Mia Moody, Ph.D.

Mia Moody, Ph.D., professor of journalism, public relations and new media, was named Baylor University’s 2018-2019 Newsmaker of the Year for her national media presence and academic expertise on race, culture and media. Today, her research interests have expanded to include the framing of people of color, women and political candidates, mainly via user-generated content.

Through her scholarship and media engagement, Moody bridges academia and public discourse on critical social issues, focusing on how mass media represent people of color, women and underrepresented groups. During the 2018-2019 academic year, her insights were featured in more than 200 media stories that reached more than 650 million people and had an estimated media value exceeding $500,000. 

“As researchers, we are all Baylor Newsmakers. We are making a difference at Baylor, in the lives of our students and the world."  
- Mia Moody, Ph.D.

“As researchers, we are all Baylor Newsmakers. We are making a difference at Baylor, in the lives of our students and the world,” Moody said when receiving the Newsmaker of the Year honor. "We need to let others know what we are doing. Publicity through the media is one way of doing that."

With heightened national attention on race-related events, Moody used her academic insights to help inform conversations. In October of 2018, she was interviewed by The Atlantic about cultural appropriation and Halloween. She also provided historical insight on blackface for USA TODAY, CNN, “The World” on Public Radio International, the Arizona Republic and more.

Moody's notable publications include: 

• Black Fathers Matter: Messages of Hope in Black Father-Themed Instagram Memes (2024, Journal of Black Studies)
• Facebook Framing of the First Female U.S. Vice President: An Intersectional Approach to Analyzing Memes Depicting Kamala Harris (2024, Howard Journal of Communications)
• The 2020 Presidential Election: An Examination of the Social Media Messaging of Divine-9 Sororities & Fraternities (2023, Southwestern Mass Communication Journal)
• Memes and Representations of Race: An Analysis of Historical Representations of Welfare (2022, Journal of American Folklore)
• Representations of Mexican immigrants in 2019 immigration-themed Memes (2022, International Communication Research Journal)
• From Blackface to Black Twitter: Reflections on Black Humor, Race, Politics & Gender (2018, Peter Lang)
• Race, Gender and Image Repair Theory: How Digital Media Change the Landscape (2018, Lexington Press)

ABOUT MIA MOODY, PH.D.

Mia Moody, Ph.D., is professor of journalism, public relations and new media in Baylor Universitys’ College of Arts & Sciences. Her research focuses on the framing of people of color, women and political candidates, mainly via user-generated content, and she is often called upon by media outlets across the country for her expertise.

Moody has published widely in academic journals and is the author and co-author of four books, including “Race, Gender & Image Repair Case Studies in the Early 21st Century,” “From Blackface to Black Twitter: Reflections on Black Humor, Race, Politics & Gender,” “The Obamas and Mass Media: Race, Gender, Religion, and Politics” and “Black and Mainstream Press’ Framing of Racial Profiling: A Historical Perspective.” Her forthcoming book is “Blackface Memes: Racist Cultural Appropriation In The Twenty-First Century.”

Moody received Baylor's Cornelia Marschall Smith Professor of the Year Award in 2021 for her superlative contribution to the learning environment through teaching research and service. She is an active member of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication and will serve as AEJMC president in 2026.