Herndon

About: Dr. Herndon teaches courses in the Business of News and Financial Journalism along with Food Journalism as a special topics course and as independent study. He also teaches Media Management at the graduate level. He holds the William S. Morris Chair in News Strategy and Management and is the executive director of the Cox Institute for Journalism Innovation, Management and Leadership where he runs its Journalism Leadership Lab.

View Curriculum Vitae

Education

Doctor of Philosophy, Media and Information, Curtin University of Technology (Perth, Australia)
Master of Liberal Studies, University of Oklahoma (Norman, Oklahoma)
Bachelor of Arts in Journalism, University of Georgia (Athens, Georgia)

Research Interests and Activities

Exploring the intersection of media and technology, including shifting business models and the forces shaping innovation, management and leadership. Projects have included studying the availability of broadband Internet in rural Georgia, analyzing news organizations’ financial performance, examining the uses of AI in news reporting and developing podcasting as an experiential learning platform.

Teaching Specialties

Media management and the business aspects of news, including an emphasis on digital transformation, innovation and emerging business models; leadership education; and journalism skills courses including financial journalism and food journalism.

Experience

Keith Herndon, Ph.D., a professor of practice, is the William S. Morris Chair in News Strategy and Management and Executive Director of the Cox Institute for Journalism Innovation, Management and Leadership. Dr. Herndon joined the faculty as a visiting professor in Fall 2012 after teaching as a lecturer in Fall 2011. Prior to Grady, he led Internet Decisions, LLC, a strategic planning firm he began in 2005. He was a leader in Cox Enterprises’ Internet division, serving as Vice President of Operations and Vice President for Planning and Product Development where he managed strategic partnerships and served on the board of directors of a Cox-funded start-up venture. He was also Director of Operations at Cox Radio Interactive, a pioneer in streaming media. His career began while a student at the University of Georgia, working as a reporter and sports editor for his hometown paper in Elberton, Georgia, and then as a sportswriter for the Anderson (S.C.) Independent and the Athens Banner-Herald. After graduation, he was a Pulliam Journalism Fellow at The Indianapolis News. He was a business reporter at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution before becoming assistant business editor, deputy business editor and administrative editor. Dr. Herndon wrote The Decline of the Daily Newspaper: How an American Institution Lost the Online Revolution (Peter Lang, 2012). He has published two books about innovation and entrepreneurship and has co-edited two books with students about media management and leadership as part of experiential learning projects. His latest book, published in 2025, is Wine Conversations: Exploring Meaning, Mystery and Myth. The book was an outgrowth of his recent wine credentials. Since 2020, Dr. Herndon became a Certified Wine Sommelier and Certified Wine Educator through training with the Asia Pacific Wine and Spirit Institute. He also holds the American Wine Expert (AWE) credential from the Napa Valley Wine Academy along with numerous other industry and regional wine certificates. He is a co-host along with Charlotte Varnum of the Wines We Drink podcast, which was named Best Lifestyle Podcast and Best Food or Drink podcast in the 15th annual Taste Awards. He has served as a judge in the James Beard Awards for the past four years.

Awards and Fellowships

• UGA Inaugural Fellow for Transformative Teaching Program, 2023
• UGA Creative Teaching Award, 2019
• Grady College Darwin-Davis Award, honoring the "Grady Spirit," 2019
• Grant award from The Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism to fund a business journalism program  along with supplemental grants to fund a lecture series and two national internships, 2013
• Reynolds Fellow,  The Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism, studying business journalism education, 2013
• Atlanta Mobility Star for developing and launching the Grady Mobile News Lab, 2015
•  Journalism Department’s Teacher of the Year, 2014
• Grant award from the Georgia Technology Authority to research and write two case studies on rural broadband projects underway in Georgia, 2013
• Chancellor's Commendation for Excellence, doctoral dissertation at Curtin University, 2011