Associate Professor

About

  • Role

    Faculty

  • Position

    • Associate Professor

  • Concentration

    • Media literacy
    • Media sociology
    • Communication policy
    • Political communication
    • Media and democracy
    • Journalism and storytelling

  • Department

    • Journalism & Media Communication

  • Education

    • PhD, University of Missouri
    • MA, University of Missouri
    • BFA, University of Southern California

Biography

Dr. Seth Ashley studies the role of media in democratic society, with a focus on the systems that shape our information environment and our ability to meaningfully engage with it. His research connects media literacy with the sociology of media institutions, and examines the political, economic, technological, and professional forces that shape how information is produced and consumed. He is the author of News Literacy and Democracy (Routledge, 2020), which argues for an approach to news literacy grounded in understanding media systems as well as evaluating individual messages. His research also explores the connections between media literacy and political engagement and the historical development of communication policy.

Ashley joined Colorado State University in 2026 after 15 years at Boise State University, where he served as a professor, department chair, student media advisor, and co-founder of the Idaho Media Initiative. He holds a Ph.D. and M.A. from the University of Missouri School of Journalism as well as a B.F.A. in production design from the University of Southern California School of Theater. Prior to completing his Ph.D., Ashley worked as a newspaper and magazine writer and editor, documentary filmmaker, lighting designer, audio technician, and musician. Those experiences continue to inform his interest in how media are made, how media institutions evolve, and how people can become more thoughtful participants in an increasingly complex media environment.

Publications

Maksl, A., Boedeker, P. J., Vraga, E. K., Craft, S., Tully, M., & Ashley, S. (2024). Developing and validating a 15-item true/false measure of news literacy knowledge. Communication Research, 0(0).

Ashley, S., Craft, S., Maksl, A., Tully, M., & Vraga, E. K. (2023). Can news literacy help reduce belief in COVID misinformation? Mass Communication and Society, 26(4), 695–719.

Tully, M., Maksl, A., Ashley, S., Vraga, E. K., & Craft, S. (2022). Defining and conceptualizing news literacy. Journalism, 23(8), 1589–1606.

Vraga, E. K., Tully, M., Maksl, A., Craft, S., & Ashley, S. (2021). Theorizing news literacy behaviors. Communication Theory, 31(1), 1–21.

Ashley, S. (2020). News literacy and democracy. New York, NY: Routledge.

Ashley, S., Maksl, A., & Roberts, J. (2019). American journalism and “fake news”: Examining the facts. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.

Craft, S., Ashley, S., & Maksl, A. (2017). News media literacy and conspiracy theory endorsement. Communication and the Public 2(4), 388–401.

Ashley, S., Maksl, A., & Craft, S. (2017). News media literacy and political engagement: What’s the connection? Journal of Media Literacy Education 9(1), 79-98. 

Maksl, A., Craft, S., Ashley, S., & Miller, D. (2017). The usefulness of a news media literacy measure in evaluating a news literacy curriculum. Journalism and Mass Communication Educator 72(2), 228-241.

Ashley, S. (2016). The struggle over news literacy: Can we include political economic contexts in the emerging field of news literacy? Journalism Education 5(1), 24-34.

Craft, S., Ashley, S. & Maksl, A. (2016). Elements of news literacy: A focus group study of how teenagers define news and why they consume it. Electronic News 10(3), 143-160.

Ashley, S. (2015). Media literacy in action? What are we teaching in introductory college media studies courses? Journalism and Mass Communication Educator 70(2), 161-173.

Maksl, A., Ashley, S. & Craft, S. (2015). Measuring news media literacy. Journal of Media Literacy Education 6(3), 29-45.

Ashley, S. (2015). Making the case for war: A comparative analysis of CNN and BBC coverage of Colin Powell’s presentation to the United Nations Security Council. Media, War & Conflict 8(1), 120-140.

Ashley, S. (2014). The sociology of media system structure: Communication policy and the “double movement.” Javnost—The Public 21(3), 5-22.

Vos, T., & Ashley, S. (2014). Amending equal time: Explaining institutional change in American communication policy. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media 58(4), 671-686.

Ashley, S. (2014). A historical comparison of the social origins of broadcasting policy, 1896-1920. Journal of Radio and Audio Media 21(1), 1-16.

Ashley, S. (2013). The closing of the ether: Communication policy and the public interest in the United States and Great Britain, 1921–1926. Communication Law & Policy 18(1), 1-61.

Ashley, S., Maksl, A., & Craft, S. (2013). Developing a news media literacy scale. Journalism and Mass Communication Educator 68(1), 7-21.

Ashley, S., Lyden, G., & Fasbinder D. (2012). Exploring message meaning: A qualitative media literacy study of college freshmen. Journal of Media Literacy Education 4(3), 229-243.

Vos, T., Craft, S. & Ashley, S. (2012). New media, old criticism: Bloggers’ press criticism and the journalistic field. Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism 13(7), 850-868.

Ashley, S., Poepsel, M., & Willis, E. (2010). Media literacy and news credibility: Does knowledge of media ownership increase skepticism in news consumers? Journal of Media Literacy Education 2(1), 37-46.