Rate My Professor Jason Martin

Jason Martin is a professor and chair of Journalism in the College of Communication at DePaul University, where he also coordinates the Sports Communication degree program. He joined the faculty in 2011 after approximately a decade as a professional journalist at daily newspapers and wire services in West Virginia and Indiana, primarily covering sports, including beat reporting on the Indianapolis Colts and the Indianapolis 500 for the Daily Journal in Franklin, Indiana. His journalism career earned him numerous awards, such as best sports news coverage, best sports feature writing, and best sports opinion column writing. Martin teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in media law and ethics, First Amendment law, political communication, reporting, writing and editing, data journalism, public records reporting, and statistics for journalists. He holds a PhD in Mass Communications from Indiana University (2011), an MA in Journalism from Indiana University (2006), and a BS in Journalism (News-Editorial) from West Virginia University (1999).

Martin's research focuses on the intersection of journalism, technology, and democracy, including political communication outcomes and First Amendment implications of public affairs journalism. His work has been published in journals such as Digital Journalism, Journalism Studies, Mass Communication and Society, Mobile Media and Communication, International Journal of Public Opinion Research, and Communication Law & Policy. Key publications include "Mobile Media and Political Participation: Defining and Developing an Emerging Field" (Mobile Media & Communication, 2014), "Media-Induced or Search-Driven? A Study of Online Agenda-Setting Effects during the BP Oil Disaster" (Journalism Studies, 2014), and "Mobile News Use and Participation in Elections: A Bridge for the Democratic Divide?" (Mobile Media & Communication, 2015). He has contributed book chapters to The Routledge Handbook of Chinese Media, The Routledge Handbook of Political Communication, Data Journalism and the COVID-19 Disruption (2024), and Social Media, Culture, and Politics in Asia. Awards include the Wicklander Fellowship (2017) for journalism ethics research, DePaul College of Communication Excellence in Teaching Award (2016), Harvard University Management Development Program completion (2019), a $10,000 AEJMC grant (2015), AEJMC Promising Professor Award (2013), and multiple AEJMC top paper awards. Formerly head of the AEJMC Law and Policy Division and chair of the Chicago Headline Club Watchdog Awards Committee, Martin advises student media, with projects like a 2023 Better Government Association collaboration earning national finalist recognition.