Master of Fine Arts, Screenwriting, University of Georgia
Bachelor of Arts, Film/Television, University of California, Los Angeles
Teaching Specialties
Landau served as an assistant dean at UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television and co-director of UCLA’s MFA Screenwriting Program for many years. This Fall, he’ll be the founding Director of Screenwriting in the new MFA Film & Television Program at the University of Georgia.
Experience
Landau’s screen credits include the cult teen comedy Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead; Melrose Place, The Magnificent Seven, Doogie Howser, M.D., The Secret World of Alex Mack, Twice in a Lifetime, MTV’s Undressed. His animated movie projects include Tad: The Lost Explorer (aka Las Adventuras de Tadeo Jones) for which he earned a Spanish Academy “Goya” Award and Cinema Writers’ Circle Award for Best Adapted Screenplay (2014); Tad2 (Tadeo Jones and the Secret of King Midas), from Paramount, premiered in August, 2017 (once again to record box office). Neil is working on the Tad #3 for a 2022 release by Paramount. He also co-wrote the animated feature Capture the Flag (also for Paramount); and the animated movie, Sheep & Wolves, for Wizart Animation (The Snow Queen), 2017 release. He’s currently Head Writer and Co-Executive Producer on the new animated feature film Finnick for Riki Animation Studios, and serving as Co-EP and Executive Script Consultant on Mummies for 4 Cats Pictures and Warner Bros. Both are currently in production for 2022 release. Neil’s new projects include Strings (for Warner Bros.), the live action miniseries for Amediateka/HBO Europe entitled Patient Zero and a remake of Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead slated for remake in 2021.
Neil is author of five books, including the bestselling 101 Things I Learned in Film School (Grand Central Publishing, 2010, reissue by Random House/Crown in early 2021; and The TV Showrunner’s Roadmap (Focal Press, 2014; second edition to be published in 2021).
Neil served for several years as executive script consultant in the international divisions of Sony Pictures Television and Columbia Pictures. He gives lectures, keynotes, and hosts workshops around the world on the art and craft of screenwriting, including keynotes in Milan, Rome, Seoul, and Sochi. He’s lectured at USC School of Cinematic Arts, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, La Femis in Paris, Met Film School in London, University of the Andes in Santiago, Alexander Mitta Film School in Moscow, Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Shanghai Film Art Academy, Starlight Media in Kiev, and Accademia Nazionale del Cinema in Bologna, Italy. He’s a member of the WGA west, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, PEN west, and is on the Board of Directors for OUTFEST.
About: Hye Jin Yoon is an Associate Professor in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations at the University of Georgia. Her research expertise is in humor advertising and humor psychology, with growing interest in sustainable marketing and advertising.
Ph.D., Mass Communication, University of Georgia
M.A., Mass Communication, University of Georgia
B.A., Mass Communication, Korea University
Research Interests and Activities
Yoon’s primary research interests are humor effects and schema incongruity processing in advertising. Other research interests include health and environmental issues in advertising and their impact on consumers and society, digital and social media advertising, and network and sentiment analysis. Her work has been published in the Journal of Advertising, Journal of Business Research,International Journal of Advertising, Journal of Health Communication, Health Communication, and Journal of Current Issues & Research in Advertising, among others.
Hye Jin Yoon, “Experimental Designs in Practice: Humor Advertising Application,” invited guest lecture online in COMM 6300 Quantitative Research Methods, University of Houston, Houston, TX, February 20, 2023.
Lee, Yoon-Joo, Hye Jin Yoon, and Jinho Joo (forthcoming), “Role of fresh start mindset framing in reducing stigma and promoting mental health help-seeking behavior,” Journal of Consumer Behaviour. Abstract: One […]
Hye Jin Yoon, Yoon-Joo Lee, Shuoya Sun (PhD alum), and Jinho Joo (forthcoming), “Does congruency matter for online green demarketing campaigns? Examining the effects of retargeting display ads embedded in […]
Hye Jin Yoon, Yoon Joo Lee, Jinho Joo, and Youngjee Ko (Ph.D. candidate), “The Role of Corporate Social Responsibility Orientation in Green Demarketing Publicity & Advertising,” has been accepted for presentation […]
Hye Jin Yoon, Yoon Joo Lee, Shuoya Sun (Ph.D. alumnus), and Jinho Joo, “Examining the Effectiveness of Retargeting Display Ads with Online Demarketing Campaigns: The Role of Browser Settings,” has been […]
Ja Kyung Seo (Ph.D. student), Hanyoung Kim (Ph.D. alumni), Youngjee Ko (Ph.D. candidate), Hye Jin Yoon, Jeong-Yeob Han, and Youngji Seo (Ph.D. alumni). “Are Interactive PSA Formats Always Good? Testing […]
Hye Jin Yoon, “Humor as a Buffer to Negativity in Advertising.” Invited lecture at the School of Journalism and Advertising, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL, October 24, 2022.
