Jennifer Henrichsen

Biography

Biography

Dr. Jennifer R. Henrichsen is an Assistant Professor at Washington State University’s Edward R. Murrow College of Communication. She is Senior Personnel with the VICEROY Northwest Institute for Cybersecurity Education and Research, an Affiliated Fellow at Yale Law School’s Information Society Project, and an Affiliated Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania’s Media, Inequality & Change Center. In 2025, she received an Andrew Carnegie Fellowship, the first in WSU’s history. In 2026, she received the Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver Outstanding Early-Career Woman Scholar Award.

A former Fulbright Research Scholar, Henrichsen holds MA degrees from the University of Geneva and the University of Pennsylvania and a PhD from Penn’s Annenberg School for Communication. Henrichsen has twice consulted for UNESCO, producing global reports on journalism, and has written for Columbia Journalism Review and Poynter. A former political correspondent, she has received 13 fellowships, including from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, Yale University, Columbia University, the University of Fribourg, and the Knight Foundation.

Her scholarship includes 45 publications, including three books, 20 peer-reviewed journal articles and peer-reviewed conference proceedings, 13 book chapters and invited publications, and nine global or national reports. Her books include War on Words: Who Should Protect Journalists?; Journalism After Snowden: The Future of the Free Press in the Surveillance State; and National Security, Journalism, and Law in an Age of Information Warfare. Her forthcoming book, Media Freedom Under Threat: Legislative Attacks Against Journalists, is under contract with Routledge, and is expected in late 2027. Her sole-authored book is under contract with Columbia University Press and is expected by early 2029.

Henrichsen’s work has been cited more than 490 times, including by the U.S. Government and the United Nations. She has delivered more than 100 conference presentations and invited lectures across North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia, and serves as an Academic Expert for the Safety of Journalists Consortium and the Journalism Safety Research Network.

Education

• Ph.D., Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania
• Master of Arts in Communication, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania
• Master of Advanced Studies in International and European Security, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
• Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Political Science, Pacific Lutheran University, Tacoma, WA

Classes Taught

• COMJOUR 350 – News and Society
• COM 420 – New Communication Technologies
• COM 552 – Theories and Methods of Emerging Communication Technology

Research Interests

As a journalism studies scholar, Dr. Henrichsen examines how malicious actors use emerging technologies and analog tactics to disrupt journalistic work, safety, and well-being amid rising polarization, authoritarianism, and democratic erosion. Her work also explores how to strengthen trust in knowledge systems by helping journalists and news organizations respond to escalating threats and attacks.

Selected Awards

• Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver Outstanding Early-Career Woman Scholar Award (2026)
• Andrew Carnegie Fellow Award, Andrew Carnegie Foundation (2025-2027)
• Alumni Affiliate, Center for Media at Risk, University of Pennsylvania (2024–2026)
• Affiliated Fellow, Media, Inequality and Change Center, University of Pennsylvania and Rutgers (2023–Present)
• Gressly-Fleck Visiting Scholar, Department of Communication and Media Research, University of Fribourg, Switzerland (2022–2023)
• Fellow, Kopenhaver Center for the Advancement of Women in Communication, Florida International University (2022–2023)
• Affiliated Fellow, Information Society Project, Yale Law School (2021–Present)
• Visiting Fellow, Information Society Project, Yale Law School (2020–2021)
• Graduate Associate, Perry World House, University of Pennsylvania (2020–2021)
• Top Student Paper Award, International Communication Association, Journalism Studies Division (2019)
• Knight News Innovation Fellow, Tow Center for Digital Journalism (2018–2019)
• Summer Research Fellowship, Annenberg School for Communication (2016–2020)
• Graduate Research Fellowship – Honorable Mention, National Science Foundation (2016)
• Emerging Scholar Fellow, Milton Wolf Seminar on Media and Diplomacy (2016)
• First Look Media Technology Fellow, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press (2015)
• Contracted Researcher and Author, UNESCO (2013–2014)
• French Language Fellow, Swiss Government (2008–2009)
• Fulbright Research Fellow to Switzerland, U.S. Department of State (2008–2009)

