Paula M. Poindexter

Professor, School of Journalism and Media, UT Austin

Paula M. Poindexter, professor of journalism and media at The University of Texas at Austin, has published six books, including the forthcoming “Gen Z, Social Media, and News: Implications for the Future of News Engagement, Journalism, the U.S., and Democracy.” Paula’s books and other publications as well as her teaching, service, and leadership are informed by her professional experience at the Los Angeles Times as a manager and executive and KPRC-TV, the NBC-affiliate in Houston, as a reporter and producer.

As the 2014 president of AEJMC, the largest association of journalism and communication educators, professionals, and graduate students in the United States, Paula founded News Engagement Day, an annual event held the first Tuesday in October, to encourage engagement with credible news and more knowledge about the process and principles of journalism. In 2023, the 10th year of News Engagement Day (NED), Paula called for more innovative research on the news audience and news engagement. And in 2025, Paula announced the first research grant for AEJMC members to conduct innovative studies about the news audience and news engagement. Paula personally funds the $3,000 research grant.

Paula also successfully chaired the fundraising committee to raise monies for and establish a $25,000 permanent endowment for the Maxwell McCombs Graduate Student Award for Research Publishing that Dr. McCombs created in 2006. After McCombs retired, Paula co-chaired the Graduate Student Publishing Award with him until his death, Sept. 8, 2024. From 2006 through 2024, 78 UT-Austin journalism and media graduate students have been honored with the McCombs Graduate Student Research Publishing Award, said Paula Poindexter, now chair of the award. Paula’s goal is to grow the McCombs Graduate Student Publishing Award Endowment so that future cash prizes will be even higher.