Dr. Karen Miller Russell
About: Karen Miller Russell is Jim Kennedy Professor of New Media and Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor, teaching public relations and media history and advising the college’s Integrated ADPR master’s program.
Education
Ph.D., Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison
M.A., Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin-Madison
B.A., Mass Communication, University of West Georgia
Research Interests and Activities
Dr. Russell studies media history with an emphasis on public relations and is interested in qualitative research, such as ethnography and case studies, on PR. She is the author of two books, “Promoting Monopoly: AT&T and the Politics of Public Relations, 1876-1941,” and “The Voice of Business: Hill and Knowlton and Postwar Public Relations.” She has published articles in the Journal of PR Research, Public Relations Review, Business History Review, Communication Yearbook, Journal of Political Marketing, American Journalism, and Journalism and Communication Monographs. She served as editor of the Journal of Public Relations Research from 2009 to 2015.
Hopkins, K., Dahmen, N., Russell, Karen M., Meng, Juan, & Neill, M. S. (August 5, 2021). AEJMC-Peter Lang Scholarsourcing Book Series Panel, invited talk at the 2021 annual conference of […]
Read MoreAbstract: After working in corporate public relations during the 1930s, Mabel Flanley and Sally Woodward opened an all-woman agency in New York City in 1944. Their specialty was targeting women […]
Read MoreRecent PhD graduate Dr. Amie Jones has been named winner of the Margaret A. Blanchard Dissertation Prize, awarded by the American Journalism Historians Association for best dissertation of the year. […]
Read MoreAbstract: The US presidential elections of 1948 and 2016 produced surprise outcomes when the predicted winners ended up losing the election. Using image repair theory, this article explains the strategies […]
Read MoreAbstract: Analysis of press coverage of nineteenth century American press agents indicates that, although press agents worked in a variety of sectors, their primary motivation was profit, their main strategy […]
Read MoreTeaching Specialties
Dr. Russell teaches public relations core courses in both the undergraduate and graduate programs, with a particular interest in social media, globalization, and corporate social responsibility initiatives. She also teaches media history and is a member of the UGA graduate faculty.
Experience
Dr. Russell is a former PR writer for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, former PR specialist for the American Camping Association and former photography and publicity assistant for Common Wealth Development.
Awards and Fellowships
- Outstanding Contribution to Historical Research commendation, International History of Public Relations Conference (2019).
- Darwin-Davis Award recipient, honoring the spirit of the College of Journalism and Mass Communication (2018).
- Josiah Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor, UGA’s highest award for teaching (2017).
- UGA Teaching Academy induction (2017).
- Advisor to national championship team, PRSSA Bateman National Case Study Competition (2007).
- Pathfinder Award winner, recognition of original scholarly research which has made a significant contribution to the body of knowledge and practice of public relations by the Institute for Public Relations (2001).
