Cox International Center
Cox International
Center
The James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research is dedicated to international outreach and research in mass communication, media, and journalism.
About
The James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research (Cox International Center or “Cox Center”) is one of the fully established units in the United States dedicated to international outreach and research in mass communication, media, and journalism. Named after the late James M. Cox, Jr. – chairman of the board of Cox Enterprises – the Cox International Center began operations in 1985. Since 1990, the Center has been supported by annual contributions of the Jim Cox Jr. Foundation of Atlanta as a living memorial to James M. Cox, Jr.
The mission of the Center is to empower communication and media insights worldwide, including the promotion of free and independent press and the vital roles of communication in all aspects of business and society. To foster this mission, the Center has hosted numerous international groups of professionals, international journalism educators, and journalists from over 48 countries. Fulbright scholars, Muskie Fellows, Freedom Support Act and IREX Fellows, and Edward Murrow Fellows have been among the visiting scholars.
The Communication and Media (CAM) Fellows Program – operated in the Cox Center – has hosted more than 100 international fellows and visiting scholars since 2008 for their research and training in various fields related to media, journalism, media technology, media policy, and communication of businesses, public sectors, and governments.
History of the Cox International Center
The James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research began operations in 1985, with the approval of Dr. Fred Davison, President of the University of Georgia. In 1990, the Center was named for the late James M. Cox Jr., chairman of the Board of Cox Enterprises and a major figure in the communications industry in the United States in the twentieth century.
Since 1990, the Cox Center has been supported by the annual contributions of the Jim Cox Jr. Foundation of Atlanta as a living memorial to James M. Cox Jr.
The Cox Center is a unit of the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia, one of the oldest and most respected journalism schools in the United States and is fully accredited. The University of Georgia is the country’s oldest land-grant institution, chartered in 1785.
Since its inception, the Center has conducted more than 130 training programs involving countries all over the world, published numerous research and technical reports, and conducted research on a variety of topics related to the practice of journalism, media, and communication.
The Cox Center was created through the initiative of Dr. Al Hester. Dr. Hester was director of the Center until he retired from the University of Georgia in 1997. Dr. Lee B. Becker served as director of the Cox Center from 1997 until his retirement in 2017. Becker brought the Annual Surveys of Journalism and Mass Communication, which provide data on the U.S. journalism labor market. The surveys were conducted at the Center for nearly two decades. Dr. Ivanka Pjesivac is the director, and Dr. Jooyoung Kim, previously director, now serves as the Center’s executive director.
About James M. Cox
James M. Cox, Jr. became the chairman of Cox Enterprises and Cox Broadcasting Corporation after his father James M. Cox died in 1957. Cox graduated from Yale University in 1928 and joined the Dayton Daily News as a reporter, later becoming general manager and assistant publisher of the paper. He saw active duty in World War II, rising to the rank of Lt. Commander in the U.S. Navy.
After his father died in 1957, Cox assumed leadership of the Cox business and initiated a series of acquisitions beginning with three small cable systems, setting course for the company to become a cable-TV empire. He was married to Betty Gage Lippitt and died in 1974 at the age of 71.
