Rate My Professor Jason Cain

Dr. Jason Cain serves as Associate Professor of Journalism in the School of Journalism and New Media at the University of Mississippi. He has held positions including Assistant Professor of Integrated Marketing Communications and Interim Chair of the Integrated Marketing Communications program. In 2023, Cain was granted tenure and promoted to Associate Professor. Prior to his academic career, he worked as a professional musician, performing in bands and studio sessions in Nashville, Tennessee, from 2000 to 2004, and later in Austin, Texas. This experience, amid the music industry's digital disruption, led him to pursue graduate studies. He earned an M.A. in mass communication from Texas State University-San Marcos and a Ph.D. in Mass Communication from the University of Florida in 2014, where he studied as an alumni fellow. His doctoral work shifted focus to online information sharing, community formation, and identity in digital-social landscapes.

Cain's research examines digital media culture, particularly why people share online content, how online communities influence social identity, and the impacts of personalized information diets on perceptions of truth amid stratified information ecosystems. His scholarship addresses privacy concerns, social media use, health information seeking, disaster preparation, and media framing. Key publications include 'Skating, Loss, and Solidarity: Examining Media Framing of Post-Tragedy Figure Skating News Coverage' (2026), 'Anything But Me: How Concerns Over Privacy Moderate Online Social Capital Creation and Social Media Use' (2023), 'Everybody wants some: Collection and control of personal information, privacy concerns, and social media use' (2022), 'I’m the One: Social Media, Social Identity, and Elections' (2020), 'Somebody Google a Doctor! Urgent Health Information Seeking Habits of Young Adults' (2020), 'Help Wanted: Realigning Journalism Education to Meet the Needs of Top U.S. News Companies' (2018), and 'Manufacturing white criminals: Depictions of criminality and violence on Law & Order' (2015). With 181 citations across 11 publications, his work informs journalism education, media effects, and digital communication practices. Cain teaches media research, data literacy, and music business in the B.S. and M.S. Integrated Marketing Communications programs. He leads study abroad initiatives, such as branding in the music industry with an international focus. Cain remains an active musician in the Oxford area, earning 'Favorite Guitarist' twice in The Local Voice’s annual Townies awards.