Jessica McBride

Jessica McBride is a Senior Teaching Faculty member in the Journalism, Advertising, and Media Studies Program at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), affiliated with the College of Letters & Science. She has held roles at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Waukesha Freeman, and Patch.com, and currently advises the Minority Media Association of UWM and chairs key committees. Her work emphasizes media diversity and has appeared on networks like BBC and Investigation Discovery Channel.

Education: Jessica holds both a BA and MA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, focusing on journalism and media studies.

Her research interests span online media, social media, newspaper dynamics, crime coverage, media-politics intersections, and media criticism. She actively critiques media representation of race and ethnicity, and her scholarship has been presented internationally in South Africa, Australia, and Belgium.

Her publications reflect a focus on investigative reporting, digital media innovation, and historical narratives. Key topics include drug abuse, veterans' issues, and journalism education trends. Articles often blend local and global perspectives, emphasizing participatory web culture and media ethics.

• Received 2008 Teaching Excellence Award from UWM Alumni Association.
• Winner of regional/national awards in investigative reporting, column writing, and feature storytelling.
• Recipient of the prestigious Clark Mollenhoff Award for Investigative Reporting.

In advising and grants, Jessica pioneered UWM’s Living Learning Community, enhancing student success. She oversees internships and has mentored students whose work earned a Super Bowl ad placement by Chevrolet. Grant-related efforts include collaborations with the Wisconsin Innocence Project and Student Press Law Center.

She founded the Minority Media Association and co-edits Media Milwaukee, a nationally recognized online news site. Her initiatives include the U View campus TV show on media diversity and guidelines for social media in journalism education at global congresses.