Contact info:
Dr. Jooyoung Kim
Executive Director, James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research; Dan Magill Georgia Athletic Association Professor in Sports Communications; Professor
Dr. Ivanka Pjesivac
Director, James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research; Associate Professor
Faculty
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Jooyoung Kim
Executive Director, James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research; Dan Magill Georgia Athletic Association Professor in Sports Communications; Professor
About Dr. Kim is the executive director of the Cox International Center and the executive director of the Cox Center CAM Fellows Program. His research focuses on the interaction between […]
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Ted T. Kim
CAM Program and Research Manager
About Dr. Ted Kim manages and coordinates the programming and administrative aspects of the Communication and Media (CAM) Fellows Program at the Cox International Center. His duties include providing instructional, […]
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Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn
Director of the CACHE Lab; Professor
About: Dr. Ahn teaches undergraduate-level research methods, graduate-level user experience research, communication theory, and advertising and society. Her research examines how social media, video/internet games, and immersive virtual environments influence […]
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Tom Cullen
Lecturer
About Originally from the United Kingdom, Tom Cullen specializes in teaching public relations writing and communication. Cullen also serves as Program Manager to the Crisis Communication Coalition (CCC). View Curriculum […]
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Benjamin Min Han
Associate Professor
About: Dr. Han’s research focuses on global media, race and ethnicity, Korean popular culture, and the cultural intersections between East Asia and Latin America. View Curriculum Vitae Education Ph.D., Cinema […]
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Yan Jin
C. Richard Yarbrough Professor in Crisis Communication Leadership; Professor of Public Relations; Director of Crisis Communication Think Tank; Associate Director of Center for Health & Risk Communication
About: Dr. Yan Jin currently teaches undergraduate Crisis Communication course and graduate Crisis Communication and Strategic Conflict Management, ADPR Theory, and Mass Communication Theory courses. Her primary research programs are […]
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Kyser Lough
Associate Professor
About: Dr. Lough studies visual communication and solutions journalism, with an emphasis on photojournalism. He teaches graduate-level visual communication method & theory, as well as undergraduate photography and journalism ethics […]
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Joseph Watson
Carolyn Caudell Tieger Professor of Public Affairs Communications
Joseph Watson, Jr. is the inaugural Carolyn Caudell Tieger Professor of Public Affairs Communications at Grady College. In this role, Watson oversees the first program in the nation to provide […]
Staff
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Jiwon Kim
Ph.D. Student, CAM Program Coordinator
Jiwon Kim is a Ph.D. student and the CAM program coordinator.
Trainings & Research
Cox Center CAM Fellows
In the constantly changing global media environment, professionals and researchers alike must stay current. Continuous research, knowledge updating, and practice are essential. To meet this critical need, the James M. Cox, Jr., Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research (Cox International Center) designed the Communication and Media (CAM) Fellows Program. Formerly known as the Business and Public Communication (BPC) Fellows Program, the CAM program provides experienced communication and media professionals with opportunities to update and develop their knowledge. Leaders across business, government, non-profit sectors, and the press can access a world-class educational and research setting through the Cox International Center.The Cox International Center is housed in Grady College at the University of Georgia. The Center is one of the fully established units in the United States dedicated to international outreach and research in mass communication, media, and journalism. Established in 1915 and accredited by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC), Grady College is a research and education leader in journalism and mass communication. The Grady College faculty comprises internationally renowned scholars and respected industry professionals. The College is home to several prominent centers and institutes, including the Peabody Awards, widely recognized as the most prestigious award in electronic journalism.
Workshops
In fulfillment of its mission to encourage the development of a free and independent press, the Cox Center conducts training workshops for journalists and other communication professionals. Most workshops are held outside the United States and are conducted in collaboration with local organizations and institutions.
Workshop topics are selected by the trainees’ organization or institution in consultation with the Cox Center. Instructors for the workshops come from the University of Georgia, across the United States, and from the region being served.
All participants are expected to contribute insights from their own experiences. Workshops are an opportunity to exchange ideas, and both “instructors” and “students” are expected to learn from the interaction.
Since 1997, the James M. Cox Jr. Center for International Mass Communication Training and Research has conducted 65 international workshops in 23 countries. The total number of foreign participants is 2,397.
YEAR | PURPOSE | LOCATION | # OF PARTICIPANTS |
2019 | Importance of communication skills | Romania | 35 |
Fake news and information disorders in the digital age | Romania | 40 | |
Roundtable discussion on multidisciplinary initiatives | USA (Arizona) | 6 | |
New technologies’ effects on mass communication | China | 25 | |
2017 | Government-media relationship: Republic of Moldova | Moldova | 40 |
Communication and urban development | Romania | 30 | |
Attracting US students via Fulbright | Romania | 50 | |
Program in Romania focusing on health communication | Romania | 45 | |
International public administration event | Romania | 150 | |
2016 | Conference on media coverage of European Union | Romania | 40 |
Roundtable on mass communication education | USA (Athens) | 24 | |
Conference on media and the public sphere | USA (Athens) | 50 | |
2015 | Corporate communication | China | 50 |
Workshop on communication and public administration | China | 110 | |
Conference on media and the public sphere | France | 30 | |
Social Media | Romania | 60 | |
Conference on education and regional security | Romania | 50 | |
The role of communication in public administration | Romania | 60 | |
The future of journalism | (USA) Kettering | 15 |
1998 – 2014: The Cox Center held more than 50 workshops in which 1,487 people from 20 countries participated. Find the detailed information in the archive.
