Joseph Russomanno, Associate Professor

Joseph Russomanno joined the Cronkite School in 1994. A native of Colorado, he earned a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri School of Journalism.

His decade-long career in broadcast news included two stops in St. Louis and two in Denver. He has worked as a news reporter in radio and television, and as a television news writer, newscast producer and executive producer. His on-site assignments included the coverage of the 1987 Reagan-Gorbachev summit in Washington, D.C., Super Bowl XXI in Pasadena, and Super Bowl XXII in San Diego. He received several awards for his work as a broadcast journalist.

After his career in journalism, Russomanno earned a doctorate from the University of Colorado-Boulder. His work there emphasized First Amendment theory and mass media law.

Since joining the Cronkite School faculty, his teaching and research have been in the broadcast and First Amendment law areas. His publication record includes three books: “The Law of Journalism & Mass Communication,” (co-author) “Defending the First: Commentary on First Amendment Issues and Cases,” (editor) and “Speaking Our Minds: Conversations With the People Behind Landmark First Amendment Cases.”

In addition, he has authored in-depth research articles appearing in publications such as Communication Law and Policy, Hamline Law Review, Communications and the Law, The Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media and The Journal of Communication Inquiry. He also has written book chapters for “Mass Communication in the Information Age” and “Communication and the Law,” as well as authored opinion columns that have appeared in The Arizona Republic.

In 2004, Russomanno was an invited delegate to the Oxford Round Table on Freedom of Speech and Press at Oxford University in Oxford, England. There, he presented his paper, “Is Freer Journalism Better Journalism: New York Times v. Sullivan, 40 Years Later.”

Dr. Russomanno has been in attendance at the United States Supreme Court to witness oral arguments in four cases, two of them First Amendment cases. He has also seen arguments at the Arizona and Minnesota Supreme Courts.