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 women, underserved audiences and marginalized groups with regard to health reporting, health communication campaigns and crisis communication. Her research and research collaborations have earned nine Top Paper awards at regional, 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, Health Communication, Journalism Studies, Public Relations Review and Newspaper Research Journal, as well as other outlets including book chapters and professional publications. Len-Ríos has collaborated on multi-interdisciplinary grant work, including a Washington University/Missouri School of Journalism Center for Excellence in Cancer Communication Research program as well as Mizzou Advantage.

Len-Ríos serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Public Relations Research, Public Relations Review, the International Journal of Strategic Communication, and The Howard Journal of Communications. 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

• Hinnant, A., Len-Ríos, M. E., & Young, R. (In press). Journalistic use of exemplars to humanize health news. Journalism Studies.
• Len-Ríos, M. E., Hinnant, A., & Jeong, J. (2012). Reporter’s gender affects views on health reporting. Newspaper Research Journal, 33(3), 76-88.
• Len-Ríos, M. E. (2012). The potential for communication scholars to set priorities that curb health disparities. Howard Journal of Communications, 23(2), 111-118. doi: 10.1080/10646175.2012.667732
• Len-Ríos, M. E. (2010). Image repair strategies, local news portrayals, and crisis stage: A case study of Duke University’s lacrosse team crisis. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 4(4), 267-287.
• 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., Hinnant, A., & Park, S. (2009). Understanding how health journalists judge public relations sources: A rules theory approach. Public Relations Review, 35(1), 56-65.
• 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

• Len-Ríos, M. E., Davis, K., Gammon, A., Smith, C., Swearingen, A., & Burgoyne, S. (2012, August). Confronting contradictory media messages about body image and nutrition: Implications for public health. Paper presented to the Mass Communication & Society Division, annual meeting of the Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication (AEJMC), Chicago.
• Len-Ríos, M. E., Bhandari, M., & Medvedeva, Y. (2012, August). Online deliberation of the scientific evidence for breastfeeding: A mixed-method analysis using the integrative model for behavioral prediction. Paper presented to the Mass Communication & Society Division, annual meeting of the AEJMC, Chicago. Third Place Paper
• Len-Ríos, M. E., & Hinnant, A. (2012, August). Comparing health messages in magazines: Journalistic elements and their connection to health literacy and numeracy. Paper presented to the Magazine Division, annual meeting of the AEJMC, Chicago. Top Paper

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.