Abstract: Using an experimental tool that tracks the viewers’ real-time ad skipping behavior, the current research tested when and why a highly arousing emotional appeal ad that induces a set of […]
Hye Jin Yoon, Yan Huang, and Mark Yi-Cheon Yim (2022), “Native advertising relevance effects and the moderating role of attitudes toward social networking sites,” Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing. Abstract: […]
Abstract: In this research, we seek to provide effective message strategies to communicate stigma associated health issues such as the human papillomavirus (HPV), by exploring the roles of humor, STD […]
Abstract: Consumers are increasingly in support of sustainable marketing and demarketing has received attention as a viable strategy in response to this growing sentiment. As only a few studies focused on testing […]
Abstract: Research into the effects of femvertising on individuals and society is needed and the purpose of this study was to gauge the nature of the campaign ‘Always #LikeAGirl’, one […]
Faculty and doctoral graduates in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations in Grady College were the most visible authors or co-authors in the three leading peer-reviewed advertising research journals from 2008-2019, […]
Abstract: A pseudo-review is a type of online user-generated review (“review”) posted on an e-commerce website that often resembles an authentic review on the surface, telling an exaggerated story about […]
Abstract: Humor is a popular appeal used in global advertising and with the growing use of comedic violence ads in the U.S., it is a worthwhile endeavor to see whether […]
Abstract: Twitter has become an important means of communicating alcohol industry CSR campaigns. However, little is known about individual differences in consumer responses to CSR campaigns in the context of […]
Hye Jin Yoon and Jeong-Yeob Han has been awarded the Faculty Seed Grants in the Sciences Program ($9,720) through The Owens Institute for Behavioral Research (OIBR) for their proposed project Abstract: People have been found to […]
Abstract: A pseudo-review is a type of online user-generated review (“review”) posted on an e-commerce website that often resembles an authentic review on the surface, telling an exaggerated story about […]
Abstract: Humor is a popular appeal used in global advertising and with the growing use of comedic violence ads in the U.S., it is a worthwhile endeavor to see whether […]
Paper to be presented to American Advertising Academy (AAA) conference, San Diego, CA. Abstract: Given the prevalent use of social media in disseminating public service announcements (PSAs) encouraging healthy behavior, […]
Dr. Yoon’s teaching interests including media planning, digital media, international advertising, consumer psychology, and quantitative research methods.
Experience
Prior to coming to UGA, Dr. Yoon has worked at SMU as a professor for nine years.
Awards and Fellowships
Journal of Interactive Advertising Best Reviewer Award, 2019
Journal of Advertising Best Reviewer Award, 2018
Sam Taylor Fellowship Award, 2012, 2014-2018
ICA Communication and Technology Division, Top Three Faculty Paper, 2011
American Academy of Advertising Dissertation Award, 2010
Dr. Peters, who holds an affiliate faculty position in the UGA School of Law, specializes in communication law and policy. He is also the press freedom correspondent for the Columbia Journalism Review.
EDUCATION
Ph.D., Journalism, University of Missouri
J.D., Ohio State University
B.S., Journalism, Ohio University
RESEARCH INTERESTS AND ACTIVITIES
Dr. Peters researches communication law and policy, and most of his work is in two areas. First, he studies how Internet companies make decisions about the content they host and the speech they intermediate, along with the role that First Amendment principles play in those decisions. Second, he studies how recent economic, political, and technological changes have renewed and complicated efforts to regulate the modern practice of journalism through the main sources of American law. To those ends, Dr. Peters has published articles in a variety of leading journals, including the Berkeley Technology Law Journal, the Harvard Law and Policy Review, and the Federal Communications Law Journal. He is also a coauthor of The Law of Public Communication, a textbook used at more than 100 colleges and universities in the United States and abroad.
In addition, Dr. Peters does international and comparative research in communication law and policy. He is the author of encyclopedia articles about global free expression and European press regulation, and he has completed projects on the freedoms of press and peaceful assembly for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, based in Vienna; the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, based in Warsaw; the European Center for Not-for-Profit Law, based in The Hague; and the International News Safety Institute, based in London. He has collaborated with civil society organizations around the world to inform and support the work of the U.N. Human Rights Committee, and he has been a consultant on press rights for the U.N. Development Programme and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
TEACHING SPECIALTIES
Dr. Peters received the 2021 Russell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, which is UGA’s highest early-career teaching honor. Before that, in 2019, the College of Journalism and Mass Communication recognized him as its “Journalism Teacher of the Year.” He is the former Teaching Chair of the Law & Policy Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, and during the 2017-2018 academic year he served at UGA as an Online Learning Fellow. Dr. Peters mostly teaches communication law and policy, in both the College and the School of Law, but he has also taught undergraduate courses in information gathering, feature writing, and mass media ethics, as well as graduate courses in social media policy and in contemporary press freedom. He regularly mentors doctoral and master’s students, and he is active in the College’s study-abroad program, teaching in Prague in the summer.
EXPERIENCE
Dr. Peters is the press freedom correspondent for the Columbia Journalism Review, and elsewhere he has written about legal issues for Esquire, The Atlantic, Slate, Wired, NBC News, and CNN. He has blogged about the First Amendment for the Harvard Law Review, and he has written about the NHL for Sports Illustrated. He is a frequent commentator on media law matters for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Vanity Fair, CNN, The Wall Street Journal, NBC News, NPR, CBS News, PBS, and Politico, among others. In addition, his work has been noted by John Oliver’s “Last Week Tonight” and Jon Stewart’s “The Daily Show.”
Dr. Peters has authored or contributed to numerous amicus briefs in First Amendment cases, and he is a volunteer First Amendment lawyer for the Student Press Law Center and the ACLU. He has also testified in litigation as an expert witness on media law, and he has conducted legal seminars for dozens of news organizations, including the radio program “This American Life” and the podcast “Serial.” He is the author, too, of a report commissioned by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism that explores the legal and ethical propriety of reporting on stolen materials, focusing on the 2016 presidential election. More recently, he served on a research team that conducted the after-action review of a major American city’s response to the 2020 protests following George Floyd’s murder.
Dr. Peters is active in a number of nonprofit organizations, serving as the First Amendment Chair of the Civil Rights Litigation Committee of the American Bar Association, as a member of the Freedom of Information Committee of the Society of Professional Journalists, as a member of the Board of Directors of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation, and as the Clerk and Newsletter Chair of the Law & Policy Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication.
About: Dr. Wojdynski teaches courses in multimedia journalism, interactive media, and psychological effects of communication technology. He researches the effects of design and presentation characteristics in digital media on attention, selection, cognition, and attitudes. He directs the Digital Media Attention and Cognition Lab.
Ph.D., Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
M.A., Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
B.A., American Studies and English, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Research Interests and Activities
Dr. Wojdynski’s research focuses on the role technological and design variables play in how users choose and process information in digital media. He is particularly interested in the role that interactivity and navigability play in influencing attention to, elaboration upon, and retention of content. His research consists primarily of experimental studies involving websites and web-based news delivered on computers and mobile devices. To better understand what happens in the course of media use, Wojdynski’s research uses eye-tracking and response-time measures in addition to questionnaire-based responses. Recently, he has examined effects of web navigability on content selection and recall, and the influence of exemplars in non-linear interactive news stories on risk perceptions. Wojdynski has presented his research at a number of national and international conferences, and his research has been published or accepted in journals including the International Journal of Advertising, Journal of Media Psychology, Cyberpsychology, Behavior & Social Networking, Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, and Newspaper Research Journal, among others.
