Faculty Profile for Dr. William Thomas Kaufhold

profile photo for Dr. William Thomas Kaufhold
Dr. William Thomas Kaufhold
Associate Professor — School of Jrnlism & Mass Comm
OM 102
phone: (512) 245-7265
Scholarly/Creative Work
Awards
Grants
Service

Biography Section

Biography and Education

 Dr. William T. "Kelly" Kaufhold enjoyed a widely diverse career a journalist for 25 years, working in Ohio, Texas and Florida. He has been a reporter, videographer, photographer producer and manager, in radio, TV and at Miami Medicine magazine, and he worked for one of the first online magazines - College Press Network - in 1999. He returned to graduate school in 2002, earning a master's degree in communication studies from the University of Miami and a doctorate in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin.

Teaching Interests

 I love bringing smartphones into my teaching. I use mine to teach techniques, teach students how to use it as a secondary camera, require social media in all my reporting classes... I even teach app emulation tools.

Research Interests

 Having worked through a period of steady decline in the traditional media industry, Kelly has a strong interest in media economics and patterns of news consumption and avoidance - especially among young adults. He is increasingly interested in political tribalism, especially emotional distance and distrust ("affective polarization") and what can be done to reduce it.

Selected Scholarly/Creative Work

  • Bello, A., & Kaufhold, K. T. (2023). Power to the People: Social Media as a Catalyst for Political Participation in Nigeria. International Journal of Interactive Communication Systems and Technologies (IJICST), 12(1). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.4018/ijicst.320652
  • Zheng, N., Ng, M. Y. M., Chyi, H. I., & Kaufhold, W. T. (2021). Digital Sustainability: Assessing U.S. Newspapers’ Online Readership with the Multidimensional Attention Model. International Journal on Media Management, 23(3–4), 149–175. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/14241277.2022.2038606
  • Kaufhold, W. T. (2020). What if Newspapers are Still (Slowly) Dying? Newspaper Research Journal, 41(1), 8–63. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1177/07395329199006
  • Price, D. M., & Kaufhold, W. T. (2019). Bordering on Empathy: The Effect of Selective Exposure on Immigration Attitudes. Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 63(3), 494–511. https://doi.org/ttps://doi.org/10.1080/08838151.2019.1659089
  • Kaufhold, W. T. (n.d.). Mediating Empathy:  The role of news consumption in mitigating attitudes about race and immigration. Newspaper Research Journal, 40(2), 222–238.

Selected Awards

  • Award / Honor Recipient: Top Research Paper, Community Journalism Interest Group, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. August 2021 - Present
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Top Reviewer, Media Management, Economics and Entrepreneurship Division, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. August 2022
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Presidential Distinction Award for Excellence in Teaching, School of Journalism and Mass Communication. January 2022 - August 2022
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Presidential Distinction Award for Excellence in Teaching, Texas State University. August 2020
  • Award / Honor Recipient: Presidential Distinction Award for Excellence in Teaching, Texas State University. August 2019

Selected Grants

  • Kaufhold, William Thomas (Principal), Oskam, Judith B (Supporting), Devlin, Michael Brandon (Other). Communication Strategy Implementation Proposal, Texas Department of Health and Human Services, State, $636149.00. (Funded: July 2017 - December 2017). Grant.
  • Kaufhold, William Thomas. Psychological motivations for Tribal Identity in Selective Media Exposure and Issue Attitudes, Research Enhancement Program, Texas State University, $8000. (Submitted: December 6, 2020). Grant.
  • Craig, Clay Martin (Other), Kaufhold, William Thomas (Principal), Oskam, Judith B (Co-Principal). Communication Strategy Implementation Proposal, Texas Department of Health and Human Services, State, $636149. (Funded: July 2017 - December 2017). Grant.
  • Yunjuan, Luo (Principal), Kaufhold, Kelly (Principal), Autumn, Shafer (Principal). Komen Tissue Bank, A division of the Susan G. Komen Foundation, at Indiana University, Private / Foundation / Corporate, $12500. (Submitted: September 2012, Funded: 2012 - 2016). Grant.
  • Kaufhold, Kelly (Principal). Patricia Witherspoon Research Award for original public service research, Private / Foundation / Corporate, $2000. (Submitted: 2009). Grant.

Selected Service Activities

Co-Chair
Broadcasting and Mobile Journalism Division, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication
August 2023-Present
Interim Program Coordinator, Electronic Media
School of Journalism and Mass Communication
February 2023-Present
Member
Standing Committee on Career Development, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication
December 2021-Present
Member
Research Enhancement Program Selection Committee
October 2021-Present
Member
Graduate Research Fellowships Awards Committee
August 2021-Present