James Shanahan

Biography

James Shanahan is a Professor in the Media School at Indiana University. From 2015-2021 he was the Founding Dean of the Media School. He is a Senior Fellow at Heterodox Academy.

His research interests focus on cultural indicators, cultivation theory, media effects and public opinion. Special areas of focus are communication in relation to science and the environment.

His latest book is Sitcoms and Culture. He has authored and edited several other books, including Climate Change and Resilience in Indiana and Beyond (2022), Media Effects (2021), Living with Television Now (co-edited with Michael Morgan and Nancy Signorielli, 2012), and Television and its Viewers (with Michael Morgan, 1999). He has published numerous articles and chapters on topics related to media effects.

Recent publications:

Morgan, M., Perloff, R. M., Ruddock, A., & Shanahan, J. (2026). Cultivation at 50. Mass Communication and Society, 29(3), 343–364.

Shanahan, J. (2025). Sitcoms as culture. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

Mudavadi, K., Doll, M., & Shanahan, J. (2026). Kenyan Journalists’ Perceptions of Personal Media Channels for Professional Work.

Li W., Shanahan J.,& Liu, Y. (2026). Psychological distance and efficacy: Analyzing the framing of climate change on US agricultural news websites using LLM-assisted content analysis. Frontiers in Communication, 11:1759296.

Gui, M. & Shanahan, J.  (forthcoming). Lessons from 50 years of worries about youth and media. London: Palgrave.

Morgan, M., Shanahan, J., & Hermann, E. (2024). Television and the Mainstreaming of Political Attitudes: A 40-Year Comparison. Mass Communication and Society. doi:10.1080/15205436.2024.2402854

Li, W., Yan, H. Y., & Shanahan, J. (2024) The moderating role of partisanship in the relationship between perceptions of media bias and COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in the U.S. Communication Research Reports, 41(1):1-11  https://doi.org/10.1080/08824096.2023.2279964

Yan, H.Y., Yang, KC., Shanahan, J. et al. (2023) Exposure to social bots amplifies perceptual biases and regulation propensity. Scientific Reports 13, 20707. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-46630-x

Hermann, E., Morgan, M., Shanahan, J. & Yan, H. (2023). Cultivation and social media: A meta-analysis. New Media and Society, 25(9): 2492:2511.  https://doi.org/10.1177/146144482311802

Hermann, E., Morgan, M., Shanahan, J. & Yan, H. (2023). Television, authoritarianism, and support for Trump: A replication. Public Opinion Quarterly, 87(2): 389–401. doi: 10.1093/poq/nfad015

Shanahan, J.,  McComas, K. & Deline,  M. (2022). Representations of the environment on television, and their effects, In Hansen, A. & Cox, R. (eds.) The Routledge Handbook of Environment and Communication. London: Routledge

McCabe, J., Filippelli, G., Novick, K., & Shanahan, J. (eds.)(2022). Climate Change and Resilience in Indiana and Beyond. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. ISBN: 9780253063946

Houser, M., Gazley, B., Reynolds, H., Browning, E., Sandweiss, E., Shanahan, J. (2022). Public support for local adaptation policy: The role of social-psychological factors, perceived climatic stimuli, and social structural characteristics. Global Environmental Change, 72, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2021.102424

Hermann, H., Morgan, M. & Shanahan, J. (2022): Social change, cultural resistance: a meta-analysis of the influence of television viewing on gender role attitudes, Communication Monographs, 89(3): 396-418. DOI: 10.1080/03637751.2021.2018475

Shanahan, J. (2021). Media effects. Cambridge, UK: Polity.

Recent conference presentations:

Tong, Z., Li, W., Khamadi, S., Wu, Y., & Shanahan, J. (2026). Pro-environmental behaviors across different socioeconomic status groups in China: How environmental risk cues shape persuasion. International Communication Association, Environmental Communication Division. Cape Town, South Africa.

Tong, Z. & Shanahan, J. (2025) Hot air and hot topics: Revisiting the association between temperature and media coverage of climate change. International Association for Mass Communication Research.

Shanahan, J., Morgan, M. & Hermann, E. (2025). Willingness to Self-Censor: A Meta-Analysis. Paper presented at Heterodox Academy.

Li, W. & Shanahan, J. (2025). Television Viewing and Environmental Concern: An Update. Paper presented at International Communication Association.