Selected Publications

Authored Books

• Henrichsen, J. R. Securing journalism: Digital repression, institutional logics, and the politics of adaptation. Columbia University Press. Under contract. [Refereed]
• Lisosky, J. M., & Henrichsen, J. R. (2011). War on words: Who should protect journalists? Praeger Publishers/Greenwood Press. [Invited]
  Review: William Horsley (2012). Journalism, 13(4), 539-540.

Edited Books

• Horton, G., Henrichsen, J. R., & Carter, E. (Eds.). Media freedom under threat: Legislative attacks against journalists. Routledge. Under contract. [Invited]
• Ambinder, M., Henrichsen, J. R., & Rosati, C. (Eds.) (2024). National security, journalism, and law in the age of information warfare. Oxford University Press. [Invited]
  Review: Lada Price (2025). Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 102(3), 914-935.
• Bell, E., & Owen, T. (Eds.) (with Khorana, S., & Henrichsen, J. R.). (2017). Journalism after Snowden: The future of the free press in the surveillance state. Columbia University Press. [Refereed]
  Review: James Whitworth (2018). Information, Communication & Society, 21(12), 1834-1835.

Refereed Journal Articles

*Indicates graduate student status at time of project

• Henrichsen, J. R., & Foley, J. (in press). Adapting under attack: Online hostility and the communicative practices of female journalists in Azerbaijan and the Philippines. International Communication Gazette [1-yr IF: 2.0]
• Henrichsen, J. R., Popiel, P., *Chambers, E., *Fils, A., *Robinson-Tay, K, & Waananen Jones, L. (in press). Assessing Washington’s local news ecosystem: Journalistic infrastructure and news production capacity. Frontiers in Communication [1-yr IF: 2.0]
• Chambers, E. M.*, & Henrichsen, J. R. (2026). Defending journalistic legitimacy and authority amid rising anti-press sentiment: A decade of metajournalistic discourse at a local Wyoming newspaper. Journalism: Theory, Practice and Criticism. [1-yr IF: 2.7]
• Henrichsen, J. R., Bélair-Gagnon, V., & Perreault, G. (2025). The role of professional norms and ethics in security mental models: The case of journalism. Journalism Practice. [1-yr IF: 2.0]
• Chambers, E.*, & Henrichsen, J. R. (2025). Complicity and revictimization: Discursive violence in Mexican and U.S. press coverage of Mexican journalist killings. Journalism Studies. [1-yr IF: 2.8]
• Perreault, G., Bélair-Gagnon, V., & Henrichsen, J. R. (2025). Disruptions in normalization: Reflexive monitoring in journalism adaptation and audience collaboration. Journalism Studies. [1-yr IF: 2.8]
• Chambers, E.*, & Henrichsen, J. R. (2025). Confronting anti-press violence against journalists in Mexico: Strategies of resistance in Mexican and U.S. news coverage of journalist killings. International Journal of Communication. [1-yr IF: 1.9]
• Henrichsen, J. R. (2023). When distancing fails—How journalists’ discursive and mnemonic techniques facilitated the rise of Trump and Trumpism. International Journal of Communication, 17, 1–19. [1-yr IF: 1.7]
• Henrichsen, J. R., & Shelton, M. (2023). Boundaries, barriers, and champions: Understanding digital security education in U.S. journalism programs. Journalism Studies, 24(3), 309–328. [1-yr IF: 3.604]
• Henrichsen, J. R., & Shelton, M. (2023). Expanding the analytical boundaries of mob censorship: How technology and infrastructure enable novel threats to journalists and strategies for mitigation. Digital Journalism. [1-yr IF: 6.847]
• Henrichsen, J. R. (2022). Reconceptualizing Indigenous journalism through boundaries, small worlds, and information poverty. Journal of Global Indigeneity, 6(3), 1–17. [1-yr IF: N/A]
• Henrichsen, J. R. (2022). Understanding nascent newsroom security and safety cultures: The emergence of the “security champion.” Journalism Practice, 16(9), 1829–1848. [1-yr IF: 2.328]
• Maris, E., Libert, T., & Henrichsen, J. R. (2020). Tracking sex: The implications of widespread sexual data leakage and tracking on porn websites. New Media & Society, 22(11), 2018–2038. [1-yr IF: 5.0]
• Henrichsen, J. R. (2020). Journalists’ mnemonic techniques and the rise of Trumpism. Communication, Culture & Critique, 13(1), 125–129. [1-yr IF: 1.7]
• Henrichsen, J. R. (2020). Breaking through the ambivalence: Journalistic responses to information security technologies. Digital Journalism, 8(3), 328–346. [1-yr IF: 6.847]
• Lisosky, J. M., & Henrichsen, J. R. (2009). Don’t shoot the messenger: Prospects for protecting journalists in conflict situations. Media, War and Conflict, 2(2), 129–148. [1-yr IF: 1.3]

