You Li

A photo of You Li

Associate Professor of Journalism

School of Communication, Media & Theatre Arts

121 Judy Sturgis Hill Building

734.487.4199

[email protected]

Education

  • Ph.D. in Journalism, University of Missouri-Columbia
  • MA in Journalism, University of Missouri-Columbia
  • BA in International Journalism, Shanghai International Studies University

Interests and Expertise

Dr. You Li is an Associate Professor of Journalism at Eastern Michigan University. Her research interests include media history, media sociology, media management, and global journalism. Her research traces the historical and contemporary evolvement of journalism with a particular emphasis on the autonomous and heteronomous forces that shape the journalism boundaries.

Dr. Li’s research draws theories from sociology, management, and journalism, and uses both qualitative and quantitative methods. Her recent projects examine the renegotiation of journalism boundary in the face of native advertising and participatory culture, the application
of journalistic storytelling to data literacy education, and journalists’ roles and experiences in covering the Covid-19 pandemic around the world. With these projects, Dr. Li hopes to help preserve the public service mission of quality journalism in the digital age.

Before coming to Eastern, Dr. Li worked at the newsrooms of The Columbia Missourian at the Missouri School of Journalism, the Fortune magazine in New York City, and the Shanghai Media Group in China.

Courses

  • JRNL213: Introduction to Journalism
  • JRNL215: News Writing and Reporting
  • JRNL270 Data and Storytelling
  • JRNL280 Global Journalism
  • JRNL310: Digital Journalism
  • JRNL313: History of American Journalism
  • JRNL314 Data. Journalism 
  • JRNL453: Advanced Reporting

Publications and Presentations

Publications

  • Vos, T. P., & Li, Y. (2024). An Early History of Newspaper Agents. American Journalism, published online first 30 Oct 2024. https://doi.org/10.1080/08821127.2024.2410707
  • Vos, T. P., & Li, Y. (2024). The Ad Agency and Ad Content in the 1840s. Journalism History, 50(3), 203–226. https://doi-org.ezproxy.emich.edu/10.1080/00947679.2024.2362557
  • Li, Y. (2023)."Collective Memory of Women Journalists in COVID-19 Oral History Collection." Eastern Michigan University Archive. https://commons.emich.edu/cmwj/index.html
  • Li, Y., Wang, Y., Lee, Y., Chen, H. Petri, A., & Cha, T. (2023). Teaching Data Science through Storytelling: Improving Undergraduate Data Literacy. Thinking Skills and Creativity 48, 1-15. Published online first https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsc.2023.101311
  • Chen, H., Li, Y., Wang, Y., Lee, Y., Petri, A., & Cha, T. (2023). Computer Science and Communication Students’ Perception on Integration of AI in Learning: A Case Study of OCEL.AI. Journal of Ethnographic and Qualitative Research, 16(4), 259-274.
  • Chen, H., Wang, Y., Li, Y. et al. (2023). Computer science and non-computer science faculty members’ perception on teaching data science via an experiential learning platform. Education and Information Technologies 28, 4093–4108. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-022-11326-8
  • Li, Y. & Wang, Y. (2022). Native Advertising on News Websites: The Impacts of Media Organizational Factors on Disclosure Clarity. Digital Journalism. Accepted for publication in April.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2022.2055597
  • Li, Y. (2022). The integration of native advertising in journalism and its impact on the news-advertising boundary. In Scott Eldridge II and Patrick Ferrucci (Eds.), The institutions changing journalism: Barbarians inside the gate. Abingdon: Routledge. 
  • Li, Y. (2021). Assessing the role performance of solutions journalism in a global pandemic. Journalism Practice. Published online first on October 25, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2021.1990787
  • Li, Y. (2019). The role performance of native advertising in legacy and digital-only news media. Digital Journalism. Published online first on February 13, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2019.1571931
  • Li, Y. & Wang, Ye. (2019). Brand disclosure and source partiality affect native advertising recognition and media credibility. Newspaper Research Journal, 40 (2): 1-18. First published online on August 19, 2019. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0739532919849472?journalCode=nrja
  • Li, Y. (2019). Contest over authority: Navigating native advertising’s impact on journalistic authority. Journalism Studies, 20 (4): 523-541. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2017.1397531
  • Li, Y. & Thorson, E. (2018). Converting cultural capital into economic capital: A hybrid newspaper's content management and performance during economic turbulence. Journal of Media Business Studies, 15(1): 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1080/16522354.2018.1445159
  • Wang, Y. & Li, Y. (2017). Understanding “native advertising” from the perspective of communication strategies. Journal of Promotion Management, 23 (6): 913-929. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10496491.2017.1323264
  • Li, Y. & Thorson, E. (2015). Increasing news content and diversity improves revenue. Newspaper Research Journal, 36(4), 392-398. http://nrj.sagepub.com/content/36/4/382.short
  • Li, Y. & Hellmueller, L. (2017). Constructing News with Audience: A Longitudinal Study of CNN’s Integration of Participatory Journalism. The Routledge Companion to Digital Journalism Studies. Ed. Bob Franklin and Scott Eldridge II.

Conference Presentations (Peer-reviewed)

  • Li, Y. (2024). When gender intersects with journalism: Reconstructing women journalists’ contributions and challenges of covering Covid-19 around the world. The paper was presented at the 44th annual convention of the National Women’s Studies Association, Detroit, on November 15, 2024
  • Li, Y. (2024). Reconciling gender with journalism: Reconstructing women journalists’ collective memories of covering COVID-19 in 25 countries. The paper was presented at the 102nd annual convention of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), Philadelphia, on August 9, 2024. 
  • Li, Y., Wang, Y., Lee, Y., Chen, H., Petri, A., Cha, T. (2021). Teaching data science through storytelling: Improving undergraduate data literacy. The paper was accepted for presentation at the Scholastic Journalism Division at the 104th annual convention of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), August 6.
  • Li. Y. (2021). Assessing the role performance of solutions journalism during a global pandemic. The paper was accepted for presentation at the International Communication Division at the 104th annual convention of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), August 3.
  • Li, Y. & Wang, Y. (2019). Understanding the typology of native advertising on news websites. The paper was presented to the Newspaper and Online News Division at the 102nd annual convention of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Toronto, Canada, August 9.
  • Li, Y. & Wang, Y. (2019). Understanding the typology of native advertising on U.S. news websites. In: Methodological considerations in measuring recognition of native advertising in digital news context at the 69th Annual International Communication Association (ICA) Conference, Communication Beyond Boundaries, Washington D.C., May 27.
  • Li, Y. (2018). Understanding the role performance of native advertising on news media sites. The paper was presented to the Newspaper and Online News Division at the 101st annual convention of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Washington D.C., August 6.
  • Li, Y. (2017). Contest over authority: Navigating native advertising’s impact on journalistic authority. The paper was presented to the Newspaper and Online News Division at the 100 th annual convention of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, August 11.

Grants, Honors and Awards

  • 2016 New Faculty Research Award
  • 2017 Summer Research Award
  • 2018 Women in Philanthropy Award
  • 2019 Summer Research Award
  • 2020 National Science Foundation-sponsored CUE Ethics: Open Collaborative Experiential Learning (OCELA1): Bridging Digital Divides in Undergraduate Education of Data Science
  • 2021 Summer Research Award
  • 2023 Summer Research Award
  • 2024 Summer Research Award