Shayla Thiel Stern
Shayla Thiel Stern received a Ph.D. in Mass Communication from the University of Iowa and an M.A. in Communication, Culture, and Technology from Georgetown University. From 2004 to 2007, she was an assistant professor in the College of Communication at DePaul University in Chicago. Her research interests focus on the intersections of new media and gender as well as critical and cultural aspects of online journalism. Her first book, Instant Identity: Adolescent Girls and the World of Instant Messaging, was published by Peter Lang Publishing in March 2007. Previously, she worked as Music & Nightlife Editor for WashingtonPost.com, Affiliate Sales Manager at Cars.com, Television and Careers Correspondent for CNN.com, Community Content Manager for Edmunds.com, Content Manager for Recommender, Inc., Editor of the Journal of Communication Inquiry, and she has been a contributor to The Washington Post, Britannica, The Chicago Tribune, The Chronicle of Higher Education and other publications and has published academic articles in Feminist Media Studies and The Journal of Electronic Publishing as well as book chapters in Women in Mass Communication (Sage, 2006) and Girl Wide Web. Girls, the Internet and the Negotiation of Identity (Peter Lang, 2005). She also worked as a part-time announcer for WSUI-AM, the National Public Radio affiliate in Iowa City, IA.
Education
Ph.D., mass communication, University of Iowa
M.A., communication, Georgetown University
Current Research Interests
- Integrating new media with cultural studies, specifically gender and social identity through the use of instant messaging.
Courses Taught
JOUR 1001 Introduction to Mass Communication
JOUR 4551 New Media and Culture
Professional Experience
Assistant Professor, Department of Communication, DePaul University
Selected Publications
Thiel Stern, S. (2006) Instant Identity: Adolescent girls and the world of instant messaging. New York: Peter Lang Publishing.
Thiel Stern, S. (2007) Online journalism and digital media. In B. Evensen (Ed.) The responsible reporter (Third Edition). New York: Vision Press.
Thiel, Stern, S. (2006) Increased legitimacy, fewer women? Analyzing editorial leadership and gender in online journalism. In P. Creedon & J. Cramer (Eds.) Women in mass communication (Sixth Edition) (pp. 202-221). Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications.
Awards and Recognition
McCormick Tribune Foundation Grant Recipient (2006)
Top Paper Award for International Symposium of Online Journalism (2005)
Top Paper Award in Feminist Scholarship, International Communication Association (2003)