Cox Center Visitor Scholar Hosting
The Cox Center has hosted more than 80 groups of international visitors, as well as more than 80 international journalism educators and journalists from 96 countries. With the CAM Fellows Program (known as the BPC Fellows Program until 2022), the Center has hosted more than 200 professionals and academics from around the world. Edward Murrow fellows, Transatlantic Media Network fellows, Fulbright scholars, Muskie fellows, Freedom Support Act and IREX fellows have been among the visiting scholars.
YEAR | COUNTRY OF GROUP HOSTED (# of Participants) |
2019 | South Korea (6), Romania (31) |
2018 | South Korea (4), 24 participants from United Kingdom, Bangladesh, Brazil, Chile, Kuwait, Jamaica, Lebanon, Liberia, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Pakistan territories, Russia, South Africa, Suriname, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, Venezuela, Algeria, Armenia, Eastern Australia, and Azerbaijan |
2017 | Kazakhstan (7), France (2), China (10), Romania (7), Georgia (5) |
2016 | North African and Near Eastern Countries (16) |
2015 | Zambia (5), Egypt (4), African countries (13) |
2014 | Russia (6), Ghana (5), Bosnia (1), Australia (1), Turkey (1), UK (1), Ivory Coast (1), Botswana (1) |
2013 | Kenya (9), French-speaking African countries (14) |
1998 – 2014: | The Cox Center hosted 80 international groups having more than 400 participants. Find the detailed information in the archive. |
1998 – 2014: The Cox Center hosted 80 international groups having more than 400 participants. Find the detailed information in the archive.
YEAR | COUNTRY OF INTERNATIONAL JOURNALISM EDUCATORS AND JOURNALISTS (Duration) |
2022 | Edward R. Murrow Program 17 Visitors from Australia, Cambodia, Fiji, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal. Pakistan, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, China, Indonesia, Vietnam (3d) |
2019 | USA (3d) |
2018 | Transatlantic Fellows from London, Sweden, Hungary (3d) |
2017 | Transatlantic Fellows from Germany, Bulgaria, Italy (3d) |
2016-2017 | China (1y), Romania (9m), China (9m) |
2016 | Transatlantic Fellows from Hungary, Sweden, Poland (5d) |
2015 | Transatlantic Fellows from Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, Denmark (5d), Mexico (1m) |
1998 – 2014: The Cox Center hosted more than 65 international journalists and individuals. Find the detailed information in the archive.
Research at the Cox International Center
The Cox Center conducts and supports research for its mission to empower communication and media insights worldwide. Our research efforts promote free and independent media systems around the world and ascertain the vital roles of communication in all aspects of business and society. These efforts have continuously provided insights into and intelligence on media and communication in the ever-changing media environment.
Topics have included the roles of the media in democratization, international news coverage structure, and the U.S. labor market in journalism and mass communication. Recent projects have expanded the capacity of the Cox Center through interdisciplinary projects examining how communication phenomena such as advertising, public relations, entertainment, sports, and marketing communications through new and emerging media impact audience perceptions, opinions, and behaviors.
As such, the Cox Center’s research continues to produce insights into how people communicate with organizations, businesses, and their societies. This has also unveiled an understanding of how – inversely – organizations, businesses, and societies communicate with people. Recent research projects conducted, presented at international conferences, or published by researchers at the Cox Center and their collaborators through the support of the Cox Center can be found on the news pages.
The findings and insights from the research are then shared through publications, presentations at conferences, and experiential seminars for the visiting researchers and fellows, including the CAM Fellows.
GRANTS
On June 25, 2019, the Cox International Center was awarded $250,000 from the U.S. Department of State (through the U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi, Georgia) to train Georgian journalists. Several universities and other organizations applied for this competitive grant issued under the funding opportunity titled Media Education Program (MEP) DOS-GEO-19-CA-001-040119.
Cox Center Heritage Site
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