Jessica Sparks

Education

Ph.D. University of Florida (Mass Communication)

MA, Ball State University (Digital Storytelling)

Honors BS, Ball State University (Journalism- News/Editorial)

About Me

Jessica Sparks is an assistant professor of journalism in the School of Communication & Journalism at Auburn University. Her research specifically focuses on news media trust and credibility, transparency and open records, and college media independence. Sparks’ experience as a professional journalist is what drives both her research interests, as well as the way she conducts her courses as a teacher.

Prior to moving to Auburn, Sparks was an assistant professor of journalism at Savannah State University, where she also led the journalism concentration, advised the student media outlet, and helped direct several initiatives on campus and in traveling experiences for students. Sparks has also worked with several publications including The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, but her passion is in local news and politics. She reported for several outlets in her decade of experience including The Herald Bulletin in Anderson, Ind., Bluffton Today in South Carolina, and she helped to launch AnnArbor.com in Michigan.

Outside of work, Sparks enjoys spending time with her husband, their two daughters, and their two dogs.

Research Interests

News media trust, news credibility, open records, government transparency, journalism production, college media, political journalism

Publications

• Sparks, J., Anderson, J., & Alarcon, A. (2024) Sounding the Alarm: Legal Implications of Evolving College Media Independence. Communication Law and Policy, 1-22. 10.1080/10811680.2024.2392103
• Waddell, T. F., Sparks, J., & Moss, C. (2024) Using Sex to Get the Story: Testing Reliability and Validity of a Scale Measuring a Sexist Stereotype of Female Reporters. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 68(3), 333-355. 10.1080/08838151.2024.2337878
• Sparks, J. & Waddell, T.F. (2024). Easy to Read, Easy to Judge: Assessing readability as a heuristic for credibility in news. Newspaper Research Journal, 45(2), 229-246. 10.1177/07395329241242819
• Sparks, J., LoMonte, F., & Rubin, A. (2023). How Covid-19 has affected college newspapers: A mixed-methods study. Newspaper Research Journal, 44(3), 251-275. 10.1177/07395329231170195
• Sparks, J. & Hmielowski, J.D. (2023). At the Extremes: Assessing Readability, Grade Level, Sentiment, and Tone in US Media Outlets. Journalism Studies, 24(1), 24-44. 10.1080/1461670X.2022.2142646