Erin Coyle
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Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication 555 N Central Ave Phoenix, AZ 85004
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Mail code: 2020Campus: Dtphx
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Working as a journalist inspired Erin Coyle’s interests in researching and teaching about journalism, mass communication law, and media ethics. Her research focuses on First Amendment rights, privacy rights, fair trial rights, and journalists’ rights to access to government information and officials.
Coyle has researched free expression rights for nearly two decades, and top peer-reviewed journals have published her scholarship that uses legal and historical methods to explore potential conflicts between free press and fair trial rights and free expression and privacy rights. The American Journalism Historians Association and Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication have recognized the quality of her research with multiple research paper awards. While earning a Ph.D. in mass communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she served on staff of the First Amendment Law Review.
Coyle also is passionate about teaching students about their legal rights and ethical responsibilities. She has taught students about mass communication law, media ethics, and journalism history at Louisiana State University, Temple University, and Arizona State University. She received the American Journalism Historians Association National Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2023.
She currently serves as the Head of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Law and Policy Division and the Second-Vice President of the American Journalism Historians Association.
Published Books
Ekstrand, E., Carlson, C.R., Coyle, E., Ross, S.D., & Reynolds, A. (2023). Trager’s the law of journalism and mass communication. SAGE Publications.
Coyle, E. (2012). The press and rights to privacy: First Amendment freedoms vs. invasion of privacy claims. LFB Scholarly.
Peer-Reviewed Articles
Coyle, E., Shaw, J.Y., & Jeong, Y. (2025). How do smart device user privacy perspectives compare to U.S. privacy law protections?: A comparison of legal protections and consumer perceptions for privacy. Communication Law and Policy, 29 (4), 265-308, https://doi.org/10.1080/10811680.2025.2511044.
Coyle, E. (2024). Contextualizing Sheppard v. Maxwell: A legal and historical analysis of a sensational 1954 murder trial. Communication Law and Policy, 29(1-2), 24-61. https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/IYUVKJ9WZDKFQRGNPD9D/full?target=10.1080/10811680.2024.2392106
Coyle, E., Fondren, E., & Masterson, A. (2024). “The throttling of the free press in Cuba”: Exploring transnational journalism and Sigma Delta Chi’s advocacy for press freedom in Cuba (1956-1962). Journalism History, 50(4), 358-83. https://doi.org/10.1080/00947679.2024.2402211
Coyle, E.,& Oden, A. (2023). “The gloss of history”: A historical analysis of U.S. Supreme Court justices’ framing of First Amendment press rights to cover and access court proceedings.
Communication Law and Policy 28(3), 247-285. https://doi.org/10.1080/10811680.2023.2212656
Coyle, E. (Spring 2022). Evaluating methods to protect sex crime victims’ privacy: A legal analysis of states’ attempts to protect victims’ identities. Communication Law and Policy, 27(2), 102-127. https://doi.org/10.1080/10811680.2022.2072030*Finalist for the Harry W. Stonecipher Award for Distinguished Research on Media Law and Policy
Coyle, E., & Fondren, E. (Fall 2021). Encountering the ‘other’ by lifting the iron curtain: American newspaper editors’ global campaigns for bridges of understanding, 1961-1970,” TMG Journal for Media History, 24(1-2), 1-27. https://tmgonline.nl/articles/10.18146/tmg.785
