Jessica Sparks
Ph.D.
Journalism
Bio
Jessica Sparks is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Florida. Prior to starting her Ph.D., she was a tenure-track assistant professor at Savannah State University in the Department of Journalism and Mass Communications. In that role, she served as the track coordinator for the journalism concentration in the department, as well as director of the 69th annual Southern Regional Press Institute. At Savannah State, she advised the award-winning student publication Tiger's Roar and the honors group for the department, the Savannah State chapter of the Society for Collegiate Journalists.
Sparks is a former news reporter with a specialization in political news. She has done work with The Herald Bulletin in Anderson, Indiana, AnnArbor.com in Michigan, CNN.com, Bluffton Today in South Carolina, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.
Sparks earned her Bachelor of Science degree in journalism at Ball State University in 2007 and Master of Arts degree in digital storytelling through the Department of Telecommunications at Ball State in 2010.
Awards and Honors
Top Research Paper, Organizational Communication Division, NCA, 2023.
Top Research Presentation, 2nd Place, Broadcast Education Association, 2023.
Top Paper, First Place, AEJMC Newspaper and Online News Division, 2022.
Chair's Award for Service, Savannah State University Department of Journalism and Mass Communications, 2019.
Back to the Newsroom, International Center for Journalists, 2014.
Research Award, Broadcast Education Association, 2010.
Education
Ball State University, BS in journalism & MA in digital storytelling
News
- New Study Validates Scale to Measure Sexual Stereotyping of Female Journalists (April 14, 2024)
- New Study Explores How College Media Independence Can Survive Financial Instability (February 19, 2024)
- UFCJC Doctoral Student to Serve on Student Press Law Center Online Panel (February 7, 2024)
- How COVID-19 Affected College Newspapers (November 29, 2023)
- Partisan Media Is Easier to Read and More Negative Than Mainstream Media, Research Confirms (November 30, 2022)
- All News About Jessica Sparks
Publications
Book Chapters
Smith, M., & Sparks, J. (2022). The Place Matters: A Case Study of How Short-Term Study Abroad Adds Measurable Change for Assessments in Pre-Existing Courses. In The Half Yet Told: Study Abroad and HBCUs. The Forum on Education Abroad. Retrieved from https://forumea.org/resources/publications/standards-in-action/study-abroad-and-hbcus/
Trammel, J., Smith, M., Omunga, P., & Sparks, J. (2021). Understanding by Design (UbD) Framework to Explore Teaching and Learning Practices at an HBCU: An Interdisciplinary Approach. In Campus Conversations: Student Success Pedagogies in Practice. , USA: Rowman & Littlefield. Retrieved from https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781475862591/Campus-Conversations-Student-Success-Pedagogies-in-Practice
Presentations
Shin, J., Dagher, N., Sparks, J., Wu, X., & Lewis, S. (2024). Defining News Quality through Open-ended Survey Responses. Paper/Poster at 74th Annual International Communication Association Conference, Gold Coast, Australia.
Sparks, J., & Hutchens, M. (2024). Leaking Trust: An examination of whether leaked documents from the U.S. Supreme Court impact the public’s trust in the court and the media that covers it. Paper/Poster at 74th Annual International Communication Association Conference, Gold Coast, Australia.
Sparks, J., Green, G., & Rank, L. (2024). Student Newsroom Independence: Threats, Trends, and Possible Solutions. Oral Presentation at College Media Association NYC24 Conference, New York City, NY.
Markus, N., Wright, W., Sparks, J., & Alexander, J. (2024). The Challenges & Future of College Press Freedom. Oral Presentation at Student Press Freedom Day.
Mitson, R., & Sparks, J. (2023). What Female Leaders Read: A Thematic Analysis and Feminist Consideration of Women’s Leadership Articles in Harvard Business Review. Paper/Poster at National Communication Association 109th Annual Convention, National Harbor, MD.
Sparks, J., Anderson, J., & Alarcon, A. (2023). Sounding the Alarm: Legal Implications of Evolving College Media Independence. Paper/Poster at 106th Annual Conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Washington, D.C., DC.
