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The base of pillars in Regent University’s Robertson Hall on the Virginia Beach campus.
Stephen D. Perry, Ph.D.
Department Chair & ProfessorJournalism & Communication Studies

Stephen D. Perry, Ph.D.

Bio

Dr. Stephen Perry came to Regent in 2014 and has served as the interim dean of the Robertson School of Government and the associate dean of the School of Communication & the Arts. He currently serves as the chair of the Journalism and Communication Studies Department.

Perry previously spent 17 years on the faculty at Illinois State University; held elected office as a member of the Bloomington, Illinois, School Board; and was a candidate for state representative. He graduated from Trevecca Nazarene University in Nashville, Tennessee, double majoring in mathematics and mass communication, where he also played on the tennis team and worked for W61AR-TV. He spent four years running a painting company in Massachusetts before attending graduate school at the University of Alabama.

Perry spent a year as a Fulbright Scholar teaching at the University of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, where he researched warning dissemination in the wake of the 2004 tsunami. He also taught at the HBCU Stillman College in Alabama in the mid-90s.

Perry’s research interests include fixing journalism to unite America, broadcast history, media effects on public opinion, and peace journalism. He founded and edits Communication Research Replication and serves as executive editor of Artifact Analysis. He previously edited Mass Communication and Society.

Perry grew up in a pastor’s home in South Florida and later in Massachusetts. He and his wife, Rev. Kay Lynn Perry, planted two churches, one as lay people and one where she served as pastor while he led the music. He plays keyboards in the church his wife pastors in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.

Credentials

B.S., Trevecca Nazarene University, 1987; M.A., University of Alabama, 1993; Ph.D., University of Alabama, 1995

Publications

Books

Baldwin, John, S. D. Perry, and Michael A. Moffitt, editors. Communication Theories for Everyday Life. Allyn & Bacon/Longman, 2004.

Bissell, Kimberly, and S. D. Perry, editors. Olympics, Media, and Society. Routledge, 2013.

Book Chapters

Khoo, F., S. D. Perry, A. Garvey, and C. Navarro. "War or Peace: Framing the Paris and Orlando Terror Attacks through Photography." Examining Terrorism, Extremism, and Radicalization through a Peace Communication Perspective, edited by F. Khoo, Peter Lang Publishing, 2023, pp. 65-92.

Perry, S. D. "Restoring Journalistic Credibility through Revisiting the Ancient Religious Tradition of Jubilee." The Mainstream News Media in America: What’s Wrong and How to Fix It, edited by J. Kuypers, Lexington, 2024, pp. 87-106.

Perry, S. D. "The Meaning of Contemporary Christian Music for Evangelicals." Evangelical Christians and Popular Culture: Pop Goes the Culture, edited by Robert H. Woods, vol. 2, Praeger Publishing, 2013, pp. 119-132.

Perry, S. D., V. Gouse, M. Valentin-Llopis, and B. Nyamwange. "An Updated Investigation of the Conceptualization of Peace and War in Studies of Media Coverage of Conflicts from Terrorism to War." Examining Terrorism, Extremism, and Radicalization through a Peace Communication Perspective, edited by F. Khoo, Peter Lang Publishing, 2023, pp. 37-63.

Journal Articles

Ardine, D., and S. D. Perry. "A Cinematology Approach to Behavioral Change Regarding the Mental Illness Stigma in Society: A Rhetorrectional Situational Analysis of the Film A Beautiful Mind." Quarterly Review of Film and Video, 2024, pp. 1-24. https://doi.org/10.1080/10509208.2024.2391147.

Bates, S., I. Eze, L. L. Groves, and S. D. Perry. "Celebrity Influence Subverted in I Am Second: An Invitation to Understanding." Artifact Analysis, vol. 1, no. 3, 2022, pp. 27-50. https://en.calameo.com/books/006995496e9d3748e9f99.

David, K., M. Myers, V. Gouse, S. D. Perry, and C. B. Stein. "Examination of Insecure Attachment and the Potential for Parental Attachment to a Favorite Celebrity." North American Journal of Psychology, vol. 21, 2019, pp. 387-406.

Fletcher, C., S. D. Perry, C. Eschler-Freudenrich, J. Powers, F. Khoo, B. Dunbar, B. Nyamwange, H. Besant, and J. Duckett. "Education and Debating Social and Political Issues in the Naperville Lyceum." Artifact Analysis, vol. 1, no. 1, 2022, pp. 1-21. https://en.calameo.com/read/006995496fb420e7e6bb3.

Gouse, V., M. Valentine-Lopez, S. D. Perry, and B. Nyamwange. "An Investigation of the Conceptualization of Peace and War in Peace Journalism Studies of Media Coverage of National and International Conflicts." Media, War & Conflict, 2019.

Lee, K. C., and S. D. Perry. "Student Instant Message Use in a Ubiquitous Computing Environment: Effects of Deficient Self-Regulation." Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, vol. 48, no. 3, 2004, pp. 399-420.

Moore, M., and S. D. Perry. "Oughts vs. Ends: Seeking an Ethical Normative Standard for Journal Acceptance Rate Calculation Methods." Journal of Academic Ethics, vol. 10, 2012, pp. 113-121. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-012-9158-3.

Perry, S. D. "Radio Script Revels in 1930s Broadcasting and Air Mail Progress: The Technological Sublime on NBC." Artifact Analysis, vol. 2, no. 1, 2023.

Perry, S. D. "Value Consistency in Peace Journalism: Opposing Structural and Cultural Violence through Prodding for Positive Peace." Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, vol. 66, 2022, pp. 623-646.

Perry, S. D., and J. Scott. "A Boondoggle in Space: Themes in 1960s-Era Space Exploration Coverage by The Saturday Evening Post." Artifact Analysis, vol. 1, no. 1, 2022, pp. 68-91. https://en.calameo.com/read/006995496fb420e7e6bb3.

Perry, S. D. "A Sponsor’s Fight for Audience: How General Foods Promoted Listenership for the Byrd Expedition Broadcasts." Journal of Radio and Audio Media, vol. 24, 2017, pp. 339-356. https://doi.org/10.1080/19376529.2017.1362890.

Perry, S. D. "The Demise of Live Radio Entertainment in the Heartland: A Case Study." Journal of Radio and Audio Media, vol. 20, 2013, pp. 134-150. https://doi.org/10.1080/19376529.2013.778674.

Perry, S. D., and K. C. Lee. "Mobile Phone Text Messaging Overuse among Developing World University Students." Communication, vol. 33, no. 2, 2007, pp. 63-79.

Perry, S. D. "Tsunami Warning Dissemination in Mauritius." Journal of Applied Communication Research, vol. 35, no. 4, 2007, pp. 399-417.

Perry, S. D., and A. Roesch. "He’s in a New Neighborhood Now: Religious Meanings of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood." Journal of Media and Religion, vol. 3, no. 4, 2004, pp. 199-218.

Affiliations

  • Association for Education in Journalism & Mass Communication
  • Broadcast Education Association
  • Religious Communication Association

Awards

  • Faculty Award for Excellence in Scholarship, Regent University, 2018 & 2023
  • Article of the Year, Journal of Radio & Audio Media, 2017
  • Treyes Award, AEJMC Mass Communication and Society Division, 2016, 2013
  • Fulbright Fellow, Lecturing/Research Award to the University of Mauritius, 2004-05