Dr. Jennifer Henrichsen - A Journalism Studies Scholar
Dr. Jennifer R. Henrichsen is an Assistant Professor at the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication at Washington State University. She is Senior Personnel with the VICEROY Northwest Institute for Cybersecurity Education and Research (CySER), an Affiliated Fellow at Yale Law School's Information Society Project (ISP), and an Affiliated Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania's Media, Inequality & Change Center (MIC).
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. As a journalism studies scholar within the field of communication, Henrichsen examines (1) the ongoing erosion of democratic society amidst rising polarization, 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.
She twice has been a consultant to UNESCO where she produced global reports on the state of journalism. Henrichsen is published in Columbia Journalism Review and Poynter, and she was previously a political correspondent. Henrichsen has received 11 fellowships, including from Yale, Columbia University, the University of Fribourg (Switzerland), and the Knight Foundation.
Her work has resulted in more than 30 publications, including three books and 12 peer-reviewed journal articles in peer-reviewed journals such as Digital Journalism and the International Journal of Communication. Her books include War on Words: Who Should Protect Journalists? (Praeger, 2011), Journalism After Snowden: The Future of the Free Press in the Surveillance State (Columbia University Press, 2017), and National Security, Journalism, and Law in an Age of Information Warfare (Oxford University Press, 2024).
Henrichsen’s work has been cited more than 300 times, including by the U.S. Government and the United Nations. Henrichsen is a global expert in her field as evidenced by 80 conference presentations and invited lectures across North America, Europe, and Asia. She serves as an Academic Expert for the Safety of Journalists Consortium and the Journalism Safety Research Network.
Henrichsen’s work has been supported by over $950,000 in grant funding and her research has been profiled in outlets including, The New York Times, NPR, Nieman Lab, and Columbia Journalism Review.