Sparks, J., Louis, J. D., Mitson, R., & Shin, J. (2023). Fake It ‘Til You Make It: Linking Behaviors of Untrustworthy News Websites. Paper/Poster at 73rd Annual International Communication Association Conference, Toronto, Canada.
Rachel, B., Hmielowski, J. D., Hutchens, M., Ichiplani, P., & Sparks, J. (2023). Using Primary Motivational Aspects of GMO Foods to Shift Attitudes. Paper/Poster at 73rd Annual International Communication Association Conference, Toronto, Canada.
Shao, C., Nah, S., Heffron, E., & Sparks, J. (2023). Conceptualizing Trust: Causes, Components, and Consequences. Paper/Poster at Broadcast Education Association, Las Vegas, NV.
Sparks, J. (2022). How a Little Goes a Long Way: Celebrating the Winning Research of the Inaugural Michael Hoefges Graduate Student Research Fund. Paper/Poster at AEJMC 105th Annual Conference Pre-Conference, Detroit, MI.
Sparks, J., & Waddell, T. F. (2022). Is Readability a Heuristic? Assessing Readability Effects on Credibility Judgments in News. Paper/Poster at AEJMC 105th Annual Conference, Detroit, MI.
Sparks, J. (2022). News Audience Trust in Open Records: How Political Trust Moderates News Audience Perceptions of Credibility in Open Records used in Political Journalism. Paper/Poster at AEJMC 105th Annual Conference, Detroit, MI.
Sparks, J. (2022). Man and Machine: Do Facebook Users Believe False Information Warnings More When They’re Attributed to Algorithms than Fact-Checkers?. Paper/Poster at 72nd Annual International Communication Association Conference, Paris, France.
Sparks, J., & Hmielowski, J. (2022). At the Extremes: Assessing Readability, Grade Level, Sentiment, and Tone in US Media Outlets. Paper/Poster at 72nd Annual International Communication Association Conference, Paris, France.
Sparks, J., LoMonte, F., & Rubin, A. (2022). How COVID-19 has affected college newspapers: A mixed-methods study. Paper/Poster at AEJMC Midwinter Conference, Norman, OK.
LoMonte, F., Sparks, J., & Rubin, A. (2021). Surveying the College Media Financial Landscape. Oral Presentation at Fall National College Media Convention.
Sparks, J. (2021). Print & The Pandemic: The Role of Print in the Increasing Virtual Age. Oral Presentation at Southern Regional Press Institute, Savannah, GA.
Sparks, J. (2020). Using the Understanding by Design (UbD) framework to explore teaching and learning practices at an HBCU: An Interdisciplinary Approach. Lecture at Scholarship for Teaching and Learning Commons, Savannah, GA.
Sparks, J. (2019). Twitter for Action: An Analysis of Twitter Use for Protest at a Southeast HBCU. Oral Presentation at Georgia Communication Association 2019, Morrow, GA.
Sparks, J. (2019). The Place Matters: How to encourage cultural interactions through study abroad. Oral Presentation at Georgia Association of International Educators, Savannah, GA.
Sparks, J. (2017). Using Storytelling to Share Research in a Time of Mistrust. Other at Triangle Scholarly Communications Institute, Chapel Hill, NC.
Sparks, J. (2015). Troll-Slaying: An analysis of the way two women handled comments and threats from people online. Oral Presentation at Fourth Biennial Woman and Gender Studies Symposium, Augusta, GA.
Sparks, J. (2010). The Mommy Factor: A new survey of mothers in television newsrooms. Oral Presentation at Broadcast Education Association, Las Vegas, NV.
Creative Works
Sparks, J. (2020). The Alhurs 10 years later. Film. Butler University. Indianapolis, IN.
Research
Specialization
news, journalism, reporting, gender issues in journalism, multimedia, open records
Professional Interests
Open information and public records; reporting techniques; media trust; political trust and news; college media; gender issues in journalism; partisan media
Grants
College of Journalism and Communications, CJC Doctoral Dissertation Research Fund Award, Sparks, J. (PI), 2024, $500.
AEJMC Law & Policy Division, Michael Hoefges Research Fund Award, Sparks, J. (PI), 2022, $500.