John F. Kirch

John F. Kirch serves as an Associate Professor in the Department of Mass Communication within Towson University's College of Fine Arts and Communication, where he teaches journalism history, news writing, news reporting, media theory, online journalism, and media literacy courses.

His academic foundation includes a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, College Park (2008).

Dr. Kirch's research centers on political journalism and media history, with rigorous examination of third-party candidate coverage, media literacy, and political discourse dynamics. His work critically analyzes how journalistic practices reinforce two-party hegemony while marginalizing dissenting voices, revealing systemic biases in election coverage and political narrative construction across American media landscapes.

His publication portfolio demonstrates consistent focus on political journalism's structural limitations, particularly the exclusion of non-major-party voices, while extending to historical war reporting analysis and digital-era newspaper transformations.

Prior to academia, Dr. Kirch accumulated 16 years of professional journalism experience covering gubernatorial/congressional campaigns, business profiles, spot news, education, environmental issues, and national security matters as a newspaper reporter and magazine editor.