MARÍA LEN-RÍOS joined the Missouri School of Journalism strategic communication faculty in 2004. She teaches undergraduate courses in public relations and cross-cultural journalism as well as theory and seminar courses for master’s and doctoral students. Students have selected Len-Ríos as a Mizzou ’39 mentor, and her students have won first place in the Arthur W. Page Society Case Study Competition in Corporate Communication.

Len-Ríos’ research addresses underserved audiences and marginalized groups with regard to health reporting, health communication campaigns and crisis communication. Her research has earned seven Top Paper awards at national and international academic conferences, including being selected as the 2010 PRSA Health Academy/Quinnipiac University Paper Competition Winner. Her work has appeared in top journals such as Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Journal of Communication, Science Communication, Public Relations Review and Newspaper Research Journal, as well as other outlets including book chapters and professional publications. Len-Ríos is actively engaged in grant work and serves as a researcher for the Washington University/Missouri School of Journalism Center for Excellence in Cancer Communication Research collaborative.

Len-Ríos serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Public Relations Research, Public Relations Review, and the International Journal of Strategic Communication. She is a frequent guest reviewer for other top journals. Len-Ríos is a former head of the Communication Theory & Methodology Division of the Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication (2007-2008) and previous winner of the Lionel C. Barrow Minority Doctoral Student Scholarship (2000). She is a member of AEJMC and the International Communication Association.

Selected Publications

Journal Articles

• Cohen, E., Caburnay, C., Len-Ríos, M. E., Cameron, G. T., Luke, D. A., Poor, T., Powe, B., Stemmle, J., Kreuter, M. W. (In press). Engaging ethnic media to expand the reach and effectiveness of communication strategies to reduce health disparities. Health Communication.
• Hinnant, A., & Len-Ríos, M. E. (2009). Tacit understandings of health literacy: Interview and survey research with health journalists. Science Communication, 31(3), 84-115.
• Len-Ríos, M. E., Hinnant, A., Park, S., Cameron, G. T., Frisby, C. M., & Lee, Y. (2009). Health news agenda building: Journalists’ perceptions of the role of public relations. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 86(2), 315-331.
• Len-Ríos, M. E., Rodgers, S., Thorson, E., & Yoon, D. (2005). Representation of women in news and photos: Comparing content to perceptions. Journal of Communication, 55(1), 152-168.
• Len-Ríos, M. E., & Qiu, Q. (2007). Newspaper coverage of clinical trials and willingness to participate in medical studies. Newspaper Research Journal, 28(1), 24-39.
• Len-Ríos, M. E. (1998). Minority public relations practitioner perceptions. Public Relations Review, 24, 535-555.

Refereed Paper Presentations

• Lee, H., & Len-Ríos, M. E. (2010, August). Framing obesity: A comparative content analysis of obesity frames in Black newspapers and mainstream newspapers over the past five years. Paper to be presented to the Communicating Science, Health, Environment, Risk Interest Group the Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication, Denver.
• Len-Ríos, M. E., Jeong, J., Gardner, E., & Lee, Y. (2010, August). Advertisers’ use of model distinctiveness: Main model characteristics in Cosmopolitan and Latina magazines. Paper to be presented to the Mass Communication & Society Division the Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication, Denver.
• Len-Ríos, M. E., Kim, B., Wherle, E. G., Katkowsky, S. (2010, April). Public meetings as a venue to engage in dialogue with the public about swine flu risk and vaccinations. Paper to be presented at the annual meeting of the PRSA Health Academy Conference, Chicago. Paper Contest Winner.

Book Chapters

• Park, S., & Len-Ríos, M. E. (2010). Who suffers? The effect of injured party on attributions of crisis responsibility. In W. T. Coombs and S. J. Holladay (Eds.), Handbook of crisis communication (pp. 591-606). Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
• Len-Ríos, M. E. (2008). Communication strategies for reducing racial and cultural disparities. In J.C. Parker & E. Thorson (Eds.), Health communication in the new media landscape (pp. 41-58). New York: Springer Publishing.
• Len-Ríos, M. E. (2008). Following communication rules: A communications-centered theory for public relations. In T. L. Hansen-Horn & B. D. Neff (Eds.), Public relations: From theory to practice (pp. 181-194). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.