Research News
Shuttered opinion pages. Obscene letters to the editor. Researchers at Missouri School of Journalism ask: What does it all mean?
Nick Mathews By Austin Fitzgerald COLUMBIA, Mo. (Sept. 26, 2025) — The relationship between news and opinion has never been a more hot-button issue. From national news powerhouses to smaller community newspapers, news organizations are re-evaluating how — and if — they publish opinion content. Tracking this trend is a team of researchers led by … Continued
Jared Schroeder and team at Missouri School of Journalism protect free speech in journalism with updated legal guide, research
Jared Schoeder By Austin Fitzgerald COLUMBIA, Mo. (Aug. 14, 2025) — The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (RCFP) has published 12 new entries in its anti-SLAPP legal guide, which informs news organizations on how to deal with frivolous, malicious lawsuits that seek to silence or discourage free speech. The entries were researched and … Continued
Missouri School of Journalism welcomes Haijing Ma as assistant professor of science communication
By Austin Fitzgerald COLUMBIA, Mo. (Aug. 6, 2025) — Haijing Ma is the newest assistant professor of science communication at the Missouri School of Journalism, adding further expertise to the School’s team of researchers working to improve and demystify public messaging about science and health. Ma comes to the School of Journalism from the University … Continued
Missouri Journalism at AEJMC 2025: Advancing Ideas, Research and Impact
From AI and ethics to visual storytelling and media law, scholars from the Missouri School of Journalism are exploring the questions that matter most in journalism today — and sharing their work on one of the field’s biggest stages. At the 2025 Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Conference in San Francisco … Continued
Beyond the hype: Jared Schroeder hosts podcast equipping Mizzou educators with AI literacy
By Austin Fitzgerald Generative AI has revolutionized how journalists and strategic communicators approach everything from writing headlines to transcribing and summarizing interviews. But with the technology now as ubiquitous as smartphones, educators are also evolving college classrooms to incorporate AI tools responsibly and ethically as part of Mizzou’s mission as an AI-forward institution. As host … Continued
How your words shape what you see online
Ongoing research at Mizzou explores the hidden influence of word choice on search results By Sara Diedrich Contact: Sara Diedrich, diedrichs@missouri.edu You may have more power than you realize when it comes to shaping the search results you see online. Ongoing research from the University of Missouri reveals that the search terms users choose can … Continued
Joy Jenkins co-authors U.S. page of 2025 Reuters Digital News Report
Joy Jenkins, an associate professor at the Missouri School of Journalism, has co-authored the U.S. page of the 2025 Reuters Digital News Report, the 14th edition of the influential report since its inception in 2012.
Merging algorithms and the human element, Missouri School of Journalism researchers are revolutionizing news desert research
By Austin Fitzgerald COLUMBIA, Mo. (July 8, 2025) — One of the foremost challenges facing the news industry today is the spread of news deserts, which are areas of the country not adequately served by local journalism. While large-scale studies have helped identify the most obvious deserts with access to little or no news coverage, … Continued
The State of the YAYA is strong
MOJO Ad students prepare to present in-depth research on one of the most sought-after demographics in marketing — their own Contact: Cary Littlejohn, carylittlejohn@missouri.eduPhoto by Frank Corridori At the University of Missouri School of Journalism, students in MOJO Ad — a premiere full-service, student-staffed advertising agency — aren’t just studying marketing trends. They’re leading the … Continued
The surprising truth about ‘pink slime’ journalism
Pink slime news is low quality — but not because of political bias, according to research from the Missouri School of Journalism COLUMBIA, Mo. (April 15, 2025) – You’ve probably seen one before: a news website filled with an overwhelming amount of aggregated content from all over the internet, with just enough local stories thrown … Continued