Eline Brussee, Eva Van Reijmersdal, Nathaniel Evans, and Bart Wojdynski (forthcoming), “Disclosure-Driven Recognition of Native Advertising: A Test of Two Competing Mechanisms,” Journal of Interactive Advertising Abstract: This study aims […]
Abstract: Given the increasing number of personalized ads and the prevalence of media multitasking, understanding the impact of online privacy concern on ad outcomes is important. However, the interaction effects between […]
Abstract: Body-worn cameras (BWC), small cameras worn on the body that record and provide footage of police encounters from a first-person point of view (POV), are used by an increasing number […]
Abstract: This study used a smartphone eye-tracking approach to examine understudied areas in health communication – hope in fear appeal – when people are exposed to differential emotional shifts with fear […]
Abstract: A mixed-factorial laboratory eye-tracking experiment (N=90) examined web design’s role in the effectiveness of news transparency informational boxes on drawing consumers’ visual attention and the role of reading process box […]
Abstract: In response to calls for greater integration of research on the effects of visual images in the emotional and cognitive processing of health-related posts on Facebook, this study examined […]
Pjesivac, I., Wojdynski, B., & Geidner, N. (2021). Television infographics as orienting response: An eye-tracking study of the role of visuospatial attention in processing of television news. Abstract: This experimental […]
Abstract: One of the understudied areas in health communication research is hope. This study examines the effect of efficacy-inducing information on hope and subsequent attitudinal health behaviors. A total of […]
Abstract: This study examined the effects of directional cues in immersive journalism by conducting a randomized between-subjects three-condition lab experiment (N=131) with community participants using three versions of originally produced […]
Abstract: In a 3 (secondary task: none, related, unrelated) x 2 (ad-video congruence: high/low) between-subjects eye-tracking experiment, participants (N = 153) watched a 9-minute video documentary segment containing one mid-roll video ad […]
Abstract: A growing body of research suggests that differences between smartphones and desktop computers influence information processing outcomes. A within-subjects (N = 64) smartphone eye-tracking experiment replicates a 2018 desktop-based study of […]
Abstract: Social media political advertising has, in recent years, been the target of a lot of interest and scrutiny from the public, scholars, and even the social media platforms themselves. […]
Abstract: In an effort to improve transparency, Facebook changed its disclosures on in-feed native political advertisements in 2018 to include language that identifies who paid for the ad to appear. […]
Glen Nowak, Michael Cacciatore, Bart Wojdynski, Glenna Read, and Itai Himelboim are part of a University of Georgia proposal submitted in response to a National Institutes of Health call for […]
Abstract: Only one-third of adults 18 to 49 years old in the United States receive a recommended annual influenza vaccination. This study examined whether supplementing vaccine information statements (VIS) with […]
Abstract: In recent years, online misinformation designed to resemble news by adopting news design conventions has proven to be a powerful vehicle for deception and persuasion. In a 2 (prior […]
Abstract: Covert advertisements, or those that utilize the guise and delivery mechanisms of familiar non-advertising formats, differ from other more direct forms of advertising in several ways that are important […]
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of advertising format and cognitive load in shaping the effect of covert advertisements on participants advertising recognition and outcomes. […]
Abstract: The present study sought to define and test the effects of “mistargeting” – that is, the phenomenon in which consumers are delivered online behavioral advertising (OBA) that has served […]
Abstract: This content analysis evaluated tweets about the opioid epidemic published in 2018 by U.S. federal and state health organizations to find out what components of both textual and visual […]
Abstract: As content referral widgets and other forms of native advertising continue to be lucrative means of subsidizing journalism, critics and industry observers have derided these “chumboxes” as damaging to […]
Abstract: In a between-subjects eye-tracking experiment, adult readers of a large metropolitan daily newspaper (N=70) viewed and evaluated one of two versions of the same online news feature: one with […]
Abstract: Recently, Facebook has changed the way they display the disclosure language regarding political advertisements in an attempt to increase transparency. The goal of this study was to use eyetracking […]
Abstract: In public health, politics, and advertising, interactive content spurred increased elaboration from audiences that were otherwise least likely to engage with a message. This study sought to examine interactivity […]
Abstract: This content analysis evaluated tweets about the opioid epidemic published in 2018 by U.S. federal and state health organizations to find out what components of both textual and visual […]
ABSTRACT: The present study (N=82) employed a 2 (advertisement format: advergame vs. video commercial) x 2 (brand prominence: low (Asus) vs. high (KFC)) between-subjects factorial experiment to investigate the effect […]
ABSTRACT: Misinformation that borrows from the design conventions of online news, often called simply “fake news,” is intentionally misleading and deceptive information packaged and disseminated in such a way that […]
ABSTRACT: Social media and other online platforms are increasingly the way consumers access news articles, which increases the likelihood of users visiting articles from sources they may not have visited […]
Abstract: This study first investigated the effect of advertising format (advergames vs online video commercials) on consumers’ ability to recognize advertising. Second, we tested how advertising format differentially impacted consumers’ […]
ABSTRACT: This study examined the effects of two different levels of personalization strategies (individual-level vs. group-level) on consumers’ visual and attitudinal responses to personalized advertising. The study further investigated the […]
ABSTRACT: Building on the persuasion knowledge model, this study examines how audience characteristics and native advertising recognition influence the covert persuasion process. Among a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults […]
Abstract: This study examined the effects of the use of directional cues in immersive journalism on information recall, attitudes towards a news story, narrative transportation, presence, and message credibility by […]
Abstract: A between-subjects experiment tested the effects of medium (location-based) and high (individually tailored) personalized advertising on online news readers, half of whom also paid attention to a podcast while […]
Dr. Wojdynski’s teaching specialties include multimedia journalism, interactive design and programming, data visualization, psychological effects of mass media, and quantitative research methods.