Selected Conference Presentations

• Henrichsen, J. R., Kiesow, D., Toff, B., Weber, M., & Walsh, J. (2026, August 5-9). Mapping local news ecosystems. Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Annual Conference, New Orleans, LA.
• Bhalla, S., Henrichsen, J. R., & Toff, B. (2026, June 4-8). When machines start writing: Assessing the impact of generative AI on journalism labor markets. International Communication Association (ICA) Annual Conference, Cape Town, South Africa.
• Henrichsen, J. R., McGregor, S., & Shelton, M. (2026, June 4-8). The changing nature of technical risk and its impact on local news organizations. International Communication Association (ICA) Annual Conference, Cape Town, South Africa.
• Henrichsen, J. R., Toff, B., Stonbely, S., Hutchins, C., & Walsh, J. (2025, August 7-10). Mapping local news ecosystems and filling the gaps. Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Annual Conference, San Francisco, CA.
• Henrichsen, J. R., Belair-Gagnon, V., & Perreault, G. (2025, June 12-16). The role of professional norms and ethics in security mental models: The case of journalism. 75th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Denver, Colorado, United States.
• Lam, C., Gulcelik, M., Rios, O., Shelton, M., Henrichsen, J. R., & McGregor, S. (2024, August 11-13). Exposing local sources: The (non) use of secure tip communication methods by local US news organizations. SOUPS ’24: Twentieth Symposium on Usable Privacy and Security, Philadelphia, PA.
• Henrichsen, J. R., Chambers, E, & Fil, A. (2024, August 8-11). Assessing the health of Washington state’s local news ecosystem: A multifaceted examination. Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Annual Conference, Philadelphia, PA.
• Henrichsen, J. R. (2024, May 4). Preserving press integrity: Strategies for journalistic resilience in a hostile environment. UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day 2024, Santiago, Chile.
• Chambers, E., & Henrichsen, J. R. (2024, June 20–24). Negotiating journalistic legitimacy and authority in the digital age: A case study of metajournalistic discourse at a local Wyoming newspaper. 74th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Gold Coast, Australia.
• Henrichsen, J. R., Belair-Gagnon, V., & Perreault, G. (2024, April 11–12). The security gap in journalism: Exploring attitudes and practices in collaborative reporting. European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA) Journalism Studies Conference, Sheffield, UK.
• Henrichsen, J. R. (2024, April 11–12). Guarding the fourth estate: Navigating digital threats and upholding journalistic well-being in a polarized era. European Communication Research and Education Association (ECREA) Journalism Studies Conference, Sheffield, UK.
• Henrichsen, J. R., & Foley, J. (2023, October 18–21). Gendered disinformation and its impact on journalists in the Philippines and Azerbaijan. Association of Internet Researchers (AoIR) Annual Conference, Philadelphia, PA.
• Henrichsen, J. R., & Chambers, E. (2023, September 14–15). Complicity, revictimization, and confrontation: A comparison of Mexican and U.S. press coverage of Mexican journalist killings. Future of Journalism Conference, Cardiff, UK.
• Perreault, G., Belair-Gagnon, V., & Henrichsen, J.R. (2023, August 7–10). The interstitial space of crisis and the role of normalization and collaboration in journalism. Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Annual Conference, Washington, DC.
• Henrichsen, J. R., Belair-Gagnon, V., & Holton, A. (co-chairs). (2023, May 25–29). Online harassment, mob censorship, and journalism safety: Hostility and its impact on journalists. 73rd Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
• Henrichsen, J. R. (2023, April 27). The role of mob censorship and its consequences for journalism and freedom of expression. The role of academia in protecting freedom of expression as a driver for other human rights. Online Conference for UNESCO World Press Freedom Day 2023, organized by Columbia Global Freedom of Expression, University of Liverpool, University of Sheffield, and Worlds of Journalism Study.
• Henrichsen, J. R., & Shelton, M. (2023, March 28). Expanding the analytical boundaries of mob censorship: How technology and infrastructure enable novel threats to journalists and strategies for mitigation. Online Symposium on Digital Threats, Journalism Safety Research Network, University of Sheffield. 
• Henrichsen, J. R., & Shelton, M. (2022, May 26–30). Expanding the boundaries of mob censorship: How technology, infrastructure, and digital violence threaten journalism and journalists. 72nd Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Paris, France (Hybrid event due to COVID-19).
• Henrichsen, J. R., & Foley, J. (2022, May 26–30). Mapping strategic information operations against journalists and their harms to democracy. 72nd Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Paris, France (Hybrid event due to COVID-19).
