Washington State University researcher Jennifer R. Henrichsen has received the 2026 Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver Early Career Woman Scholar Award, a national honor recognizing outstanding scholarship and future promise in journalism and mass communication.
Presented by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, the award honors an early-career scholar who demonstrates outstanding research and potential as an emerging leader in the field.
Reviewers described Henrichsen as an “award-winner-level candidate whose profile combines scholarly excellence, productivity, impact, and future promise,” with one reviewer also citing her impressive international outreach in journalism.
Henrichsen is an assistant professor in the Edward R. Murrow College of Communication, senior personnel with the VICEROY Northwest Institute for Cybersecurity Education and Research, and an affiliated fellow at Yale Law School’s Information Society Project and the University of Pennsylvania’s Media, Inequality & Change Center. A former Fulbright Research Scholar, she holds an MA from the University of Geneva and an MA and PhD from the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania.
Henrichsen’s research examines how structural conditions and evolving forms of risk shape journalistic work, and what those pressures mean for journalism and democratic life.
“I’m honored to receive this prestigious award,” Henrichsen said. “It’s a meaningful recognition of my scholarship, and it affirms the urgency and importance of this research at a time when journalism and democracy are facing complex and intensifying challenges.”
Henrichsen’s research examines how structural conditions and evolving forms of risk shape journalistic work, and what those pressures mean for journalism and democratic life. She has produced more than 30 publications, including three books and 14 peer-reviewed journal articles in outlets such as Digital Journalism and the International Journal of Communication. Her work has been cited by the U.S. Government and the United Nations, and her research has been profiled in outlets including The New York Times and NPR.
Henrichsen has delivered more than 80 conference presentations and invited lectures across North America, Europe, and Asia, and is the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships, including the 2025 Andrew Carnegie Fellowship — the first in Washington State University history.
Henrichsen will be honored with a cash award and a plaque at AEJMC’s New Orleans Conference during its keynote session on Wednesday, Aug. 5, from 5:15–6:45 p.m. The award will be presented by Dr. Bey-Ling Sha, president of AEJMC.
