia of Sport Management

Grounded Theory

Frauke Hachtmann

Affective Science

A More Connected Future: How Social Connection, Interdisciplinary Approaches, and New Technology Will Shape the Affective Science of Loneliness

Valerie Jones

JMIR Infodemiology

TikTok as a Source of Health Information and Misinformation for Young Women in the United States: Survey Study

Ciera Kirkpatrick

Health Communication

Trust Me, I'm a Doctor: How TikTok Videos from Different Sources Influence Clinical Trial Participation

Ciera Kirkpatrick

Healthy Aging

Reducing Loneliness and Improving Social Support among Older Adults through Different Modalities of Personal Voice Assistant

Valerie Jones and Changmin Yan

Journalism and Mass Communication Educator

Visual Communications Curriculum for the 21st Century: A Longitudinal Assessment of a Communication Design Program

Adam Wagler

Journal of Medical Internet Research

Using short-form videos to get clinical trial newcomers to sign up: Message-testing experiment

Ciera Kirkpatrick

Encyclopedia of Sport Management

Crisis Communication

Frauke Hachtmann

Media Report to Women

Femicide Frames in Ireland’s Two Leading Newspapers, the Irish Independent and The Irish Times

Maria Marron

Books & Book Chapters

Routledge

The Routledge Companion to Business Journalism

Joseph Weber (editor)

The Routledge Companion to Business Journalism

Black, Brown, and Thriving

Kelli Boling

The Routledge Companion to Business Journalism

The Sound of Business Journalism

Jill Martin and Kaci Richter

Creative Works

Nebraska Public Media

Running Towards the Fire: A War Correspondent's Story

Barney McCoy

Grants

University of Alabama

Risk Information During Weather Events

Cory Armstrong

$26,726

Undergraduate Creative Activities and Research Experiences

Nurturing Connections, Breaking Loneliness - An AI-Powered Journey into Senior Social Well-being

Valerie Jones

$3,600

Stanton Foundation

Rural Journalism Internship Program

Rick Alloway and Shari Veil

$148,465

Undergraduate Creative Activities and Research Experiences

Building Browser Extensions for Instagram and TikTok to Increase Algorithmic Media Literacy and Shape Attitudes toward Algorithms

Bryan Wang

$2,400

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Research Council

Nebraska News Map: Examining how and where Nebraska communities get local news

Jessica Walsh

$10,000

University of Nebraska | Nebraska Research Initiative

Social (and Traditional) Media Analytics and Research Tools Lab (SMART-Lab).

Cory Armstrong | Valerie Jones | Bryan Wang

$101,376 

Undergraduate Creative Activities and Research Experiences

Nurturing Connections, Breaking Loneliness - An AI-Powered Journey into Senior Social Well-being

