Biography

Dr. Kayli Plotner is an Assistant Professor of Multimedia Journalism and Digital Publishing at the University of Tennessee at Martin. She holds a Ph.D. in Journalism Studies from the University of Colorado Boulder; a Masters of media management and multimedia production as well as a Bachelors of editorial journalism from Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Her research focuses on media sociology, primarily organizational culture in newsrooms as it relates to journalists’ mental health and remote work. She also studies the intersections of visual journalism and social media.
Dr. Plotner has filled many roles within a newsroom including as a digital strategist at the Denver Post, a digital-visual editor at the Chicago Tribune, and a staff photographer and reporter at the Rockford Register Star. She is originally from a small town in central Illinois, the land of cornfields and college basketball. I-L-L!

Education

  • Ph.D., University of Colorado Boulder (2025)
  • M.S., Southern Illinois University Carbondale (2016)
  • B.S., Southern Illinois University Carbondale (2014)

Awards & Recognitions

  • Center for Teaching & Learning's “Best Should Teach” Silver Award, CU Boulder (2023)
  • CU Boulder Graduate School Scholarship (2021/2022/2023)

Courses Taught

  • MMSC 303 - Media Writing
  • MMSC 203 - Introduction to Mass Communication and Journalism
  • MMSC 240 - Introduction to Media Design & Public Relations
  • MMSC 110 - Language Competency

Selected Publications, Articles & Presentations

  • Plotner, K., & Ferrucci, P. (2024). The Harming and the Helping: Perceived Organizational Effects on Mental Health in the Newsroom. Digital Journalism, 1-18.
  • Plotner, K. (2024). How do newsrooms use Instagram? A mixed method analysis of journalistic decision making — presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication annual conference; Newspaper and Online News Division. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. August 2024.
  • Plotner, K. (2024). Newsroom diversity’s evolution: a textual analysis of metajournalistic discourse — presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication annual conference; Commission on the Status of Minorities. Philadelphia, Penn. August 2024.
  • Plotner, K. (2023). Reckoning with a racist past: A textual analysis of newsroom mugshot policies following the 2020 racial-justice movement — presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication annual conference; Visual Communication Division. Washington, D.C., August 2023.
Areas of Expertise
Digital media
Media sociology
Organizational culture
Visual journalism
Social media
Departments
Mass Media and Strategic Communications
Office
305J Gooch Hall