Susan
Keith

Susan Keith is the associate dean for programs in the School of Communication and Information and a professor in the Department of Journalism and Media Studies, which she chaired from 2016 to 2020.

Her research focuses on understanding the evolving nature of journalism during contemporary and historic moments of transition and conflict. She uses qualitative and quantitative methods to study journalistic content (both visual and verbal); journalistic practice (including ethical, legal, and professional norms); and journalism education. She is particularly interested in visual journalism during war and conflict; digital media law, including issues around artificial intelligence and copyright; and the work lives of journalists, including front-line editors. 

She is the co-editor of Teaching Journalism Online: A Handbook for Journalism Educators (2023), published open-source by UNESCO and translated into Russian. She is the editor of the forthcoming Teaching Communication, Volume III: Media and Journalism (Cognella). Her research has been published in various peer-reviewed journals, including Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Journalism Studies, Journalism, the Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, Visual Communication Quarterly, American Behavioral Scientist, Communication, Culture and Critique, First Monday, and Media, War & Conflict.

She has published chapters in a number of edited books and has contributed entries to several encyclopedias and handbooks, including the Sage Encyclopedia of Journalism, the Routledge Companion to American Literary Journalism, the International Encyclopedia of Journalism Studies, and the forthcoming Routledge Companion to Visual Journalism.

In 2021-2022, Prof. Keith served as president of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, the oldest U.S.-based scholarly association in communication. She has also served the organization as past president (2022-2023), president elect (2020-2021), vice president (2019-2020), chair of the Standing Elected Committee on Teaching (2013-2014), a member of the Nominations and Elections Committee (2011-2014), and head of what is now the Newspaper and Online News Division (2007-2008).

She has taught a variety of courses at Rutgers, including Design and Digital Editing, Communication Law, Global News, and Copyright, Media and Culture at the undergraduate level. At the master’s level, she developed and has taught Digital Media Law and Policy. At the Ph.D. level, she has developed and taught Media Law and Policy and Visual Theory and Methods.

Before entering academia, Prof. Keith worked for 16 years as a reporter, copy editor, assistant newsfeatures editor, and page designer at five daily newspapers in Alabama and Florida.

A former journalist, Susan Keith studies the evolving practice of journalism, journalistic content (especially visual content and coverage of war and conflict), and legal and ethical concerns related to journalism. Her work has been published in such journals as Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly; Journalism: Theory, Practice and Criticism; Journalism Studies; the Journal of Mass Media Ethics, the Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media; Media, War & Conflict; and Visual Communication Quarterly. She was named an Emerging Scholar for 2011-2012 by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication and a Page Legacy Scholar for 2010-2011 by the Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication at Penn State University.

She teaches conceptual courses in media law at the undergraduate, master’s and Ph.D. levels and skills-based and conceptual courses in editing and design, media ethics and law, and global media at the undergraduate level. Her teaching experience includes online-only instruction at both the undergraduate and master’s levels.

Prof. Keith began her service as chair of the Department of Journalism and Media Studies in summer 2016. From 2012 to 2014, she was the coordinator for the Digital Media track in the Masters of Communication and Information Studies program. She served as area coordinator for Media Studies in the School of Communication and Information Ph.D. program in 2010-2012 and as interim arear coordinator in fall 2013.

In spring 2019, Prof. Keith was elected vice president of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, a 107-year-old professional group of about 3,700 faculty members from 50 countries. She will begin her service in fall 2019 on a four-year leadership ladder of vice president, president elect, president, and past president.

Before pursuing a Ph.D., Prof. Keith spent 16 years working as a newspaper reporter and editor. She was a reporter for the Athens (Ala.) News-Courier, wire editor of The Cullman (Ala.) Times, a copy editor/page designer and weekend magazine editor of the Birmingham (Ala.) Post-Herald, a copy editor/page designer and assistant newsfeatures editor for Florida Today in Melbourne, and a copy editor/page designer in news and sports for the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times, now known as the Tampa Bay Times.

Prof. Keith is married to a journalist and lives in New York City.