Valerie Jones

$3,600

More Achievements

Media Mentions
Presentations
  • Hachtmann, F., Shrader, J., & Stamm, J. (2024, March). Nebraska Volleyball Day. Presentation at the International Association on Communication in Sport Summit, Los Angeles, CA.
  • Petrotta, B., & Reisbig, M. (2024, March). It's in the syllabus: What sport media instructors communicate to students. Paper presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Midwinter Conference, Norman, OK.
  • Waite, M. (2024, April 27). AI in the newsroom. Presentation at the Nebraska Press Association conference, Lincoln, NE.
  • Changmin. (2024, May). Examining disparities in the association of obesity with sociodemographic factors along the rural-urban continuum. Paper presented at the 23rd Annual Meeting of the International Society for Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, Omaha, NE.
  • Armstrong, C., & Baldinelli, S. (2024, June 12-14). Expertise or experience: Comparing discussion of drought between audiences and agencies. Abstract accepted for presentation at the American Meteorological Society’s Seventh Conference on Weather Warnings and Communication, Myrtle Beach, SC.
  • Park, M. (2024, June). A marketplace (failure) of ideas: Disinformation campaigns, market-based coercion and an affirmative democratic theory of the First Amendment. Paper presented at the International Communication Association Annual Conference, Broadbeach, Australia.
  • Jones, V. (2024, June). Ageing with technology: Multiple interfaces for social connection. Panel presentation at the International Communication Association Annual Conference, Broadbeach, Australia.
  • Walsh, J. (2024, June). Distinguishing water information disparities: Framing and sourcing of water quality stories in rural and urban communities in Midwestern states. Paper presented at the International Communication Association Annual Conference, Broadbeach, Australia.
  • Walsh, J. (2024, June). Collaboration in rural journalism: How rural journalists work together within the journalistic field. Paper presented at the International Communication Association Annual Conference, Broadbeach, Australia.
  • Hachtmann, F. (2024, July). Crisis Response Advertising: Key Strategies for Brand Communicators. Presentation at the ON Brand Conference, Omaha, NE.
  • Walsh, J., Perreault, M., Perreault, G. (University of South Florida), & Lincoln, L. (2024, August). ‘I’m not the environment reporter’: Climate change reporting perspectives among rural journalists. Paper presented at the Community Journalism Interest Group, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication conference, Philadelphia, PA.
  • Walsh, J., & Boling, K. (2024, August). Tweeting about #Roe: Journalists’ media messages in the civil sphere during an emotional, political story. Paper presented at the Participatory Journalism Interest Group, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication conference, Philadelphia, PA.
  • Perreault, G., Perreault, M. (University of South Florida), Lincoln, L., & Walsh, J. (2024, August). “That s**t is hard to get away from” The labor of working alone in rural journalism. Paper presented at the Broadcast and Mobile Journalism Division, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication conference, Philadelphia, PA.
  • Hachtmann, F. (2024, August). The impact of COVID-19 on DEI practices in the advertising industry: An introspection. Paper presented at the Minorities and Communication Division, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication conference, Philadelphia, PA.
  • White, L. (2024, August). Response to Black and White female television anchors: Effects of audience race and expectation violations. Paper presented at the Minorities and Communication Division, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication conference, Philadelphia, PA.
  • Armstrong, C., Baldinelli, S., Medcalf, S. (University of Nebraska Medical Center), & Smith, K. (University of Nebraska-Lincoln). (2024, August). Debated, deluged or disappeared: The flow of public discussion surrounding drought in FEMA Region 7. Paper presented at the Mass Communication and Society Division, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication conference, Philadelphia, PA.
  • Jones, V. (2024, August). Keynote: Shaping the Future of AI: Human-Driven Impact in a Data-Driven World. Thrive, Nelnet’s marketing conference, Lincoln, NE.
  • Scovel, S. (University of Tennessee), & Boling, K. (2024, August). "Can you believe this was once a football school?": Social media fan discourse before, during and after Nebraska's record-setting volleyball game. Paper presented at the Commission on the Status of Women, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication conference, Philadelphia, PA.
  • Park, M. (2024, August). Balancing the First Amendment with national security in a new era of great-power competition. Paper presented at the Law & Policy Division, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication conference, Philadelphia, PA.
  • Wagler, A. (2024, August). Exploring generative AI as part of the design and creative process. Paper presented at the Advertising Division, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication conference, Philadelphia, PA.
  • Walsh, J., Graves, C., & McCoy, B. (2024, August). 'Oh baby, when you write like that, you make an editor go mad': Using TikTok and video platforms to increase AP Stylebook efficacy and build community. First place in Teaching News Terrifically, Newspaper and Online News and Scholastic divisions, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication conference, Philadelphia, PA.