Experience
Prior to receiving his Ph.D., Dr. Wojdynski worked in print and online news media, and developing interactive health and education web content, including projects funded by NASA and the National Institute on Drug Abuse. He has also served as a usability consultant for interactive online media.
Ph.D., Higher Education Policy, University of Georgia
Graduate coursework, University of Missouri School of Journalism
B.A., Philosophy, Rhodes College
Research Interests and Activities
The intersection of education, media, policy, and sport, with a particular focus on college sports and women’s sports.
D. Welch Suggs (2022). Esports and Governance in American Higher Education. In Hoffman, J.L., K. Varzeas, & R. Pauketat (Eds.), Collegiate Esports: Developing Competition & Community for the Higher Education Practitioner. […]
D. Welch Suggs (2022). In Ream, T. (Ed.), When it is Necessary to Win: Fr. Theodore M. Hesburgh and Athletics at the University of Notre Dame. In Hesburgh of Notre […]
Hoffman, J.L. and Suggs, D.W., Jr (2021), What if amateurism turned into entrepreneurialism? Abstract: When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the NCAA can’t limit educational benefits provided to college […]
Abstract: One of Myles Brand’s key contributions as president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association was the development of what he called the “collegiate model of college sports.” In this […]
Editing and writing. Also helping organize student activities to provide experiential learning in sports reporting.
Experience
Welch Suggs joined the Grady College faculty in July 2011 after careers as a journalist, as a policy advocate, and as a university administrator. After internships at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Atlanta Business Chronicle, and the Memphis Business Journal, Suggs began his journalism career at The Kansas City Star, covering the headquarters of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and its decision to relocate from Overland Park, Kan., to Indianapolis. He covered sports and energy for the Dallas Business Journal and was part of the original reporting staff at the launch of Street & Smith’s SportsBusiness Journal, where he covered stadium and arena issues, college sports, and women’s sports. The Chronicle of Higher Education hired him to be the newspaper’s lead reporter on college sports in 1998, and in 2002 he was promoted to senior editor. He left the Chronicle in 2005 to return to his home state of Georgia and published his first book, “A Place on the Team: The Triumph and Tragedy of Title IX” (2005) with Princeton University Press. From 2005 to 2007, Suggs served as associate director for the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. In 2007, University of Georgia president Michael F. Adams hired Suggs for his staff to liaise with the UGA Athletic Association, the NCAA, the Office of University Architects and other units on campus.
Awards and Fellowships
Suggs’ book, “A Place on the Team: The Triumph and Tragedy of Title IX”, was critically acclaimed as the definitive work on the evolution of the law guaranteeing equal access to educational opportunities for men and women, particularly as it applies to sports, and was a finalist for a “Billie” award for outstanding journalism from the Women’s Sports Foundation. He is recognized as a leading expert on policy issues in college athletics and women’s sports, and has made numerous appearances on television and radio.
About: Dr. Pjesivac teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in digital storytelling, public opinion, and international communication. She studies international and cross-cultural communication, media trust and credibility, and effects of digital news content.
Ph.D., Communication and Information, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
M.S., Communication and Information: Journalism and Electronic Media, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Bachelor’s Degree, French Language and Literature, University of Belgrade, Serbia
Research Interests and Activities
Dr. Pjesivac’s research focuses on international and cross-cultural communication, media trust and credibility, and effects of digital news content. Within the realm of international and cross-cultural studies, Dr. Pjesivac has mainly studied the roles of cultural contexts in journalism processes, as well as the relationship between political regimes and media systems. Her second research area has examined the factors and processes that affect news credibility and trust across media platforms and national borders. In the area of digital news processing, she has combined design and cognitive variables and tested their impact on information recall, comprehension, and visual attention to information graphics used in news. Recent research efforts include emotional and cognitive effects of immersive journalism, as well as the effects of media messages used in health and science communication. Dr. Pjesivac has presented her research at national and international conferences, winning the awards for top papers from ICA, AEJMC, and BEA. In 2017, with her co-author Grace Ahn, she was named AEJMC Emerging Scholar for their study on immersive journalism. In 2018, Dr. Pjesivac received a fellowship from the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts at the University of Georgia for participation in Berlin Seminar in Transnational European Studies. Her research was published or accepted for publication in journals such as Journalism: Theory, practice, and criticism, Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Mass Communication and Society, Journalism Studies, Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, Health Communication, Journalism and Mass Communication Educator, Journalism Practice, Newspaper Research Journal, International Communication Gazette, The Journal of International Communication, Visual Communication Quarterly, Electronic News, Global Media and Communication, Surveillance and Society. PLoS ONE, and International Communication Research Journal. Her doctoral dissertation was the finalist for the AEJMC Nafziger-White-Salwen Dissertation Award and the winner of the Outstanding Dissertation Award from the College of Communication and Information at the University of Tennessee.
