Welcome to 2026 AEJMC Conference
Media Management, Economics, and Entrepreneurship Division (MMEE)
Dear Colleagues,
On behalf of the AEJMC Media Management, Economics & Entrepreneurship (MMEE) Division, we would like to thank you for your contributions to the division and for your continued support of our community.
Below is the schedule for our selected research paper sessions at the conference. We hope this information will help you plan your attendance, and we look forward to seeing you there!
August 5--
3:30 to 4:45 p.m. / W060 / Studio 10 (2nd Floor)
Refereed Research Paper Session--From Newsrooms to Platforms: Leadership, Labor, and Algorithmic Logics in Media Industries
Moderating/Presiding--Todd Holmes, California State Northridge
Relationalized Management and Coordinated Authority: Constructing Newsroom Leadership in Job Advertisements
Yong Volz, Simone Bender, and Vy Luong, Missouri
Maximizing Returns and Minimizing Risks in Media Investments: A Portfolio Optimization Analysis Based on the Markowitz Portfolio Theory
Huyen Nguyen, Kansas State
Engineered Relationships: The Impacts of Instagram Virtual Influencer Marketing Strategies on User Engagement
Miao Guo, Connecticut and Fu-Shing Sun, Ball State
The Algorithmic Prism: How Global Freelance Platforms Refract and Reconstruct Intersectional Inequality in Digital
Sulin Ye, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Who Is Taking the Lead? Tensions Between Journalists and Newsrooms Over Generative AI in News Production
Erica Gong, Wisconsin-Madison
Discussant--Qian Yu, Eastern New Mexico
August 6--
9:45 to 11 a.m. / Th024 / Studio 9 (2nd Floor)
Refereed Research Paper Session--OMGC Case Study Competition
Moderating/Presiding--Louisa Ha, Bowling Green State
How Does Original Content Become a Core Strategic Resource Original Content as Strategic Resource: Audience Sentiment and Topic Mining on Reddit’s Stranger Things Community
Liu Linchum and Hu Jiage, Shanxi University
Impact-Driven Journalism in a Profit-Minded News Ecosystem: A Case Study of the Texas Tribune Newly Paul, North Texas
From Moral Panic to Market Creation: Player-Entrepreneurs and Institutionalization of China’s Gaming Industry
Yanyu Mo, Shanghai Jiao Tong University
“Risk-Return” Analysis of M&A Logic in Media Market: A Case Study of Game Industry in China
Botao Guan, Tsinghua University
Discussant--Miao Guo, Connecticut
4:45 to 6 p.m. / Th081 / Balcony J (4th Floor)
Top Refereed Research Paper Session--Valuing Digital Media: From AI Responsibility and Companionship to News and Crowdfunding
Moderating/Presiding--Mohammad Yousuf, New Mexico
Communicating Responsible AI in Media Firms: A Configurational Analysis of AI-CSR*
Allie Kosterich, Fordham and Paul Ziek, Pace
AI-Powered Companionship and Loneliness Economy: Intent to Pay for Social Chatbots**
Jiyoung Cha, Pennsylvania State
Beyond Income: Explaining Cross-National Variation in Digital News Pricing Across 36 Countries***
Jin Young Hwang, Texas Austin
Deconstructing The Logic and Realization of Value in Crowdfunding Publishing from the Perspective of Reader
Perception****
Runzheng Zhen, Nanjing University
Discussant--Todd Holmes, California State Northridge
* First Place Faculty Paper Award
** Second Place Faculty Paper Award
*** First Place Student Paper Award
****Second Place Student Paper Award