Jeff Fruit

Professor Emeritus Jeff Fruit retired from the School of Media and Journalism in January 2023. He served as Director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication (now School of Media and Journalism) from 2002-2012 and from 2017-2020. He also served in a variety of other administrative positions at the university, beginning with his hire in 1998 as business manager for Kent State Student Media, including Interim Dean of the College of Communication and Information; Interim Director of the School of Library and Information Sciences; and Senior Business Manager in the Office of Student Media.

He has more than 15 years of media experience with daily, weekly and monthly publications in positions ranging from reporter to publisher. His media career included startup and turnaround experience with American City Business Journals, where he served as editor of South Florida Business Journal and publisher of Dallas Business Journal among other positions.

He holds degrees from Ohio Wesleyan and The Ohio State University. He taught courses on topics including media management, media entrepreneurship, media literacy and multimedia writing. His research interests focus on local news ecosystems and on the role of technology as an agent of change in journalism, in the broader media marketplace, and now in higher education.

He is co-author of The Training and Hiring of Journalists with Lee B. Becker and Susan L. Caudill. He was president of Kappa Tau Alpha, a college honor society that recognizes academic excellence and promotes scholarship in journalism and mass communication, in 2016-2018. He served as adviser of the Kent State chapter, was the 2013 William H. Taft Adviser of the Year and was honored to have Kent State’s KTA chapter named the Jeff Fruit Chapter in 2015. 

He can be found online at:

LinkedIn: Jeff Fruit