Jiyoung Cha

Jiyoung Cha, Ph.D., is an associate professor in the Department of Telecommunications and Media Industries at Penn State. She teaches courses on media management/economics, emerging communication technologies, media ethics and media entrepreneurship.

Cha’s research interests include media management/entrepreneurship, media industries, communication technology and consumer behavior. Her research aims to understand the competitive dynamics of the media marketplace, the business principles of media firms, how new media change audiences’ media consumption patterns and why audiences adopt or reject new communication technologies.

Her research explores how and why consumers choose specific content and platforms in a multichannel and multiplatform environment. She has researched the dynamic and symbiotic relationship between video streaming platforms and traditional video platforms as well as innovative ways to finance media for producing and distributing content. Other research projects have investigated social media usage, the business models of social media platforms and the credibility of social media. She has also investigated how media entrepreneurs in the video game and journalism industries can leverage crowdfunding platforms to realize their visions and amplify diverse voices.

Her research has appeared in peer-reviewed journals, including the International Journal on Media Management, the Journal of Media Economics, the Journal of Media Business Studies, the Journal of Media Management and Entrepreneurship, the International Journal of Communications, Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Telematics and Informatics, the Journal of Electronic Commerce Research, and the Journal of Advertising Research among others.

Cha received best research paper awards from the Association of Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) and the Broadcast Education Association (BEA) among others. She also served as the head of the Media Management, Economics, and Entrepreneurship Division of AEJMC. Currently, she is an editorial board member of the Journal of Media Economics, the Journal of Media Business Studies, the Nordic Journal of Media Management, and the Korean Journal of Communication.

Jiyoung Cha earned her M.A. in television, radio and film from Syracuse University and Ph.D. in mass communication with a minor in marketing from the University of Florida. Before her career in academia, she had professional experience in both marketing and production in media industries.