• Henrichsen, J. R., & Pearce, K., Bowman, N., Perreault, G., Oeldorf-Hirsch, A., Horstman, H., Kingsley Westerman, C., Dorrance Hall, E., Denes, A., Baykurt, B., Wirz, D., Bowe, B., Roussel, M., Freiling, I., Satveer, K-G., Smith, B., & Dubois, E. (2022, May 26–30). Virtual blue-sky workshop: The Fulbright experience in communication. 72nd Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Paris, France (Hybrid event due to COVID-19).
• Henrichsen, J. R. (2021, September 28–29). Reconceptualizing Indigenous journalism. Indigenous Journalism and Self-Determination Conference, Norway (Converted to virtual event due to COVID-19).
• Henrichsen, J. R., & Shelton, M. (2021, May 27–31). Boundaries, barriers and champions: Understanding information security education in U.S. journalism schools. 71st Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Colorado, US (Converted to virtual event due to COVID-19).
• Henrichsen, J. R., & Shelton, M. (2020, November 3). Risks and resilience to information security education in journalism schools: A case study of the United States. OsloMet, Oslo, Norway (Converted to virtual event due to COVID-19).
• Henrichsen, J. R. (May 21–25, 2020). The visibility of invisibility: Locating journalists under surveillance in the mnemonic and discursive cold war landscape. 70th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Gold Coast, Australia (Converted to virtual event due to COVID-19).
• Henrichsen, J. R. (2019, May 24–28). Reconceptualizing Indigenous journalism through information poverty theory. 69th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Washington, DC. *ICA Top Student Paper Award*
• Henrichsen, J. R. (respondent). (2019, May 24–28). Communication science and biology multi-session: 1) Best practices panel, 2) Research escalators, and 3) Mentoring session. 69th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Washington, DC.
• Henrichsen, J. R. (2019, January 15–19). When distancing fails—How journalists’ discursive and mnemonic techniques facilitated the rise of Trump and Trumpism. Lisbon Winter School for Media and Populism, Lisbon, Portugal.
• Henrichsen, J. R. (2018, May 24–28). The rise of Trumpism via tweets and journalistic coverage: A historical and collective memory approach. 68th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Prague, Czech Republic.
• Henrichsen, J. R. (2018, May 24–28). Breaking through the ambivalence: Behind journalistic motivations and barriers to adopt digital security technologies. 68th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Prague, Czech Republic.
• Henrichsen, J. R. (2018, May 24–28). Problem-solving session: Communication, science, and biology. 68th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Prague, Czech Republic.
• Henrichsen, J. R. (2018, March 3–9). Surveillance fascism in Bahrain: The secret political economy of surveillance technologies and their impact on journalists and activists. Internet Freedom Festival, Valencia, Spain.
• Henrichsen, J. R. (2017, September 11–12). All or nothing? An exploratory study of journalists’ perceptions of digital security technologies. Reuters Institute Summer School on Comparative Qualitative Research on Journalism and News Media, Oxford, United Kingdom.
• Henrichsen, J. R. (2017, July 14). Perceptions of digital security technologies by U.S. journalists: A case study. 2017 Citizen Lab Summer Institute, Toronto, Canada.
• Henrichsen, J. R. (2017, June 30). Research ethics and information security practices. 2017 Annenberg-Oxford Media Policy Summer Institute, Oxford, United Kingdom.
• Henrichsen, J. R. (2017, May 25–29). Understanding technology use and privacy perceptions among low-income individuals in west Philadelphia: A pilot study. 67th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), San Diego, California.
• Henrichsen, J. R. (2017, March 6–10). Journalists’ perceptions of digital security technologies. Internet Freedom Festival, Valencia, Spain.
• Henrichsen, J. R., & Popiel, P. (2016, June 9–13). The role of technology companies in countering violent extremism and regulating online content. 66th Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA), Fukuoka, Japan.
• Henrichsen, J. R. (2016, July 27–31). The 2017 edition of the world trends report: Project overview. International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR), Leicester, United Kingdom.
• Henrichsen, J. R. (2016, July 27–31). Digital security technologies for journalists: Integrating diffusion of innovation theory and theories of persuasion to develop messaging that may facilitate adoption. International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR), Leicester, United Kingdom.
• Henrichsen, J. R. (2015, June 18–19). Journalism after Snowden. Surveillance and citizenship: State-media-citizen relations after the Snowden leaks. Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales.
• Henrichsen, J. R., & Brown, B. (2014, August 6–9). Anonymous sources vs. national security. Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Conference, Montreal, Canada.

