Dr Ryan J. Hurley

Associate Professor

Picture of Dr Ryan J. Hurley

Biography

Ryan J. Hurley is originally from Minnesota, where he completed his BA at Concordia College in Communication. He attended Kansas State University for his MS degree, before moving to Illinois to complete his PhD in Communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Dr. Hurley spent year at Wake Forest University as a Visiting Assistant Professor before joining the Department of Communication here at NC State.

Teaching and Research Interests

Dr. Hurley is interested in the intersection between mass communcation and issues of health. Specifically, his research interests look closely at the impact of search engines (and their algorithms) on the health news information Internet users receive.

Projects

Dr. Hurley primarily, but not exclusively, investigates the area of communication most commonly referred to as "media content and effects." He has investigated the content and effects of cancer information in Internet news, racial portrayls in Internet news, direct-to-consumer drug advertisements, and uncertainty management processes in women living with HPV.

Publications

Kosenko, K. A., Harvey, J., Hurley, R. J. (in press). Uncertainty management processes and problems of women with HPV. Manuscript accepted for publication at Journal of Health Communication.

Jensen, J. D., Lynam-Scherr, C., Brown, N., Jones, C., Christy, K., & Hurley, R. J. (2014). Public estimates of cancer frequency: Cancer incidence perceptions mirror distorted media depictions. Manuscript accepted for publication in Journal of Health Communication.

Hurley, R. J., Riles, J., & Sangalang, A. (2014). Online cancer news: Trends regarding article types, specific cancers, and the cancer continuum. Manuscript accepted for publication in Health Communication.

Jensen, J. D., & Hurley, R. J. (2012). Conflicting stories about public scientific controversies: Effects of news coverage and divergence on scientists’ credibility. Public Understanding of Science, 21, 689-704. doi:10.1177/0963662510387759

Kosenko, K. A., Hurley, R. J., & Harvey, J. (2012). Sources of the uncertainty experienced by women with HPV. Qualitative Health Research, 22, 534-545. doi: 10.1177/1049732311424404

Hurley, R. J. & Tewksbury, D. (2012). News aggregation and content differences in online cancer news. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 56, 132-149. doi: 10.1080/08838151.2011.64868

Hurley, R. J., Kosenko, K. A., & Brashers, D. E. (2011). Uncertain terms: Message features of online cancer news. Communication Monographs, 78, 370-390. doi: 10.1080/03637751.2011.565061

Weaver, A. J., Jensen, J. D., Martins, N., Hurley, R. J., & Wilson, B. J. (2011). Children’s enjoyment of animated violence and action. Media Psychology, 14, 49-70. doi: 10.1080/15213269.2010.547829

Jensen, J. D., Moriarty, C., Hurley, R. J., & Stryker, J. E. (2010). Making sense of cancer news coverage trends: A comparison of three comprehensive content analyses. Journal of Health Communication, 15, 136-151. doi:10.1080/10810730903528025

Jensen, J. D., & Hurley, R. J. (2005). Third-person effects and the environment: Social distance, social desirability, and presumed behavior. Journal of Communication, 55, 242-256. doi: 10.1111/j.1460-2466.2005.tb02670.x

INVITED PUBLICATIONS & BOOK CHAPTERS

Hurley, R. J. (2011). Uncertain about cancer? So is online news. Communication Currents, 6 (5). Available online at http://www.natcom.org/CommCurrentsArticle.aspx?id=1703

Josey, C., Hurley, R. J., Hefner, V., & Dixon, T. L. (2009). Racial representations in online news. In R. A. Lind (Ed.), Race/Gender/Media: Considering diversity across audiences, content, and producers. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc.

Presentations

Hurley, R. J., Sangalang, A., Riles, J., & Ford, E. A. (2013, June). Online cancer news: Trend differences between 2008 & 2012 Internet-based cancer news. Manuscript to be presented at the 63rd annual meeting of the International Communication Association, London, England.

Hurley, R. J., Kosenko, K. A., & Loveland, V. D. (2012, April). Understanding uncertainty-related content in direct-to-consumer drug advertisements: A content analysis. Manuscript presented at the 12th biennial Kentucky Conference on Health Communication, Lexington, KY.

Jensen, J. D., Lynam-Scherr, C., Brown, N., Jones, C., Christy, K., & Hurley, R. J. (2011, November). Public estimates of cancer frequency: Cancer incidence perceptions mirror distorted media depictions. Manuscript presented at the 97th annual meeting of the National Communication Association, New Orleans, LA.

Hurley, R. J., Kosenko, K. A., & Brashers, D. E. (2010, November). Measuring mediated uncertainty: Scientific uncertainty in online cancer news. Manuscript presented at the 96th annual meeting of the National Communication Association, San Francisco, CA.  *Top Papers in Health Communication

Jensen, J. D., & Hurley, R. J. (2004, November). Environmental conflict in the media: Measuring presumed influence, presumed behavior, and behavioral intention. Manuscript presented at the 90th annual meeting of the National Communication Association, Chicago, IL.  *Top Student Paper in Mass Communication

Jensen, J. D., & Hurley, R. J. (2004, November). I won’t, but they will: Behavioral intentions following exposure to environmental conflict coverage. Manuscript presented at the 90th annual meeting of the National Communication Association, Chicago, IL. *Top Student Paper in Environmental Communication  *Top Papers in Environmental Communication


Education

  • BA in Communication Studies from Concordia College, 2001
  • MA in Speech Communication from Kansas State University, 2003
  • PhD in Speech Communication from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2009