Imre, I., Wenger, D., Reilley, M. P., & Ivanka Pjesivac (April, 2023). “Teaching media literacy in the age of misinformation,” panel to be presented at the annual meeting of Broadcast […]
Ivanka Pjesivac & Imre, I. (February 13, 2023). Media landscapes in Serbia and Croatia. Guest talk presented at the University of Toronto. The talk covered media landscapes in Serbia and […]
Ivanka Pjesivac, Eldredge, S., Dalton, E., & Miller, L. (2023). “Between the facts and a hard place: Trust judgments and affective responses in information-seeking processes during Early COVID-19,” Health Communication. […]
Harlow, S., Camaj, L., & Pjesivac, I. (2022). Protest reporting across clientelist media systems. International Communication Gazette. Advance online publication: doi.org/10.1177/1748048522114686 Abstract:Most protest paradigm studies examining news media’s portrayals of protesters are based on an […]
Curtis, M.G., Whalen, C.C., Ivanka Pjesivac, & Kogan, S. M. (2022) “Contextual Pathways Linking Cumulative Experiences of Racial Discrimination to Black American Men’s COVID Vaccine Hesitancy.” Journal Racial and Ethnic […]
Helmus, T., Shaikh, M., & Ivanka Pjesivac. (September 2022). “Countering Propaganda and Disinformation: How Communications can Help Preserve Democracy.” Panel participant in Propaganda and Democracy panel series organized by The […]
Ivanka Pjesivac, S. Eldredge, E. Dalton, and L. Miller. (May 2022). “Between the facts and the hard place: Trust judgments and affective responses in information-seeking processes during early COVID-19.” Paper presented […]
Ivanka Pjesivac, Leslie Klein (PhD student), Wenqing Zhao (PhD student),Xuerong Lu (recently graduated PhD student), and Yan Jin. (May 2022). “Factors that impact COVID-19 conspirational beliefs and health-related behaviors.” Poster presented at […]
Ivanka Pjesivac, Leslie Klein (PhD student), I Imre, and A. Petrov (August, 2022). “Biden’s Saigon:” A metaphor analysis of Sputnik’s coverage of the American withdrawal from Afghanistan. Poster presented at […]
Dalton, E. D., Miller, L. E., Pjesivac, Ivanka, & Eldredge, S. A. (2022). Information-seeking barriers and strategies in maternity care: a framework analysis of nurses’ goals, plans, and actions. Journal […]
Ivanka Pjesivac, Sun Joo (Grace) Ahn, Solyee Kim (former PhD student) & Andrea Briscoe (current PhD student) (in press). “360-degree journalism as a gateway to information seeking: The role of enjoyment and spatial presence.” Journalism Practice. Advance online […]
Abstract: To further investigate the role of conspirational beliefs on health-related behaviors during a health pandemic such as COVID-19, we conducted an online survey among U.S. adults (N = 798) […]
Pjesivac, I., Wojdynski, B., & Geidner, N. (2021). Television infographics as orienting response: An eye-tracking study of the role of visuospatial attention in processing of television news. Abstract: This experimental […]
Abstract: This study examined the coverage of 2020 American elections on Croatian Public Service Television’s (HRT) website. The results of the content analysis of the census of HRT’s stories about […]
Abstract: This study examined the effects of directional cues in immersive journalism by conducting a randomized between-subjects three-condition lab experiment (N=131) with community participants using three versions of originally produced […]
Abstract: This study examines media coverage of social protests in Montenegro, where the demand for free media was front and center during the 2019 anti-government protests. Relying on the theoretical […]
Abstract: Maternal mortality is becoming a “normal” experience in the U.S. as more women die from pregnancy-related complications. Though prevalent in Black women experiences, pregnancy-related complications cut across every race. […]
Additional author: Patricia Moy Abstract: This paper reports qualitative and quantitative data from a national online panel survey of Latinos (N=720) after the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Participants reported in […]
Abstract: In a between-subjects eye-tracking experiment, adult readers of a large metropolitan daily newspaper (N=70) viewed and evaluated one of two versions of the same online news feature: one with […]
Abstract: This study employed international news flow theory to test the impact of the determinants of foreign news flow on the comprehensiveness of textual and multimedia coverage of Syrian refugee […]
Abstract: This panel will provide a discussion on benefits and challenges of teaching journalism innovation and will offer tips on how to include technology innovation in journalism classes. It will […]
Abstract: This study used a multi-method approach to examine the framing of GMOs in two American newspapers, The New York Times and the Washington Post (2000-2016), and to test the […]
Abstract: This study examined otherization framing of people living with HIV/AIDS in Africa in American print news from 1987-2007. The results of a content analysis of a representative sample of […]
Abstract: In today’s globalized world a country’s image is an important consideration because it can influence that country’s politics and economy (Shimko, 1991;Viosca et al., 2005). Scholars have noted that […]
Abstract: This study examined the perceptions of media roles among journalism students in Serbia and Croatia (N=401). The results showed that the most important were citizen-oriented and watchdog roles and […]
Dr. Pjesivac’s teaching specialties include undergraduate and graduate courses in digital storytelling, public opinion, international communication and broadcast reporting.
Experience
Prior to receiving her Ph.D., Dr. Pjesivac worked for nearly a decade at the news department of Radio-Television of Serbia (RTS) in Belgrade, Serbia. Her career at RTS included reporting news about political, foreign affairs, and war crimes issues. She covered most of the significant political events in Serbia from 2003 to 2007 and was RTS’s permanent correspondent from the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague, the Netherlands. During her journalistic career, she pursued several professional development programs in France, Switzerland, and the United States, and collaborated with CNN on stories concerning Serbia. During her work at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Pjesivac also had a position on a DataONE (Data Observation Network for Earth) research team, where she has conducted multinational survey research and analysis for the Usability and Assessment Working Group of the world-wide project for scientific data archiving.
Awards and Fellowships
Dr. Pjesivac’s research efforts have been awarded several times:
April 2019: Top Paper 1st place Open Paper Category – News Division of the Broadcast Education Association (BEA)
May – June 2018: Fellow – Berlin Seminar in Transnational European Studies; Willson Center for Humanities and Arts at the University of Georgia and Department of German and Russian Languages and Literatures and the Nanovic Institute for European Studies at the University of Notre Dame
August 2017: Kopenhaver fellow – Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver Center for Advancement of Women in Communication at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) annual conference in Chicago, IL.
