Elia Powers

Biography

Dr. Powers teaches mass communication research, media literacy, media and politics, news editing, sports writing and the multimedia reporting capstone course at Towson. As a journalist for more than 15 years, he has covered higher education, health, business, sports, media and the arts for publications such as The Los Angeles Times, Inside Higher Ed and MediaShift.

His research interests are audience engagement and the impact of journalism; youth civic engagement and news/media literacy; and media and disability. His research has been published in peer-reviewed journals such as Journalism Studies, Digital Journalism, Newspaper Research Journal, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media and the Journal of Media Business Studies.

He graduated with a Ph.D. in journalism studies in May 2014 from the University of Maryland's Philip Merrill College of Journalism, where he was named the top graduate student in 2013-2014.  He earned a master's degree in American Culture Studies from Washington University in St. Louis and a bachelor's degree in journalism from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. 

Publications

• Powers, E. (2018). Selecting metrics, reflecting norms: How journalists in local newsrooms define, measure, and discuss impact. Digital Journalism, 6(4), 454-471.

• Powers, E. (2017). My News Feed is filtered? Awareness of news personalization among college students. Digital Journalism, 5(10), 1315-1335.

• Powers, E., & Haller, B. (2017). Journalism and mass communication textbook representations of verbal media skills: Implications for students with speech disabilities. Journal of Media Literacy Education, 9(2), 58-75.

• Konieczna, M., & Powers, E. (2017). What can nonprofit journalists actually do for democracy? Journalism Studies, 18(12), 1542-1558.

• Powers, E., & Incollingo, J. (2016). Multimedia journalism professors on an island: Resources, support lacking at small programs. Teaching Journalism & Mass Communication, 6(1), 1-17.

• Powers, E. & Koliska, M. (2016). Placing trust in others: How college students find news, determine credibility and develop their views of journalism in the digital age. Journalism Education, 5(1), 105-122.

• Powers, E., Moeller, S., & Yuan, Y. (2016). Political engagement during a presidential election year: A case study of media literacy students. Journal of Media Literacy Education, 8(1), 1-13.

• Yaros, R., Roberts, J., Powers, E. & Steiner, L. (2015). Serving the needs of the Latina community for health information. Health, Culture and Society, 8(1), 20-33.

• Powers, E., Moeller, S., & Yuan, Y. (2014). The push and pull of politics: How media literacy students sign up for, stumble upon and seek out news at election time. Journal of Digital and Media Literacy, 2(2).

• Powers, E. (2014). Building buzz and episodes with bite-sized content: Portlandia’s formula for turning a video project into a television series. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 58(3), 342-364.

• Yaros, R., Powers, E. & Oh, S. (2014). Incorrect terms used to portray possible cell phone risk. Newspaper Research Journal, 35(1), 96-107.

• Powers, E. & Yaros, R. (2013). Cultivating support for nonprofit news organizations: Commitment, trust and donating audiences. Journal of Communication Management, 17(2), 157-170.

• Powers, E. & Yaros, R. (2012). Supporting online nonprofit news organizations: Do financial contributions influence stakeholder expectations and engagement? Journal of Media Business Studies, 9(3), 41-62.

Research

• Audience engagement and the impact of journalism
• Youth civic engagement and news/media literacy
• Media and disability