University of Iowa Ph.D. candidate Ryan Stoldt will join the Drake University School of Journalism and Mass Communication in fall 2021 as an assistant professor of advertising. Stoldt previously worked as a digital marketing professional.
Stoldt’s teaching and research interests focus on how data is used to make decisions in creative industries. He primarily teaches courses that focus on advertising, digital media production and storytelling. These courses seek to develop students into more critically informed producers and consumers of media.
Stoldt’s teaching is heavily informed by his research. His dissertation examines how metadata, or the data created about other data, influences the algorithmic distribution of film and television content. He has also published research on social media influencers’ production of sponsored content and on interactive television. Additionally, Stoldt serves as a member of a multi-institutional research team focusing on the sociocultural effects of algorithms. In 2020, the U.S. Department of Defense awarded this team a $1.2 million grant to research algorithms and political radicalization.
Before coming to academia, Stoldt worked as the digital marketing manager for Visit Wichita and consulted with numerous clients on digital marketing strategy. He holds awards for his work from the Public Relations Society of America and the Travel Industry Association of Kansas.
Stoldt earned a bachelor’s degree in Integrated Marketing Communication and a master’s in Communication from Wichita State University, and a Graduate Certificate in College Teaching from the University of Iowa. He serves on the editorial board for the Journal of Communication Inquiry.
You can learn more about Stoldt at ryanstoldt.com or connect with him on Twitter @ryanstoldt.