May 2017: Top faculty paper – Visual Communication Studies Division of the International Communication Association (ICA)
2017: Grant – Online News Association Challenge Fund for Journalism Innovation Grant for the project “Virtual Water Infrastructure Crisis” : Co-principal investigator
2017: Grant – Kappa Tau Alpha Chapter Adviser Research Grant: Principal investigator
2017: Grant – Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) Emerging Scholar Grant: “Virtual Reality Journalism: Emotions and News Credibility” : Principal investigator
August 2015: Finalist (top 4) for the AEJMC Nafziger-White-Salwen Dissertation Award
August 2015: Top faculty paper (second place) – International Communication Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)
April 2015: Outstanding Dissertation Award, College of Communication and Information, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
2013: Two grants for dissertation research: Principal investigator
2012, 2013: Two scholarships for pursuing a career in international communication
April 2013: University of TennesseeChancellor’s Award for Extraordinary Professional Promise
April 2013: Best Debut Paper (second place) – News Division of the Broadcast Education Association (BEA)
August 2012: Research Award – Kappa Tau Alpha, National Honor Society
August 2012: Top student paper (first place) – International Communication Division of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)
Spring 2012: Outstanding Graduate Student Research Award, College of Communication and Information, University of Tennessee, Knoxville
About: Vicki Michaelis is the director of the John Huland Carmical Sports Media Institute at UGA. She teaches classes in the institute’s undergraduate Sports Media Certificate program.
M.S., Journalism, Northwestern University
B.S., Journalism, Northwestern University
Service Interests and Activities
Prof. Michaelis works to give students real-world experience in covering high school, college, professional, Olympic and adaptive sports. Sports media students have covered the 2018 and 2016 Olympics, the 2018 Warrior Games, the 2016 Paralympics and the 2013 Final Four for professional media outlets. Through the Carmical Sports Media Institute study abroad program, students will cover the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia for The Associated Press.
In Prof. Michaelis’ classes, students produce written, video and audio stories about UGA and high school sports. She established a partnership with the local NPR station, WUGA, to air student-produced stories. The stories became part of a series that has won multiple state and national awards. Her students’ written stories have been published by outlets including USA Today, ESPN.com, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and the Athens Banner-Herald.
Prof. Michaelis created the UGA-Grady High School Sports Broadcast Program, which trains high school students and advisors in underrepresented and/or underserved communities across Georgia to produce live broadcasts of their school’s sports events. The program donates broadcast equipment to the schools and exposes the students to college and career opportunities in sports broadcast and production.
Teaching Specialties
Sports media skills, including deadline event coverage, multi-platform storytelling, live-event broadcasting, studio-show production, social media production, and enterprise reporting and writing. Also topics involving the interplay of sports and society, politics and culture.
Experience
Vicki Michaelis joined the UGA faculty after 21 years as a sports journalist, the last 12 as the lead Olympics reporter for USA Today. She also covered NFL, NBA, Major League Baseball, NHL and major college sports stories as USA Today’s Denver bureau sports writer. She was part of the newspaper’s transformation in the digital age, expanding her skills as USA Today established itself on digital platforms. Prior to joining USA Today, she worked at The Denver Post, where her beats included University of Colorado football and the Denver Nuggets. She began her career at The Palm Beach Post, covering high school sports, major college sports, professional tennis and the NBA. She taught sports reporting as an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado for four years. She is a past president and chairperson of the Association for Women in Sports Media (AWSM). In 2022, AWSM honored her with the organization’s Ann Miller Service Award.
Dr. Yan Jin teaches undergraduate Public Relations (PR), PR Research, PR Administration, AdPR Health, Crisis Communication, and PR Campaigns courses. She also teaches doctoral-level mass communication theory course. As a public relations scholar, Dr. Jin’s primary research programs are in the areas of crisis communication, strategic conflict management, and health risk communication, focusing on the role of emotions and social media in crisis and risk communication theory and application.
Ph.D., University of Missouri, Columbia, MO
M.A., University of Missouri, Columbia, MO
B.A., Peking University, Beijing, China
Research Interests and Activities
Dr. Jin’s work serves as a framework for crisis and risk communication in a rapidly evolving media landscape and amidst emotionally charged conflict situations, ranging from organizational crises to disasters and public health emergencies. Strategic communicators facing high-stake threats have an increasing need for evidence-based guidelines for crisis and risk information dissemination to address affected communities’ informational and emotional needs, to ensure safety and welfare of publics and organizations, and ultimately to build community resilience and aid crisis recovery. Dr. Jin’s research program in crisis communication, conflict management, and health risk communication contribute to the advancement of strategic communication theory and provide insights for public relations practice.
Dr. Jin has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and over 30 book chapters. She is the lead-editor of the Routledge books Advancing Crisis Communication Effectiveness: Integrating Public Relations Scholarship with Practice(2021) andSocial Media and Crisis Communication (2nd edition)(2022), as well as co-editor of Social Media and Crisis Communication (1st edition)(2017). Dr. Jin was named a Top 2 “Most Productive Scholar” in crisis communication research according to a 2014 refereed article in International Journal of Strategic Communication. She was also named a Top 27 “Most Cited Public Relations Author” according to a 2019 refereed article in Journal of Public Relations Research, as well as a Top 6 “Most Published Author” and Top 16 “Most Cited Author” in Public Relations Review articles according to a 2021 refereed article in Public Relations Review. Recently, she was named a Top 6 “Most Published Author” in social media research in public relations scholarship (2010-2020) according to a 2022 refereed article in Public Relations Review.
Dr. Jin has published in leading journals in the field, including Communication Research, Journal of Applied Communication Research, Journal of Public Relations Research, Public Relations Review, Public Relations Journal, Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, International Journal of Strategic Communication, Corporate Communication: An International Journal, Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, Health Communication, Journal of Health Communication, Vaccine, British Journal of Medicine and Medical Research, American Journal of Infection Control, Social Marketing Quarterly, and Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. Her work has also been published in leading scholarly books, including The Handbook of Crisis Communication, SAGE Handbook of Public Relations, and New Media and Public Relations.
