Education
Ph.D., Journalism Studies, University of Maryland-College Park, 2014
M.A., American Culture Studies, Washington University in St. Louis
B.S., Journalism, Northwestern University
Elia Powers
Associate Professor
Contact Info
Email:
Areas of Expertise
Podcasting
Multimedia journalism
Data journalism
Audience engagement/analytics
Diversity in the media
Qualitative research
Biography
Dr. Elia Powers is the author of Performing the News: Identity, Authority, and the Myth of Neutrality (Rutgers University Press, 2024). His research focuses primarily on how news organizations can assess their civic impact, promote their relevance, and better reflect our increasingly diverse society. His peer-reviewed scholarship has been published in journals such as Journalism Studies, Journalism Practice, Digital Journalism, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media and International Journal of Communication.
Dr. Powers teaches courses such as Podcasting, Feature Writing, Multimedia Reporting Capstone, Media Audiences & Analytics, Qualitative Research Methods, and Media & Politics. A former journalist, he now is a sports, features, and podcast editor at the Baltimore Watchdog and an independent podcast host/producer. His recent podcast series Areas of Agreement examined the urban-rural divide in the United States.
Recent Publications
Powers, E. (2024). “Standard” appearance and “accentless” speech: How performance neutrality limits diversity in broadcast journalism. Electronic News.
Jenkins, J., & Powers, E. (2023). Listening, reflecting, & protecting: Empathy as a priority for local journalists covering marginalized communities. Journalism Practice.
Powers, E. (2021). Seeking ‘skilled, poised, fluent’ verbal communicators: Aesthetic labor and signaling in journalism job advertisements. Newspaper Research Journal, 42(1), 12-28.
Powers, E. (2020). The journalist’s speech: A phenomenological study of stuttering in the newsroom. Journalism Studies, 21(9), 1243-1260.
Powers, E., Koliska, M., & Guha, P. (2019). “Shouting matches and echo chambers”: Perceived identity threats and political self-censorship on social media. International Journal of Communication, 13, 3630-3649.
Powers, E., & Curry, A. (2019). No quick fix: How journalists assess the impact and define the boundaries of solutions journalism. Journalism Studies, 20(15), 2237-2257.
Powers, E. (2019). How students access, filter, and evaluate digital news: Choices that shape what they consume and the implications for news literacy education. Journal of Literacy and Technology, 20(3), 2-44.
Powers, E. (2018). Selecting metrics, reflecting norms: How journalists in local newsrooms define, measure, and discuss impact. Digital Journalism, 6(4), 454-471.
Powers, E. (2017). My News Feed is filtered? Awareness of news personalization among college students. Digital Journalism, 5(10), 1315-1335.
Powers, E., & Haller, B. (2017). Journalism and mass communication textbook representations of verbal media skills: Implications for students with speech disabilities. Journal of Media Literacy Education, 9(2).
Konieczna, M., & Powers, E. (2016). What can nonprofit journalists actually do for democracy? Journalism Studies, 17(3), 1-17.