National

• Henrichsen, J. R. (2026, April 17). Local News Impact Consortium – Journalism Employment Working Group. Local Journalism Researchers Workshop. Duke University’s DC offices. Washington, DC.
• Henrichsen, J. R. (2026, April 16). Measuring what matters: Developing shared approaches to assessing local journalism employment. Local Journalism Researchers Workshop. Duke University’s DC offices. Washington, DC.
• Henrichsen, J.R. (2025, March 24-25). From news deserts to nonprofit resilience: Assessing the health of Washington’s local news ecosystem. Local Journalism Researchers Workshop. University of North Carolina. Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
• Henrichsen, J. R. (2024, March 25-26). Mapping the local news ecosystem in Washington state. Local Journalism Researchers Workshop. Duke University. Durham, North Carolina.
• Henrichsen, J. R., Bloch-Wehba, H., & Rafsky, S. (2015, June 4–7). Legal, technical, and policy challenges facing journalists: A primer and path forward. Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) Conference, Philadelphia, PA.
• Lisosky, J. M., & Henrichsen, J. R. (2012, March 17–20). War on words: Do you have what it takes to be a foreign correspondent? College Media Advisers Conference, New York, NY.
• Lisosky, J. M., & Henrichsen, J. R. (2007, February 17–20). Don’t shoot the messenger: Protecting journalists in conflict situations. 78th Annual Convention, Western States Communication Association, Seattle, WA.