Amanda Hinnant
Professor
Doctoral Faculty, Journalism Studies
210 Lee Hills Hall
Missouri School of Journalism
Columbia, MO 65211-1200
B.A. in English, Bates College
M.A.in Journalism, University of Missouri
Ph.D. in Media, Technology, and Society, School of Communication, Northwestern University
- Health Journalism
- Media Sociology
- Science Communication
AMANDA HINNANT is a professor of Journalism Studies, the Wallace Turner Memorial Faculty Fellow, an award-winning educator, and a widely published researcher.
Hinnant was recognized in 2022 with the Faculty-Alumni Award and also the Gold Chalk Award for graduate education. She was named the Outstanding Woman in Journalism and Mass Communication Education in 2021 by AEJMC’s Commission on the Status of Women. In 2020, she was honored with the School of Journalism’s O.O. McIntyre Professorship for Teaching Excellence. She has taught 16 different classes since she started at MU in 2006 and has served on the graduate committees for more than 140 master’s and doctoral students. She serves as an Associate Editor of Science Communication.
Hinnant’s research focuses on health journalism and science communication, media sociology, and narrative persuasion. Hinnant has led many research teams on health communication research sub-grants for the School of Journalism from the Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences and the Centers of Excellence in Cancer Communication Research. Current projects include a nationwide survey of health journalists (in collaboration with the Reynolds Journalism Institute and the Association of Health Care Journalists), improving clinical trial recruitment, the use of narrative to enhance engagement with health and science stories, and the role of online comments in journalistic discourse.
Hinnant also serves the university and community. In 2019, she was honored with the Shared Governance Award (individual) from MU Faculty Council. To serve the field, she held office for the Communicating Science, Health, Environment and Risk Division of AEJMC from 2008-2014, serving the final year as head of the division. Locally, she is the Chair for the City of Columbia Commission on Human Rights and the Board President for GreenHouse Theatre Project.
Hinnant has won top paper awards from the AEJMC Communicating Science, Health, Environment and Risk Division, the Magazine Division, and the Entertainment Studies Interest Group. Her research has been published by prestigious journals, including PLOS One, Climatic Change, Health Communication, Journalism Studies, Computers in Human Behavior, and Communication Research. Hinnant has taught courses on communication research, qualitative methodology, documentary storytelling, journalism and democracy, as well as magazine reporting and writing. Her professional experience includes writing and editing for Real Simple and Glamour magazines.
Selected Publications
- Amanda Hinnant, Sisi Hu, Yoorim Hong, & Rachel Young (2023). “Contested certainty and credibility: The effect of personal stories and scientific evidence in user comments on news story evaluation and relevance,” Science Communication. https://doi.org/10.1177/1075547022115050
- Mengyao Xu, Lingshu Hu, & Amanda Hinnant (2023). “Pseudo-events: Tracking mediatization with machine learning over 40 years,” Computers in Human Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2023.107735
- Sisi Hu, Ciera Kirkpatrick, Namyeon Lee, Yoorim Hong, Sungkyoung Lee, Amanda Hinnant* (2022) “Improving rural White men’s attitudes toward clinical trial messaging and participation: effects of framing, exemplar, and trust,” Health Education Research, *equal contributions by authors https://doi.org/10.1093/her/cyac026
- Lise Saffran, Sisi Hu, Amanda Hinnant, Laura Scherer, and Susan Nagel (2020) “Constructing and Influencing Perceived Authenticity in Science Communication: Experimenting with Narrative,” PLOS One, January 15, https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0226711
- Amanda Hinnant, Courtney Boman, Sisi Hu, Rokeshia Ashley, Sungkyoung Lee, Sherry Dodd, Jane Garbutt, and Glen Cameron (2019) “The Third Rail of Pediatric Communication: Discussing Firearm Risk and Safety in Well-Child Exams,” Health Communication, 36:4, 508-520. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2019.1700883
- Amanda Hinnant, Roma Subramanian, Rokeshia Renné Ashley, Mimi Perreault, Rachel Young, and Ryan J. Thomas (2019). “How Journalists Characterize Health Inequalities and Redefine Solutions for Native American Audiences,” Health Communication, 34:4, 383-391. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2017.1405482
Selected Book Chapters
- Joy Jenkins and Amanda Hinnant (2019). “Idealized Authenticity: Analyzing Jean Baudrillard’s Theory of Simulation and its Applicability to City Magazines” Lifestyle Journalism: New Media, Experience and Design. New York: Routledge.
- Amanda Hinnant and María Len-Ríos (2019) “Rx for Communicating about Health Inequalities.” María Len-Ríos and Earnest Perry (Eds), Cross-Cultural Journalism, New York: Routledge, 2nd edition.
- Amanda Hinnant (2016). “How Ladies’ Home Journal did second-wave health, 1968-1975.” Rachel Ritchie, Sue Hawkins, and Nicola Phillips (Eds.), Women in Magazines (The Routledge Research in Gender and History Series). New York: Routledge.
Selected Awards
- 2023 Arthur W. Page Legacy Scholar
- 2022 Faculty-Alumni Award, Mizzou Alumni Association
- 2022 Gold Chalk Award for graduate education from MU’s Graduate Professional Council
- 2021 Outstanding Woman in Journalism and Mass Communication Education from AEJMC’s Commission on the Status of Women
- 2020-21 O.O. McIntyre Professorship for Teaching Excellence from the School of Journalism
- 2019 Shared Governance Award for an Individual from University of Missouri Faculty Council
- 2016 Invited scholar to Northwestern University’s Media, Technology & Society Speaker Series
- 2013 & 2011 Second place, Award for Outstanding Published Research in Science, Health, Environment and Risk Communication from AEJMC (ComSHER Division)
Updated: July 26, 2024