  • Wang, B. (2024, August). Informational and experiential antecedents and trust outcome of dataveillance and data profiling perceptions. Paper presented at the Advertising Division, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication conference, Philadelphia, PA.
  • Hachtmann, F. (2024, October). Canvas New Quizzes. Panel presentation at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Academic Technologies Learning Series, Lincoln, NE. 
  • Park, M. (2024, November). Critical legal developments that have arisen with social media regulation and their implications for social media doctrine. Panel presentation at the National Communication Association conference, New Orleans, LA.
  • Kiambi, D. (2024, November). Communicating Greater Regard of Ubuntu: Public Relations Role in Public Participation Mandate in Kenya. Paper presented at the National Communication Association conference, New Orleans, LA.
  • Baldinelli, S. (2024, November). Outside the Water Lines: How Resource Dependency Impacts Drought Communication. Paper presented at the National Communication Association conference, New Orleans, LA.
  • Veil, S. (2024, November). Respondent for panel: Navigating Corporate Crises with Integrity: Corporate Social Advocacy and Ethical Approaches in Crisis Communication. National Communication Association conference, New Orleans, LA.
Awards
  • Anderson, K. (2024). January Not Too Shabby Award. University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications Staff Council.
  • Boling, K. (2024). December Professor of the Month. University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications Student Advisory Board.
  • Boling, K. (2024). Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver Early-Career Woman Scholar Award, The Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver Center for the Advancement of Women in Communication at Florida International University and the AEJMC Commission on the Status of Women.
  • Doleman, B. (2024). Professor of the Month. University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications Student Advisory Board.
  • Franzen, Z. (2024). March Not Too Shabby Award. University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications Staff Council.
  • Hill, S. (2024). Professor of the Month. University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications Student Advisory Board.
  • Kirkpatrick, C. (2024). Top poster award. Kentucky Conference on Health Communications.
  • McCoy, B. (2024). Award of Merit. Eric Sevareid Awards, Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association conference.
  • McCoy, B. (2024). Running Towards the Fire [TV documentary]. Best Documentary, May-June Indian Independent Film Festival competition.
  • McCoy, B. (2024). Running Towards the Fire [TV documentary]. Grand Prize in the TV documentary category, Marina del Rey Film Festival.
  • McCoy, B. (2024). Running Towards the Fire [TV documentary]. Award of Excellence in the Documentary competition, Broadcast Education Assocaition On-Location Creative Works Competition. 
  • Richter, K. (2024). First place award. Eric Sevareid Awards, Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association conference.
  • Richter, K. (2024). March Not Too Shabby Award. University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications Staff Council.
  • Shrader, J. (2024). Award of Excellence in sports radio. Broadcast Education Awards competition.
  • Smith, A., & Hamel, H. (2024). Not Too Shabby Award. University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications Staff Council.
  • Walsh, J., Graves, C., & McCoy, B. (2024). 'Oh baby, when you write like that, you make an editor go mad': Using TikTok and video platforms to increase AP Stylebook efficacy and build community. First place, Teaching News Terrifically, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.
  • Waite, M. (2024). Winner, Esports tournament. University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications.
  • Wagler, A. (2024). Not Too Shabby Award. University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications Staff Council.
  • Wang, B. (2024). Informational and experiential antecedents and trust outcome of dataveillance and data profiling perceptions. Second-place open research paper, Advertising Division, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.
  • Wenz, J. (2024). January Not Too Shabby Award. University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications Staff Council.
Appointments
  • Armstrong, C. (2024). Fellow, Daughterty Water Institute.
  • Blackstock, N. (2024). Member, First Generation Advisory Board, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
  • Graves, C. (2024). Member, First Generation Advisory Council, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
  • Green, A. (2024). Member, Board of Directors, USA Esports.
  • Hachtmann, F. (2024). Member, International Advisory Committee, University of Nebraska.
  • Hachtmann, F. (2024). Chair, Professorships Committee, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. 
  • Jones, V. (2024). Board member, Nebraska Fulbright Chapter.
  • Jones, V. (2024). Fred A. and Gladys Seaton Professor, University of Nebraska.
  • Lee, L. (2024). Editorial Board Member, Journal of Media Law and Ethics.
  • Petrotta, B. (2024). Research Fellow, ESPN.
  • Shrader, J. (2024). President-Elect, Faculty Senate, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
  • Shrader, J. (2024). Fellow, Developing Excellence in Leadership Program, University of Nebraska. 
  • Smith, A. (2024). Elected Member, Staff Senate, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
  • Veil, S. (2024). Large/XL-sized Program Representative, Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication.
  • Veil, S. (2024). Jane T. Olson Endowed Dean, University of Nebraska.