Sungsu Kim (PhD alum), Sung In Choi (PhD candidate), Chiara Valentini, Mark Badham, and Yan Jin. (forthcoming). “How Motivation to Reduce Uncertainty Predicts COVID-19 Behavioral Responses: Strategic Health Communication Insights […]
Yan Jin and Augustine Pang [Chairs] (2023, May). Panel: “Leading Strategic Communication through Turbulent Times: How the Contingency Theory Advances Practice in the Management of Crises, Conflicts and Complex Public Relations […]
Xuerong Lu (PhD alum) and Yan Jin (2023, May). “There Is a Time for Everything in Organizational Corrective Communication: The Effects of Correction Placement Timing and Refutation Detail Level on Combating Crisis Misinformation.” […]
Chiara Valentini, Elanor Colleoni, Yan Jin and Sung In Choi (PhD candidate) (2023, May). “Public’s Health Information Consumption During a Prolonged Pandemic: The Competing Roles of Journalists and Digital Influencers and Their Effects in […]
Karen Robayo Sanchez (PhD student), Yan Jin, and Vivian Medina-Messner (2023, March). “How Hispanic and Latino Young Adults Respond to COVID-19 Crisis Information on Social Media: Opportunities of Overcoming Digital Inequality Threat […]
Augustine Pang, Yan Jin, and Glen T. Cameron. (Forthcoming). “The Contingency Theory of Strategic Conflict Management: Review from Three Decades of Theory Development, Extension and Application.” Journalism and Communication Monographs. Abstract: The […]
Sung In Choi (PhD candidate), Sungsu Kim (PhD alum), Yan Jin, Chiara Valentini, Mark Badham, Elanor Colleoni, and Stefania Romenti (In press). “Effects of Individuals’ Cultural Orientations and Trust in […]
Xuerong Lu (PhD Alum), Yen-I Lee (PhD Alum), and Yan Jin. (Forthcoming). “Understanding crisis narratives with large-scale Twitter data: The role of celebrity and emotions in the virality of #MeToo […]
Sung In Choi (PhD student), Yan Jin, and Mark Badham. (forthcoming). “Factors Influencing Americans’ Preventive Behaviours during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Lessons for Strategic Health and Risk Communicators.” Strategic Communication in a Global Crisis: National and […]
Xuerong Lu (PhD alum) and Yan Jin. (forthcoming). “Integrating Strategy and Dosage: A New Conceptual Formula for Overcoming Unintended Effects in Public Health Crisis Communication (PHCC).” The Handbook of Crisis Communication (2nd edition) (Eds. W. T. […]
Yan Jin, Lucinda Austin, and Brooke Liu. (forthcoming). “Social-Mediated Crisis Communication Research: How Information Generation, Consumption, and Transmission Influence Communication Processes and Outcomes.” The Handbook of Crisis Communication (2nd edition) (Eds. W. T. Coombs […]
Bryan Reber, Yan Jin, and Glen Nowak. (forthcoming). “Advancing Crisis Communication Effectiveness: Integrating Crisis Scholarship with Practice.” The Handbook of Crisis Communication (2nd edition) (Eds. W. T. Coombs and S. J. Holladay), Wiley-Blackwell. Abstract: Reber, Jin, […]
Elise Karinshak (undergraduate student) and Yan Jin’s paper “Knowing Thy Enemy and Fighting the Good Fight: A Framework for Organizational Preparation for and Response to AI-driven Disinformation Campaigns” received the Emerald Professional […]
Ivanka Pjesivac, Leslie Klein (PhD student), Wenqing Zhao (PhD student),Xuerong Lu (recently graduated PhD student), and Yan Jin. (May 2022). “Factors that impact COVID-19 conspirational beliefs and health-related behaviors.” Poster presented at […]
Yen-I Lee (PhD alum), Xuerong Lu (PhD candidate), Taylor Voges (PhD candidate), and Yan Jin. (forthcoming). “Fending off Unverified Accusation with Narratives: The Role of Primary and Secondary Narratives in Organizational Response Effectiveness in an Ongoing […]
Taylor Voges (PhD candidate), Yan Jin, LaShonda Eaddy (PhD alum), Shelley Spector. (forthcoming). “Effective Communication Management in a Public Health Crisis: Lessons Learned about COVID-19 Pandemic through the Lens of Health Communication Executives.” Journal […]
Abstract: Interpreting a facemask as an unspoken statement of one’s identity during the COVID-19 pandemic based on product symbolism theory, the present study examines the relationships among one’s trust in […]
Abstract: This study examined the effects of literacy and efficacy on individuals’ protective action taking and information seeking during the early phase of infectious disease outbreaks through a nationally representative survey […]
Abstract: Social media provides users easy access to unpredictable and unfiltered information from multiple sources during crises, further challenging publics to discern the accuracy of the information they receive and […]
Abstract: The social-mediated crisis communication domain is flooded with misinformation in various forms, causing misperception about a crisis and trigger negative crisis outcomes that harm organizational reputation and publics’ wellbeing. […]
Abstract: To further investigate the role of conspirational beliefs on health-related behaviors during a health pandemic such as COVID-19, we conducted an online survey among U.S. adults (N = 798) […]
Abstract: Based on a COVID-19 pandemic communication survey (N = 3,124) in Australia, Finland, Italy, South Korea, Sweden, and the United States, our study examined how trust in government sources […]
Abstract: Organizations need to respond to sticky crises with speed and timeliness; this speed depends onhow communication practitioners assess threats and their organizations’ resources for the threats. Based on theoretical […]
Abstract: Crises have been examined from the perspective of the crisis origin organization. Depending on the crisis type, other organizations might experience impacts because of the initial crisis. This emerging […]
Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic, characterized by unprecedented loss of life; political instability; and a global infodemic, has eroded public trust in all types of institutions (Edelman, 2021) except business. Public […]
Abstract: Using an online survey of a representative U.S. adult sample, this study revealed how publics perceived COVID-19 risk and credibility of information channels differently, which further predicted intention to […]
Abstract: To close existing research gap and combat vaccine hesitancy among young adults, we conduct this study to integrate psychological reactance theory to better understand the effectiveness of three emerging […]
Abstract: This study examined how individuals’ emotional and cognitive responses to different shades of truth embedded in health crisis (mis)information (i.e., full falsity vs. partial falsity vs. full truth) might […]
Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought several challenges to businesses and societies. In response, many corporations have supported local communities and authorities in the management of the pandemic. Although these […]
Book Description: The purpose of this book is to provide insights into effective and ethical management of “sticky crises” (i.e., industry-wide crisis issues that are complex and challenging, with and […]
