Summary
Patrick File’s research, public engagement, and teaching focus on helping us better understand how we define and regulate journalism at the intersection of law, technology, and professional practices. In the classroom, Patrick strives to help his students develop a critical curiosity about the evolving and dynamic legal, social, and historical background of today’s media environment.
Patrick's research in media law and history is published in journals like Communication Law & Policy, American Journalism, and the Journal of Media Law and Ethics. His book, published in January 2019 by the University of Massachusetts Press, is titled “Bad News Travels Fast: The Telegraph, Libel, and Press Freedom in the Progressive Era.”
Prior to his academic career, Patrick won national awards as a student journalist, worked for his hometown newspaper in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, and reported for publications in Iowa and upstate New York. He interned with the Student Press Law Center, in Washington D.C., and spent two years in South Korea as an ESL instructor.
Education
- Ph.D., University of Minnesota School of Journalism and Mass Communication
- Master's Degree, University of Minnesota School of Journalism and Mass Communication