Terry, T., Shaw, D., & Coyle, E. (Spring 2021). An embattled terrain: Women, African-Americans, Native Americans, and immigrants at the margins in U.S. newspaper stories, 1820-1860. Journalism History, 47(1), 89-106. https://doi.org/10.1080/00947679.2020.1837597
Coyle, E., Fondren, E., & Richard, J. (Spring 2020). Advocacy, editorial opinion, and agenda building: How publicity friends fought for Louis D. Brandeis’s 1916 Supreme Court confirmation. American Journalism, 37(2), 165-190. https://doi.org/10.1080/08821127.2020.1750884 *Finalist for the Harry W. Stonecipher Award for Distinguished Research on Media Law and Policy
Coyle, E., & Whitenack, S. (Summer 2019). Access to 911 recordings: Balancing privacy interests and the public’s right to know about casualties. Communication Law and Policy, 24(3), 307-345. https://doi.org/10.1080/10811680.2019.1627796
Coyle, E. (Fall 2018). Turning point: Balancing free press and fair trial rights after Sheppard v. Maxwell. Journalism History, 44(3), 150-161. https://doi.org/10.1080/00947679.2018.12059206
Coyle, E. (Winter 2018). Saving human trafficking victims from additional stigma: Privacy versus publication rights related to identifying images. Journal of Human Trafficking, 4(1), 102-104. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322705.2018.1426811
Dahmen, N., & Coyle, E. (Winter 2017). Obama White House photos limited by access policies. Newspaper Research Journal, 38(4), 439-448. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739532917739
Coyle, E., & Dahmen, N. (Summer 2017). Filtering history: Photojournalists’ access to photograph US Presidents, 1977 to 2009, American Journalism, 34(3), 333-352. https://doi.org/10.1080/08821127.2017.1344062
Coyle, E. (Spring 2017). Sunlight and shadows: Louis D. Brandeis on privacy, publicity, and free expression in American democracy, Touro Law Review, 33(1), 211-258. https://digitalcommons.tourolaw.edu/lawreview/vol33/iss1/13/
Coyle, E. (Spring 2017). Press freedom and citizens’ right to know in the 1960s: Sam Ragan’s crusade to provide the public with access to criminal justice information. Journalism History, 43(1), 44-55. https://doi.org/10.1080/00947679.2017.12059165
Coyle, E., & Robinson, E. (Winter 2017). Chilling journalism: Can newsgathering be criminal harassment or stalking? Communication Law and Policy, 22(1), 65-122. https://doi.org/10.1080/10811680.2017.1250571
Coyle, E. (2014). E. L. Godkin’s criticism of the penny press: Antecedents to a legal right to privacy. American Journalism, 31(2), 262-282. https://doi.org/10.1080/08821127.2014.905362
Jeong, Y., & Coyle, E. (2014). What are you worrying about on Facebook and Twitter? An empirical investigation of young social network site users’ privacy perceptions and behaviors. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 14(2), 51-59. https://doi.org/10.1080/15252019.2014.930678
Coyle, E. (2009). Moral duty of publicity: Louis Dembitz Brandeis' crusades for reform in the press and public affairs. Journalism History, 35(3), 162-167. https://doi.org/10.1080/00947679.2009.12062798
Book Chapters
Coyle, E., & Masterson, A. (2023). Freedom of the press from what? An analysis of how The Quill contrasts free press ideals and practices in the United States and abroad. In M.M. Garza, M. Fulhage & T. Lucht (Eds.), The Routledge Companion to American Journalism History (pp. 38-48). Routledge.
Coyle, E. (2019). Ethical duty and the right to know: Sam Ragan’s crusades to provide the public with access to information. In G. Mellinger & J. P. Ferré (Eds.), Journalism’s ethical progression: A twentieth-century journey (pp. 161-184). Lexington Books.
Mellinger, G., & Coyle, E. (2019). “Blackening up journalism”: An ethical imperative for newsroom diversity. In G. Mellinger & J. P. Ferré (Eds.), Journalism’s ethical progression: A twentieth-century journey (pp. 185-208). Lexington Books.
