Jennifer Henrichsen

Biography

Biography

Dr. Jennifer R. Henrichsen is an Assistant Professor at the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University, Research Director of the Washington Local News Ecosystem Project, and Senior Personnel with the VICEROY Northwest Institute for Cybersecurity Education and Research (CySER). She is also an Affiliated Fellow at the Information Society Project at Yale Law School and an Affiliated Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania and Rutgers University’s joint Media, Inequality, and Change Center.

A former Fulbright Research Scholar, Henrichsen holds MA degrees from the University of Geneva and the University of Pennsylvania and a PhD from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. In 2011, she co-wrote the book, War on Words: Who Should Protect Journalists? (Praeger), and in 2017, she assisted with the book, Journalism After Snowden: The Future of the Free Press in a Surveillance State (Columbia University Press). In 2024, she co-edited the book, National Security, Journalism and Law in an Age of Information Warfare (Oxford University Press). Dr. Henrichsen grew up in Washington state and enjoys traveling internationally, skiing, learning new languages, and spending time with her family.

Education

• Ph.D., Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania
• Master of Arts in Communication, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania
• Master of Advanced Studies in International and European Security, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
• Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Political Science, Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, WA

Classes Taught

• COMJOUR 350 – News and Society
• COM 420 – New Communication Technologies

Research Interests

As a journalism studies scholar within the field of communication, Dr. Henrichsen examines how technologies, imbued with power and politics, are being wielded and weaponized by nefarious actors to contaminate the information ecosystem, erode trust in knowledge systems, and denigrate journalists and journalism. Her two research tracks focus on: (1) the ongoing erosion of democratic society amidst rising popularism, authoritarianism and constitutional rot by assessing how malicious actors wield emerging technologies alongside analog methods to denigrate and disrupt journalistic work, safety, and well-being, and (2) how to strengthen trust in knowledge systems and institutions by enhancing journalists’ and news organizations’ abilities to meet the challenges, threats, and attacks facing them. Dr. Henrichsen’s work thus far has resulted in more than 20 publications, including three books (and one in progress), nine peer-reviewed journal articles, and four book chapters and invited publications. Dr. Henrichsen’s work has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as Digital Journalism, the International Journal of Communication, Journalism Practice, Journalism Studies, Communication, Culture & Critique, New Media & Society, and Media, War & Conflict.

Awards

• Affiliated Fellow, Media, Inequality and Change Center, University of Pennsylvania and Rutgers 2023–Present
• Affiliated Fellow, Information Society Project, Yale Law School 2021–Present
• Fellow, Kopenhaver Center for the Advancement of Women in Communication, Florida International University 2022–2023
• Gressly-Fleck Visiting Scholar, Department of Communication and Media Research, University of Fribourg, Switzerland 2021–2023
• Visiting Fellow, Information Society Project, Yale Law School 2020–2021
• Graduate Associate, Perry World House, University of Pennsylvania 2020–2021
• Knight News Innovation Fellow, Tow Center for Digital Journalism 2018–2019
• Top Student Paper Award, International Communication Association, Journalism Studies Division 2019
• Emerging Scholar Fellow, Milton Wolf Seminar on Media and Diplomacy 2016
• Contracted Researcher and Author, UNESCO 2013–2014
• Fulbright Research Fellow to Switzerland, U.S. Department of State 2008–2009

Selected Publications

Books

• Ambinder, M., Henrichsen, J.R., & Rosati, C. (Eds.). (2024). National Security, Journalism, and Law in the Age of Information Warfare. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
• Bell, E., & Owen, T. (Eds.) (with Khorana, S., & Henrichsen, J.R.). (2017). Journalism After Snowden: The Future of the Free Press in the Surveillance State. New York, NY: Columbia University Press.
• Lisosky, J. M., & Henrichsen, J.R. (2011). War on Words: Who Should Protect Journalists? Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger Publishers/Greenwood Press.

Refereed Journal Articles

• Henrichsen, J. R. (2023). When distancing fails—How journalists’ discursive and mnemonic techniques facilitated the rise of Trump and Trumpism. International Journal of Communication, 17, 1–19. https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/19842/4198 [1-yr IF: 1.7]
• Henrichsen, J. R., & Shelton, M. (2023). Boundaries, barriers, and champions: Understanding digital security education in U.S. journalism programs. Journalism Studies, 24(3), 309–328. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2022.2148267 [1-yr IF: 3.604]
• Henrichsen, J. R., & Shelton, M. (2023). Expanding the analytical boundaries of mob censorship: How technology and infrastructure enable novel threats to journalists and strategies for mitigation. Digital Journalism. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2022.2112520 [1-yr IF: 6.847]
• Henrichsen, J. R. (2022). Reconceptualizing Indigenous journalism through boundaries, small worlds, and information poverty. Journal of Global Indigeneity, 6(3), 1–17. https://www.journalofglobalindigeneity.com/article/39723-reconceptualizing-indigenous-journalism-through-boundaries-small-worlds-and-information-poverty [1-yr IF: N/A]
• Henrichsen, J. R. (2022). Understanding nascent newsroom security and safety cultures: The emergence of the “security champion.” Journalism Practice, 16(9), 1829–1848. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2021.1927802 [1-yr IF: 2.328]
• Maris, E., Libert, T., & Henrichsen, J. R. (2020). Tracking sex: The implications of widespread sexual data leakage and tracking on porn websites. New Media & Society, 22(11), 2018–2038. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444820924632 [1-yr IF: 5.0]
• Henrichsen, J. R. (2020). Journalists’ mnemonic techniques and the rise of Trumpism. Communication, Culture & Critique, 13(1), 125–129. https://doi.org/10.1093/ccc/tcz052 [1-yr IF: 1.7]
• Henrichsen, J. R. (2020). Breaking through the ambivalence: Journalistic responses to information security technologies. Digital Journalism, 8(3), 328–346. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2019.1653207 [1-yr IF: 6.847]
• Lisosky, J. M., & Henrichsen, J. R. (2009). Don’t shoot the messenger: Protecting journalists in conflict situations. Media, War and Conflict, 2(2), 129–148. https://doi.org/10.1177/1750635209104651 [1-yr IF: 1.3]