James Eric Black

Dr. James Eric Black, known as Jay Black, is the Schumann Endowed Professor and Chair of the Journalism and Media Studies Department at Mercer University's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. He holds a Ph.D. in Public Communication from Georgia State University, an M.A. in Journalism Management from the University of Kansas, and a B.S. in Broadcast Communications from Mercer University.

His research focuses on media transitions and the role of media in societal change, with expertise spanning Chinese cultural studies, semiotics, Cold War pop culture, journalism history, media law, and ethics. Dr. Black emphasizes journalism as a liberal art in his teaching, regularly instructing courses in Media Ethics, News Literacy, and Journalism History.

Publications demonstrate consistent scholarly output since 2010, with dominant themes in Cold War media analysis, cross-cultural communication, and political discourse. Recent works include the annual White Paper on the Business Environment in China (2018-2023), while earlier research explored historical journalism ethics and comic art as dissent.

Awards and honors include:

• National Association of Teacher of English Award for Superior Writing
• Roberta Kevelson Scholarship Award from the Semiotic Society of America
• Olympic Force Award for Community Service
• Permanent Visiting Scholar status at Jinan University (China)

Dr. Black maintains active international engagement, spending summers teaching at Jinan University and contributing to global business analysis through the American Chamber of Commerce in South China.