Debora Wenger, Ph.D., is Associate Dean and Professor in the School of Journalism and New Media at the University of Mississippi.
Research Interests
- The skills and techniques necessary to produce high quality multiplatform journalism.
- The future of local television news in a digital environment.
- Best practices in journalism education and curriculum development.
Biography
Prior to her academic appointments, Dr. Wenger worked as a reporter, producer and in newsroom leadership roles for multiple TV stations. She has worked for the U.S. State Department providing multimedia journalism training in the South Pacific and in Europe.
Wenger received her Ph.D. from Kingston University in London and was named as a top journalism educator by NewsPro magazine in 2017.
Wenger has previously served as Interim Dean and Assistant Dean for Partnerships and Innovation in the school and was Associate Professor for Media Convergence at Virginia Commonwealth University prior to her association with the University of Mississippi.
Dr. Wenger conducts multimedia workshops in newsrooms around the country for SPJ in association with its Google News Initiative Program and is executive editor of NewsLab.org. She is also co-author of two books, Advancing the Story: Quality Journalism in a Digital World and Managing Today’s News Media: Audience First. Wenger currently serves as the Editor in Chief for Electronic News, the journal for the Broadcast and Mobile Journalism Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.
She has made more than a dozen campus visits as a consultant, a member of site teams for the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism & Mass Communication (ACEJMC) or as a state board program evaluator. Her 2018 research on news video and local television news was completed with support from the Knight Foundation. In 2018, AEJMC’s Electronic News Division also honored Wenger with the Larry Burkum Service Award for her service to journalism and journalism education.
Publications
Courses Taught
- Jour 480 Advanced Broadcast Reporting
- Jour 590 Multimedia Storytelling I
- Jour 610 Multimedia Storytelling II
Education
B.S. Mass Communication, Minnesota State University Moorhead (1984)
M.A. English, University of North Carolina at Charlott (1995)
Ph.D. Journalism, Kingston University (2016)