Invited Publications (Editor-only Review)
Coyle, E., Fuhlhage, M., Garza M.M., Kitch, C., Mari, W., & Mellinger, G. (2024). Historical roundtable: Studying media remnants to understand historical patterns and cultural context. Historiography in Mass Communication, 10(3), 25-48. https://history-jmc.com/2024_Issues_files/vol.%2010%203%20Historiography%202024.pdf
Coyle, E. (2023). Weaving a broader tapestry. Historiography in Mass Communication, 9(4), 11-22. https://history-jmc.com/2023_Issues_files/Historiography%202023,%209.4.pdf
Coyle, E. (2022). Analyzing journalists’ collective conceptions of press freedom. Historiography in Mass Communication, 8(2), 13-18. https://history-jmc.com/2022_Issues_files/vol. 8.2 Historiography 2022.pdf
Coyle, E. (2022). In memorium: Donald L. Shaw. Historiography in Mass Communication, 8(1), 13-22. https://history-jmc.com/2022_Issues_files/vol.%208.1%20Historiography.pdf
Coyle, E., Easton, E., Ekstrand, V.S., File, P., & Schroeder, J. (2021). Historical roundtable: Applying theory and legal history to research press rights and freedoms. Historiography in Mass Communication, 7(2), 39-54. https://history-jmc.com/2021_Issues_files/Historiography.2021.vol.%207.2.pdf
Coyle, E. (2020). Journalism history and transcripts of legal proceedings. Historiography in Mass Communication, 6(4), 5-10. https://history-jmc.com/2020_Issues_files/vol.%206.4%20Historiography%2009.01.20.pdf
Coyle, E. (2020). Randall P. Bezanson, “The right to privacy revisited: Privacy, news, and social change, 1890-1990, 80 Cal. L. Rev. 1133 (1992).” Communication Law and Policy, 25(1), 344-37.https://doi.org/10.1080/10811680.2020.1766320
Coyle, E., Gajda, A., Smith, J., & Tworek, H. (2019). Historical roundtable: Historical roundtable: Legal and historical understandings of privacy and technology. Historiography in Mass Communication, 5(3), 17-28. https://history-jmc.com/2019_Issues_files/Historiography%202019%20vol.%205%233.pdf
Pribanic-Smith, E.Coyle, E., Schoeder, J., & Ward, K. (2019). Historical roundtable: Legal and historical understanding of the First Amendment. Historiography in Mass Communication, 5(1), 31-43. https://history-jmc.com/2019_Issues_files/Historiography%202019%20vol.%205%20%231.pdf
Courses
2026 Spring
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| JMC 110 | Principls & Hist of Journalism |
| MCO 403 | Media Law |
| JMC 402 | Mass Communication Law |
2025 Fall
| Course Number | Course Title |
|---|---|
| JMC 402 | Mass Communication Law |
| MCO 403 | Media Law |
Invited Publications
Coyle, E. (2024, January 15). Active learning deepens student understanding. The Intelligencer. https://ajha.wildapricot.org/Intelligencer/13301306
Coyle, E. (2022). Freedom of the press, 1500-1804. In Wm. David Sloan, Lucht, T., & Pribanic-Smith, E. (Eds.), The media in America: A History. Vision Press.
Terry, T., Shaw, L., & Coyle, E. (April 2021). An embattled terrain. Journalism History. https://journalism-history.org/2021/04/05/teaching-essay-an-embattled-terrain/
Coyle, E. (2020). Freedom of the press 1500-1804. In Wm. David Sloan, Lucht, T., & Pribanic-Smith, E. (Ed.), The media in America: A History. Vision Press.
Coyle, E., & Dahmen, N. (Summer 2017). Teaching our journal: Filtering history: Photojournalists’ access to US Presidents, 1977 to 2009. American Journalism. http://www.american-journalism.org/1634-2/
Coyle, E. (2017). The right to privacy. In Wm. David Sloan (Ed.), The media in America. Vision Press.
Coyle, E. (2012). Beyond the classroom: Learning about cyberbullying and free speech limits. Media Law Notes, 41(1).
Select Conference Presentations
Campbell, J., Coyle, E., Shaw, J., & Watson, J. (March 2025). On mentoring well: the career-long importance of faculty mentors for graduate students. Panel accepted for presentation at the 2025 Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Southeast Colloquium, Chapel Hill, NC.
Coyle, E. (August 2024). Recognizing potential for personal lenses to influence perceptions. Jinx C. Broussard Award for Excellence in Teaching of Media History Presentation at the 2024 Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Conference (History Division), Philadelphia, PA.
Coyle, E., Robinson, E., Wagner, K., & Watson, J. (August 2023). Teaching without precedent: The decline of stare decisis and media law pedagogy. Panel presentation at the 2023 Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Conference (Law and Policy Division), Washington, D.C.
Coyle, E., Hamm, B., Minooie, M., Weaver, D. (2022). The power of lifelong mentoring: Exploring the unique approaches by the legendary Donald Shaw. Panel presentation at the AEJMC Southeast Colloquium, online.
Coyle, E., Foster, B., Nasrin, S., & Rank, L. (August 2021). When gas masks and body armor are in the journalists’ toolkit: Training future journalists to responsibly, legally, and safely cover protests and racial injustice. Panel presentation at the 2021Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Conference (Graduate Education Interest Group), online.