Audience analysis is essential for creating successful messages across communication fields. The audience persona is an effective tool for understanding the characteristics and needs of a target audience. Through this unit activity, students experience the process of persona development, build skills in data collection and analysis, and gain…

Using citation analysis, this study identifies the most relevant journals in communication studies. The study analyzes citations from a representative list of 116 journals from subject areas within communication studies over a 30-year period and addresses research interests throughout the discipline. Results indicate that most journals cited in…

Reviews of editorial practices and academic studies have shown that journalists often rely on organization websites--and online newsrooms in particular--to inform news stories. Yet, at a time when many academics are called upon as experts by the media, university newsrooms have been ignored. To fill this gap, this study assesses newsrooms of…

This paper describes efforts by the author to engage and motivate students in undergraduate research by giving them a large audience and engaging the media in disseminating their work. I provide an introduction to public relations from the point of view of a mathematics professor, and describe some lessons I have learned in my own attempts to…

The landmark "Brown v. Board of Education" case, in which the U.S. Supreme Court cited psychological evidence in overturning school segregation, is just one example of the powerful and far-reaching impact social science research can have on the world beyond academia. But many researchers still find it challenging to share scientific…

In February 2013, the University of Leicester staged what The Guardian described as "The most extraordinary press conference ever held at any UK university." This was part of a media and communications campaign that brought worldwide attention to the discovery of King Richard III by the University's archaeologists. How do you manage a…

The construction of a successful online collaboration between distinct cultural groups requires an informed cultural awareness. This is the exploration of such an online collaboration between American and Turkish Students. The focus of the shared student interaction was the concept of corporate social responsibility. As the concept is enacted…

Purpose: Previous studies have documented that exposure to stereotypical information about certain social groups leads to unfavorable perceptions and feelings toward that group. Integrating insights from the mental illness stigma and the social identity perspective literatures, the purpose of this paper is to explore the effects of eating disorder…

Films have been used successfully to teach students about "the institutional and cultural role mass media play in creating, sustaining or changing social relations." They have also provided important lessons regarding ethical decision-making. This article presents an activity that enables students to understand the role of media and the concept of…

National survey of college mass communication students (N = 247) analyzed attitudes on the teaching of print and electronic media skills, using journalism students as comparison group. Previous research had not explored strategic communication student responses to convergence. Found identity variables within public relations (PR) field related to…

In this study, the impact of subjective norms on mass communication students' intentions to adopt new media production technologies was explored. The results indicated that subjective norms play an instrumental role in explaining behavioral intentions to adopt new media technologies. Moreover, the data indicated that public relations students…

Enrollments in journalism and mass communication programs in the United States in the fall of 2013 were down from a year earlier for the third year in a row. Enrollments dropped at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels, and the number of freshmen and sophomores were down dramatically from a year earlier. Enrollments in the…

A study of news media and strategic communication majors (n = 273) revealed differences in regard to personality indices and impetuses for selecting to pursue degrees. Showing overall agreement in the importance of openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, strategic communication students were significantly higher in their ratings of…

It is not so long ago that universities shunned words such as "public relations" and "marketing," preferring to describe staff working in these areas as information officers and even assistant registrars and with such staff drawn from a cadre of generalist administrators. If they really had to be specific, then an acceptable word was "publicity".…

This communication project provides an overview of public relations as seen through the communication arts. It is specifically focused to give law enforcement officers a general review of the practice of public relations, communication basics, and an understanding of the media. This course also provides the facilitator with multiple tools for…