Research Associate
Rocky Dailey is an assistant professor in the Journalism and Mass Communication department at South Dakota State University in Brookings, SD. He received his undergraduate degree from South Dakota State University, his masters from the University of Memphis and his doctorate from Montana State University. Dr. Dailey’s academic career includes working as an adjunct instructor at Grand Valley State University and Montana State University-Billings, and as an assistant professor in the School of Mass Communications at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he received distinction as a master academic advisor.
His professional career spans over 20 years, having worked at KSFY-TV in Sioux Falls, SD, WHBQ-TV in Memphis, TN, WDSI-TV in Chattanooga, TN, WXMI-TV in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and the Billings Gazette in Billings, MT. Dr. Dailey also worked as the media content coordinator for the Human Resources Development Council (HRDC) in Billings, MT, where he created marketing and outreach media and public relations materials. He currently teaches and advises in the Masters of Mass Communication online graduate program at South Dakota State University and also teaches mass communication courses in the Honors College.
Dr. Dailey has worked on many multidisciplinary projects, including studying the impact of social media on beef purchases and an interpretive performance collaboration of the feminine works of rural artist Harvey Dunn. He was also named 2012 Outstanding Graduate Student at Montana State University. In 2009, Dr. Dailey received the Montana Newspaper Association Best Innovative Online Idea Second Place award for his work creating the ‘5:01 Christmas Album,’ a web-hosted album featuring Holiday songs and videos featuring local artists. Second Place. His work on the 1999 TV documentary “Titanic: Tragedy & Treasure ” won first place in the Documentary category of the Associated Press. Dr. Dailey was also recognized for his work helping to create the start-up news operation WDSI-TV, where he worked as chief photojournalist.
Dr. Dailey most recently received the top paper award at the 2014 Association for Educators in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) in the Media/Ethics division, and also presented his research on competency-based education in the Scholastic Journalism division. He also collaborated on the project ‘Crime news: Does quantity matter?’ commissioned by the Center on Media, Crime and Justice (CMCJ) at John Jay College.