Maxwell E. McCombs (December 3, 1938 – September 8, 2024) was an American journalism scholar known for his work on political communication.

He was the Jesse H. Jones Centennial Chair in Communication Emeritus at the University of Texas at Austin.

In a 1972 paper, McCombs and Shaw described the results of a study they conducted testing the hypothesis that the news media have a large influence on the issues that the American public considers important.

"[3] McCombs was born in Birmingham, Alabama on December 3, 1938,[4] and died in Austin, Texas on September 4, 2024, at the age of 85.

In 2014, McCombs received the Silver Medal from the University of Navarra in Spain, where he has been a visiting professor from 1994.