Jennings Bryant

Jennings Bryant (July 21, 1944 – October 14, 2020) was Distinguished Professor Emeritus at The University of Alabama. Prior to his retirement in 2010, he was Communication and Information Sciences Distinguished Research Professor, holder of the Reagan Endowed Chair of Broadcasting, and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Research at UA. Jennings Bryant was married to Sara Poteat Bryant for 43 years. He and Sara were the parents of three children. The Bryants lived on a family farm in the Mountain Valley Rural Agricultural Historical District in Glenwood, North Carolina.

Over the course of his career, Bryant made major contributions to the field of mass communication, primarily in the area of media effects research.

Education Bryant received a bachelor's degree in history from Davidson College in 1967. He completed his Master's of Divinity work in Communication and Counseling in 1971, graduating from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary with highest honors. Bryant earned a Ph.D. in Mass Communication from Indiana University Bloomington in 1974, again graduating with highest honors.

Research Bryant's research work has been vast, but much of it has focused on media effects research, particularly as it relates to media use and children. He is responsible for two landmark works: his 1983 book, co-edited with psychologist Dan Anderson, Children's Understanding of Television: Research on Attention and Comprehension "Children's Understanding of Television: Research on Attention and Comprehension" remains one of the most-cited works on the subject of media effects on children,

Bryant has also been published in other areas of effects research, including Cultivation theory with co-author Dorina Miron, pornography, and video games.

Publications Bryant has authored, co-authored, or edited 27 books, 77 chapters, 20 scholarly encyclopedia entries, and 78 articles in peer-reviewed journals, as well as 129 technical reports totaling over 8,000 pages. The Encyclopedia is a reference guide for all theoretical research conducted in the modern age of Communication Studies.

Contributions to the field through service Bryant served as a member of the editorial board of 23 peer-reviewed journals between 1978 and present day, including as Founding Co-Editor of the journal Media Psychology, In that time, he reviewed more than 25 journal manuscripts each year. He also contributed writing to several other children's television shows between 1970 and 1980 and created (and later sold) two companies dedicated to the creation of, and consulting for, television programming for children. He has also been a paid consultant for over 60 major media companies, many of them dealing with children's programming and media effects.

Awards and recognition Bryant has received 67 awards or official recognitions in his career for his contributions to research, service, teaching, and community, including 28 Top-Rated or prize winning conference paper presentations, several Distinguished or Outstanding teacher awards, multiple Fellowships, and over $3,300,000 worth of research grant funding.

A brief list of some of the more prestigious honors: Outstanding Teacher Award, Large Lecture Courses ("Johnny Carson Award"), University of Massachusetts—Amherst, 1980 Alumni Association Outstanding Teaching Award, University of Evansville, 1984 Knox Hagood Award, Outstanding Faculty Member, College of Communication, University of Alabama, 1990 Alabama Citizen of the Year, Alabama-Mississippi Telephone Association, 1993 Faculty Fellow, Blackburn Leadership Institute, University of Alabama, 1997 Frederick Moody Blackmon-Sarah McCorkle Moody Outstanding Professor Award, University of Alabama, 2000 President, International Communication Association, 2002–2003 Fellow, International Communication Association, 2006 Distinguished Scholar Award, Broadcast Education Association, 2006 John F. Burnum Distinguished Professor Award, The University of Alabama, 2008 Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa, Davidson College, May 20, 2018