Press Release | University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications

The University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC) today announced that Seungahn Nah will be joining the College this fall as the inaugural Consortium on Trust in Media and Technology (CTMT) Dianne Snedaker Chair in Media Trust and Research Director.

The Chair in Media Trust is funded through an endowment by UFCJC alumna Dianne Snedaker, B.S. Advertising 1970 and Hall of Fame 1991. Snedaker, now retired, is former executive vice president and chief marketing officer of First Republic Bank in San Francisco and former president of Ketchum Advertising.

Nah is currently a journalism and media studies professor at the University of Oregon’s (UO) School of Journalism and Communication, where he directs Digital Media and Civic Engagement Project and previously served as the associate dean for Graduate Affairs and Research. Prior to joining UO in 2017, he was associate professor of communication and information communication technology at the University of Kentucky.

His scholarship centers on the interrelationships among communication/journalism, community and democracy with special emphasis on the roles of digital communication technologies, including AI-enabled technologies, and media credibility in community and democratic processes and outcomes. His research sheds light on community storytelling networks through social and mobile media, and AI-communication, news trust and civic engagement across diverse ethnic and racial groups as well as communities at the local, national and global levels.

In his role as CTMT Research Director, Nah will coordinate trust-related research projects with UFCJC and UF more broadly. His own research focus, at the intersection of journalism, technology and democracy, will provide the foundation for CTMT’s work. His experience in bringing research to the field, notably as the director of the Kentucky Citizen Media Project, will be critical to CTMT’s mission of responding to the trust challenge with immediacy and practicality.

“Dr. Nah’s research and experience make him the ideal fit for CJC and CTMT,” said Janet Coats, CTMT’s managing director. “I’m looking forward to working with him to expand our collaborations and accelerate the important work of addressing the trust crisis that threatens our democracy.”

Nah received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his master’s and bachelor’s degrees from Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea. He has authored and co-authored numerous books, and more than 70 journal articles and book chapters concerning digital media, AI, news credibility, participatory communication and civic participation. He is co-editor with more than 50 scholars from 15 countries Edward Elgar Publishing’s Research Handbook on AI and Communication, which maps out the past, present and future of scholarship regarding AI and its social and democratic implications in communication and beyond.

He is a recipient of numerous top paper awards from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), the International Communication Association (ICA), the American Political Science Association and the World Association of Public Opinion Research. He received the Fund for Faculty Excellence Award, which is among the most prestigious honors bestowed on faculty at the University of Oregon. He was also a recipient of the University of Kentucky Provost’s Outstanding Teaching Award and was a fellow of the Academic Leadership Academy.

He served as head of Mass Communication and Society Division of AEJMC (2011-2012), and president of the Korean American Communication Association (2015-2017). He currently serves as an associate editor of the Journal of Communication, ICA’s flagship journal, and serves on a dozen editorial boards for such leading journals as Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, New Media & Society, Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, International Journal of Communication, Mass Communication and Society, and Human-Machine Communication. He is a principal investigator of the Worlds of Journalism Study, a global project with more than 120 countries involved.

About the Consortium on Trust in Media and Technology:

The Consortium on Trust in Media and Technology, established in 2019 with an initial $1.25 million grant from the University, is focused on investigating how to restore and advance trust in media and technology as a vital part of civic life and the democratic process. The Consortium is a cross-disciplinary initiative designed to both understand the trust crisis and to develop interventions for citizens and institutions.

About the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications:

The University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications, recognized by its peers as one of the premier programs in the country, is driving innovation and engagement across the disciplines of advertising, journalism, public relations and media production and management. The college’s strength is drawn from both academic rigor and experiential learning. It offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees and certificates, both online and on campus. CJC students have the opportunity to gain practical experience in the Innovation News Center, which generates content across multiple platforms, and The Agency, an integrated strategic communication and consumer research agency focused on marketing to young adults. The College includes seven broadcast and digital media properties, the Joseph L. Brechner Center for Freedom of Information and the nation’s only STEM Translational Communication Center and Center for Public Interest Communications.