Karen McIntyre, PhD, joined the SOJC faculty in fall 2024 after nine years in academia. She is a leading researcher in the field of solutions—and constructive—journalism. She introduced the term constructive journalism to the academic literature in her 2015 dissertation and has since published numerous studies investigating the processes and effects of these emerging approaches, which aim to create more productive news stories that contribute to society’s wellbeing. Along with the SOJC’s Dr. Nicole Dahmen, she edited a book on such socially responsible forms of journalism, Reporting Beyond the Problem: From Civic Journalism to Solutions Journalism.

McIntyre also studies press freedom and journalism practice in East Africa and served as a Fulbright scholar in Rwanda during the 2018-19 academic year. Her fieldwork in Rwanda, Uganda, and Kenya culminated in her 2023 book, Press Freedom and the (Crooked) Path Toward Democracy: Lessons from Journalists in East Africa, co-authored with Dr. Meghan Sobel Cohen of Regis University.

McIntyre teaches undergraduate and graduate journalism courses including Journalism Writing, Multiplatform Storytelling, Media Law and Ethics, and Solutions Journalism. Prior to coming to the UO, McIntyre worked as an associate professor and director of graduate studies at Virginia Commonwealth University. Before joining the academy, she worked as a print and online journalist. She has traveled to more than 40 countries and is originally from Lake Tahoe, California.