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School of Communication

Dr. Jessica Payne

Assistant Professor
Jessica's Profile Image
Office
FEL Fell Hall 434
Office Hours
Tuesday & Thursday
10:00am-12:00pm, Fell 406
(or by appointment)
Office Phone
(309) 438-3671office
phone
Email
jlpayn3@ilstu.eduemail
Website
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica... website
  • About
  • Education
  • Selected Research

Biography

Dr. Jessica L. Payne is a first-year assistant professor in the School of Communication at Illinois State University. When she’s not teaching or conducting research, Dr. Payne enjoys reading and listening to audiobooks, spending time with friends and family, going for walks, and watching sports—especially F1 and college baseball.

Current Courses

COM 358.001 Crisis Communication

COM 342.001 Game Day Communication and Operations

COM 390.001 Topics in Contemporary Communication

COM 358.001 Crisis Communication |  Syllabus

COM 342.001 Game Day Communication and Operations |  Syllabus

Research Interests & Areas

Dr. Payne's research explores the intersection of media effects and sports communication, with a particular interest in sport docuseries, mental health, and influencers within and beyond the sports industry.

PhD Communication & Information Sciences

The University of Alabama
Tuscaloosa, AL

MA Mass Communication

The University of Southern Mississippi
Hattiesburg, MS

BA English Education

Mississippi Christian University (formerly Mississippi College)
Clinton, MS

Book, Chapter

When the PGA Tour and LIV Golf became one: Framing an oil and water relationship on Twitter and Reddit
Andrew C Billings, Joshua R Jackson, Jessica L Payne.
(2025)

Journal Article

Student Athletes and Mental Health: A Social Identity Theory Perspective
Shaheen Kanthawala, Jessica L Payne, Bree Holtz, Scott Parrott.
(2026)
Navigating gender roles from the sports sidelines: Gender schemas and industry expectations of female sideline reporters
Sean R Sadri, Nick R Buzzelli, Jessica L Payne, Andrew C Billings.
(2025)
Negotiating credibility perceptions as a female sideline reporter: The lasting impact of Charissa Thompson’s comments
Sean R Sadri, Nick R Buzzelli, Jessica L Payne.
(2025)
Quality health information indicators: A scoping review protocol advancing the development and use of quality indicators for the nature medicine commission
R Ivic, S Gorman, R Farrell, P Ginwal, Jessica L Payne, G Amangalieva, R Piltch-Loeb, J Cortez, A Ogulande, A Sharma, L Swan-Potras, S Ratzan.
(2025)
Sports news and the artificial-intelligence-generated article: Examining identity and the influence of human versus artificial-intelligence authorship on perceptions of credibility and online share likelihood
Sean R Sadri, Jessica L Payne, Kenon A Brown, Andrew C Billings.
(2025)
The state of Black quarterback media depictions in the NFL: Reasons for both celebration and concern
Andrew C Billings, Emily Dirks, Joshua R Jackson, Jessica L Payne, Spencer Tomsett.
(2024)