ABOUT:
Nik Usher, Ph.D. (they/them) is an associate professor at the University of San Diego in the Department of Communication. Dr. Usher's research focuses on news in the changing digital environment, blending insights from media sociology and political communication. Dr. Usher is a New Directions Fellow and will from 2023-2025 pursue academic training in a second discipline thanks to funding from the Andrew Mellon Foundation. Dr. Usher is the author of three books: Making News at The New York Times (University of Michigan Press, 2014), Interactive Journalism: Hackers, Data, and Code (University of Illinois, 2016), and News for the Rich, White, and Blue: How Place and Power Distort American Journalism (Columbia, 2021), and co-editor of Journalism Research that Matters (Oxford, 2021), with Valerie Belair-Gagnon. Prior to USD, Dr. Usher was a professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in the College of Media's Journalism Department (with affiliate appointments in the Communication and Political Science) and an assistant and associate professor at The George Washington University's School of Media and Public Affairs. They also co-edit the Oxford University Press series, Journalism and Political Communication Unbound with Daniel Kreiss and served as editor and founder of the Journal of Communication's (new) Forum section.
Extended bio:
In 2022, Dr. Usher achieved the rank of full professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. From 2020 to 2023, Dr. Usher was an academic fellow with the Open Markets Institute's Center for Journalism and Liberty. From 2019-2020, Dr. Usher was a fellow at the Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities. They have been a fellow at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism and a fellow at the Reynold's Institute at the University of Missouri. Dr. Usher was the winner of the Tankard Award for best book for Making News at the New York Times. Interactive Journalism was also finalist for the Tankard Award, making Dr. Usher the first solo author to be a two-time finalist. Their newest book, News for the Rich, White, and Blue, is the winner of the Hazel Gaudet-Erksine International Journal of Press Politics Book Award and the ICA's Journalism Studies Division Outstanding Book Award. Prior to their time at Illinois, Dr. Usher was an assistant and associate professor at George Washington University. They are the winner of the AEJMC Emerging Scholar Award and was named the Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver Outstanding Junior Scholar, in addition to joining the Kopenhaver Center as a leadership fellow. They frequently comment on the evolving news media landscape, serving as an expert source for journalists, and, on occasion, writes commentary for industry-facing and popular press outlets. Dr. Usher received their Ph.D. and MA from the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and their AB from Harvard (magna cum laude). In their spare time, they enjoy triathlons, tennis, and Civil War history. If Dr. Usher had an alternate career, it would be a pun-making tour bus driver.
Nik Usher, Ph.D. (they/them) is an associate professor at the University of San Diego in the Department of Communication. Dr. Usher's research focuses on news in the changing digital environment, blending insights from media sociology and political communication. Dr. Usher is a New Directions Fellow and will from 2023-2025 pursue academic training in a second discipline thanks to funding from the Andrew Mellon Foundation. Dr. Usher is the author of three books: Making News at The New York Times (University of Michigan Press, 2014), Interactive Journalism: Hackers, Data, and Code (University of Illinois, 2016), and News for the Rich, White, and Blue: How Place and Power Distort American Journalism (Columbia, 2021), and co-editor of Journalism Research that Matters (Oxford, 2021), with Valerie Belair-Gagnon. Prior to USD, Dr. Usher was a professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in the College of Media's Journalism Department (with affiliate appointments in the Communication and Political Science) and an assistant and associate professor at The George Washington University's School of Media and Public Affairs. They also co-edit the Oxford University Press series, Journalism and Political Communication Unbound with Daniel Kreiss and served as editor and founder of the Journal of Communication's (new) Forum section.
Extended bio:
In 2022, Dr. Usher achieved the rank of full professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. From 2020 to 2023, Dr. Usher was an academic fellow with the Open Markets Institute's Center for Journalism and Liberty. From 2019-2020, Dr. Usher was a fellow at the Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities. They have been a fellow at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism and a fellow at the Reynold's Institute at the University of Missouri. Dr. Usher was the winner of the Tankard Award for best book for Making News at the New York Times. Interactive Journalism was also finalist for the Tankard Award, making Dr. Usher the first solo author to be a two-time finalist. Their newest book, News for the Rich, White, and Blue, is the winner of the Hazel Gaudet-Erksine International Journal of Press Politics Book Award and the ICA's Journalism Studies Division Outstanding Book Award. Prior to their time at Illinois, Dr. Usher was an assistant and associate professor at George Washington University. They are the winner of the AEJMC Emerging Scholar Award and was named the Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver Outstanding Junior Scholar, in addition to joining the Kopenhaver Center as a leadership fellow. They frequently comment on the evolving news media landscape, serving as an expert source for journalists, and, on occasion, writes commentary for industry-facing and popular press outlets. Dr. Usher received their Ph.D. and MA from the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for Communication and their AB from Harvard (magna cum laude). In their spare time, they enjoy triathlons, tennis, and Civil War history. If Dr. Usher had an alternate career, it would be a pun-making tour bus driver.