Kate Fink

Faculty Bio

Dr. Kate Fink, Associate Professor at Pace University, specializes in communication, media research, and journalism studies. Award-winning scholar with expertise in digital media and mass communication.

Awards and Honors

• Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication History Division, 2015, Covert Award
• Journalist's Resource, Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, Harvard University, 2014, top academic paper

Licensures and Certificates

• Pace University, Teaching Effectively Online certification The goal of this certification is to prepare instructors in online pedagogy as well as effectively using the University’s learning management system (Blackboard) and other instructional technologies for teaching online, or as a supplement (blended) to an on-campus face-to-face course.
• European Journalism Centre, Data Driven Journalism MOOC: Doing Journalism With Data: First Steps, Skills and Tools Course covered the essential concepts, techniques and skills needed to effectively work with data and produce compelling data stories under tight deadlines.

PhD, Columbia University, New York, NY, 2014
Communications

MPhil, Columbia University, New York, NY, 2012
Communications

MBA, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA, 2009

BA, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 1998
Slavic Languages and Literatures

Research Interest

Community journalism, media business models, freedom of expression, nonprofit media, student journalism

Grants, Sponsored Research and Contracts

Helene and Grant Wilson Center for Social Entrepreneurship
Fink, K. A. 2022 - 2023. Pace University. Funded. Sustaining Local News Nonprofits
This project focuses on the struggles of local news nonprofits to attract funding while maintaining their commitment to public service. Given increasing interest in nonprofit models for news, and the relationship between press independence and democracy, donor influence on journalism is a concern. Depending on a limited pool of donors can lead to real or perceived conflicts of interest—a significant risk as the public’s trust in news media remains low.
Nonprofit news models are popular partly due to the perceived failure of profit-driven media to serve the public interest. However, nonprofit news media often struggle with sustainability. Foundations provide the most funding, although their support can be fleeting, ideologically biased, and include conditions that journalists feel compromise their independence. Foundations also favor national outlets, limiting fundraising options for local news nonprofits. Financial struggles have been more severe for local media generally. One-fourth of local newspapers closed in the years 2004-2019, a trend that accelerated during the pandemic. The U.S. now has hundreds of “news deserts”—or communities that lack regular local news coverage. News deserts are most common in disadvantaged communities, such as those with lower incomes and higher ethnic diversity. This study will be based on interviews with leaders of nonprofit news organizations about their funding sources, how fundraising is integrated into their operations, and specific challenges to sustainability they have faced.

Past Courses

COM 200: Public Speaking
JRN 101: Introduction to News Media
JRN 104: News Reporting
JRN 211: Arts and Enter. Journalism
JRN 238: The Global Newsroom
JRN 244: This Just In: Breaking News
JRN 296: Tpc: This Just in-Brkng News
JRN 297: Topics: Audio Storytelling
JRN 300: The Digital Newsroom
JRN 386: The Art of Anchoring
JRN 499: Digital Storytelling
MCA 115: News Reporting
MCA 280: Audio Storytelling
MCA 313: The Digital Newsroom
MCA 340: Writing for Advertising
MCA 350: Making Media with Drones
MCA 386: The Art of Anchoring
MCA 386: Video News Reporting
MCA 393: Internship Program I
MCA 398: Making Media with Drones
MCA 495: Digital Storytelling
MCA 499: Sem: Investigative Journalism
MCA 601: Industry Theory and Practice
MCA 602: Writing for Organizations
MCA 610: Communications Research
MCA 645: Media Innovation
MCA 681: Multi-Platform Communications
MCA 693: Internship
UNV 101: First-Year Smnr Unvrsty Cmmnty

Publications

Full Court Press: Fighting Restrictions on Student Journalists At Private Universities
McQueen, S. & Fink, K. A. (2024). College Media Review. Vol 60 https://cmreview.org/research-vol-60-full-court-press/
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Keeping Up with the Technologies: Distressed Journalistic Labor in the Pursuit of “Shiny” Technologies
Min, S. & Fink, K. (2021). Journalism Studies.

Experiential learning: Reflection vs reflections
Ziek, P., Fink, K. A. & Guarneri, L. (2020). Vol 13 , pages 1730-1735. https://library.iated.org/view/ZIEK2020EXP

Freedom of information in college: How student journalists learn to file public records requests
Fink, K. A. (2020). College Media Review. Vol 58
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“We Have to Stand Out to Blend In”: Ordinary Transgender People Speak About Being Subjects of News Stories
Fink, K. A. & Palmer, R. (2020). Journalism Studies. Vol 21 (Issue 8) , pages 1109-1126. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1461670X.2019.1699851
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Framing Pier 55: negotiated resilience and contested waterfronts
Fink, K. A., Finewood, M. H. & Molnar, L. (2019). Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences. Vol 9 (Issue 3) , pages 364-370.

Freedom of Information in Community Journalism
Fink, K. A. (2019). Community Journalism. Vol 7 (Issue 1) , pages 17--37.

The biggest challenge facing journalism: A lack of trust
Fink, K. A. (2019). Journalism. Vol 20 (Issue 1) , pages 40-43.
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Networks within the Competitive Media Environment
Ziek, P. & Fink, K. A. (2018). Review of Journalism and Mass Communication. Vol 6 (Issue 1/2) , pages 1-11. https://rjmc.thebrpi.org/journals/rjmc/Vol_6_No_1_2_December_2018/1.pdf
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Opening the government’s black boxes: freedom of information and algorithmic accountability
Fink, K. A. (2018). Information, Communication & Society. Vol 21 (Issue 10) , pages 1453-1471. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1369118X.2017.1330418

Data Journalism in the United States: Beyond the “Usual Suspects”
Fink, K. A. & Anderson, C. (2014). Journalism Studies. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1461670X.2014.939852#.VQeZNEYVuI0
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Book Review: Rosalind Coward, Speaking Personally: the Rise of Subjective and Confessional Journalism
Fink, K. A. Vol 37 (Issue 3) https://journals.sagepub.com/home/mcs

The Rise of Contextual Journalism, 1950s–2000s
Fink, K. A. & Schudson, M. (2014). Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism. Vol 15 (Issue 1) , pages 3-20. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1464884913479015
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Presentations

Public Records and Private Interests
Fink, K. A. (2015). Joint Journalism and Communication History Conference. American Journalism Historians Association and the History Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication,
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Professional Memberships

• Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication
• International Communication Association

University Service

• Office of Residential Life [Faculty in Residence]