Cory Barker is an assistant teaching professor in the Department of Film Production and Media Studies. Cory's research focuses on media industry convergences, particularly legacy media institutions’ use of “new” technology in production, promotion and distribution strategies.
His book Social TV: Multi-Screen Content and Ephemeral Culture (University Press of Mississippi, 2022) reveals how the U.S. television industry promised—and failed to deliver—a social media revolution in the 2010s. The book was honored with the Outstanding Book Award from the Media Industries Studies Interest Group at the 2023 Society for Cinema and Media Studies annual conference. Cory's work has also been published in Television & New Media, New Review of Film and Television Studies, Women's Studies in Communication, Participations: Journal of Audience & Reception Studies and From Networks to Netflix: A Guide to Changing Channels (Routledge, 2018).
A member of the News Literacy Institute, Cory co-hosts the News Over Noise podcast and manages the News Literacy Ambassador program.
Prior to Penn State, Cory was a tenured faculty member in Bradley University’s Department of Communication. He earned his Ph.D. from the Department of Communication & Culture at Indiana University.
