Skip to main content

Ken Ward


About Dr. Ken J. Ward

Dr. Ken J. Ward joined the PSU Department of Communication in Fall of 2021. His background is in journalism, and his research focuses on the journalism history of the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains. Before earning his Ph.D. from Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism in 2018, Dr. Ward was a reporter for the McPherson Sentinel and a sports radio producer for 1410 KGSO in Wichita. His research has appeared in top academic journals including Journalism History, the Journal of Media Law and Ethics, and the Journal of Media Ethics.

Dr. Ward’s research has received accolades, including the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s Warren Price Award and the American Journalism Historians Association’s Robert Lance Memorial Award. In 2019, he also received AJHA’s President’s Award for service to the organization. He is a member of AJHA’s Board of Directors and is chair of AEJMC History Division’s teaching committee. Dr. Ward teaches courses in journalism and production as well as media history and law.

Education

Ph.D., Journalism, Ohio University, 2018. Dissertation “America’s Last Newspaper War: One Hundred and Sixteen Years of Competition between the Denver Post and Rocky Mountain News.

M.A., Communication, Wichita State University, 2014. Thesis “Section and Silver: Editorial Representations of Political Regionalism and Bimetallism in the Cripple Creek Mining District Press, 1869–1904.

B.A., Communication Arts, Bethel College, Kansas, 2011.

Teaching Emphases

  • Journalism
  • Media History
  • Media Law
  • Media Production

Peer-reviewed Journal Articles

Book Chapters and Other Publications

Podcast Episodes

Ken Ward
Dr. Ken Ward
Assistant Professor

Phone: (620) 235-4706

Office: 213 Grubbs Hall

E-mail Ken Ward