Abstract: To further the understanding of how communication executives make tough calls in times of organizational-public conflict, we use a conjoint analysis to identify key drivers for organizational stance decision-making. […]
Yan Jin (PI), Shelley Spector (Co-PI), and Taylor Voges (PhD Candidate, Co-PI). “The Power of Myth and Truth: Uncovering the History and Growing Role of Native Americans in Public Relations.” The Arthur W. Page Center […]
Santosh Vijaykumar, Daniel Rogerson, Yan Jin, and Mariella Silva de Oliveira Costa. (forthcoming). “Dynamics of Feedback Behaviours to Social Peers Sharing COVID-19 Misinformation on WhatsApp in Brazil.” Abstract: Online COVID-19 misinformation is […]
Funding Source: U.S. Food & Drug Administration via a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Total Amount: $224,478.00 Project period: 09/30/2021 to 06/29/2024 Project Summary: We propose a multi-phase research project that […]
Abstract: Crises present organizations with the “rhetorical exigency” to enact control (Heath, 2004, p.167). Silence is not an option. This study, as the first empirical examination of Le et al. (2019)’s seminal study […]
Abstract: The study utilizes semi-structured interviews of health risk communication practitioners in the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. The contingency theory of strategic conflict management is the guide to understanding […]
Aarum Youn-Heil (Grady PhD student) and Yan Jin. Abstract: This study proposes a new conceptual model for understanding interracial communication apprehension (IRCA), delineating how people of color use various communication practices (Orbe, […]
Abstract: How individuals experience unintended effects of risk messages is an understudied area. Focusing on three types of unintended effects (i.e., message fatigue, risk tolerance, and psychological reactance) associated with […]
Abstract: Although uncertainty has been identified as a key crisis characteristic and a multi-faceted construct essential to effective crisis management research and practice, only a few studies examined publics’ perceived […]
Abstract: While risk perception has been the subject of many sport tourism studies, much remains to be linked with risk information seeking, travel-related response, and behavior in the sport tourism […]
Abstract: Effective response strategies and narratives are crucial for organizations to manage crisis situations. Grounded in SCCT (Coombs, 2007) and narratives of crisis (Seeger & Sellnow, 2016), this study aims […]
Abstract: One of the understudied topics in risk communication is why individuals do not follow or are resistant to recommended behaviors that optimize personal health outcomes. To understand the dimensionality […]
Abstract: Uncertainty is one of the key characteristics of an organizational crisis that needs to be addressed in an organization’s crisis responses. Although a large body of uncertainty research has […]
Abstract: The world is subject to many an affliction and pandemic, as seen most recently with COVID-19. This study, in an attempt to better understand the trends and workings of […]
Abstract: This study uses a novel approach, the conjoint analysis, as a way to investigate the interactions between three factor groupings of the contingency theory variables that are relevant for […]
Abstract: We examined how age and exposure to different types of COVID-19 (mis)information affect misinformation beliefs, perceived credibility of the message and intention-to-share it on WhatsApp. Through two mixed-design online […]
Dr. Yan Jin is named a Top 6 “Most Published Author” in Public Relations Review and a Top 16 “Most Cited Author” in Public Relations Review articles. [Source: Page, T. […]
Abstract: Higher education institutions and their students face a wide range of infectious disease threats (IDTs). However, there is a lack of theory-driven research on how to provide communication for […]
Abstract: Depression is a major threat to public health in China. Although many social determinants have been recognized as robust predictors of health outcomes, depression is still widely viewed and […]
Hyoyeun Jun (Grady PhD Alum) and Yan Jin (Forthcoming). “The Conceptualization of Risk Tolerance and Scale Development for Measuring Publics’ Tolerance of Individual Health Risks.” Journal of International Crisis and […]
Yan Jin, Irina A. Iles, Lucinda Austin, Brooke Liu, and Gregory R. Hancock (Forthcoming). “The Infectious Disease Threat (IDT) Appraisal Model: How Perceptions of IDT Predictability and Controllability Predict Individuals’ […]
Yan Jin (PI). Grant from Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication: ($4,500, 2020-2021). [Co-PIs: Shelley Spector and Lashonda Eaddy (Grady PhD Alum)] “Ethical and Effective Multi-Agency Public Crisis […]
Abstract: Crisis misinformation, including false information about a crisis or a crisis-stricken organization, has become a fundamental threat to organizational wellbeing. Effective crisis response geared toward fighting crisis misinformation demands […]
Abstract: To expand the existing scholarly literature on the nature of crisis, this study elaborates on the notion of crisis distance by 1) investigating its influence on publics’ crisis responses […]
Brooke Liu, Lucinda Austin, Yen-I Lee, Yan Jin, and Seoyeon Kim. (Forthcoming). “Telling the Tale: The Role of Narratives in Helping People Respond to Crises.” Journal of Applied Communication Research. […]
Abstract: The purpose of this study is to identify the best practices for corporate communication research collaboration between a university research group (URG) and outside businesses or organizations that systematically […]
Abstract: In recent years, several fashion organizations have received trenchant criticisms made against garments and fashion campaigns that included designs and graphics with negative racial connotations. Crisis issues can be […]
Abstract: In order to understand publics’ crisis information consumption in an increasingly competitive and conflicting media environment, this study addresses how and why individuals vet information (or not) in social-mediated […]
Accepted for presentation at the International Communication Association (ICA) Conference, Information Systems Division, May 21-25, 2020, Gold Coast, Australia. Abstract: To refine the conceptualization and operationalization of information vetting in […]
Accepted for presentation at the International Communication Association (ICA) Conference, Health Communication Division, May 21-25, 2020, Gold Coast, Australia. Abstract: This study investigated the effect of different framing, visual, and […]
Accepted for presentation at the International Communication Association (ICA) Conference, Public Relations Division, May 21-25, 2020, Gold Coast, Australia. Abstract: Crisis misinformation, including false information about a crisis or a […]
Accepted for presentation at the International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference (ICRCC), March 9-11, 2020, Orlando, FL. Abstract: Numerous studies have explored how publics seek and share crisis information, but […]
Accepted for presentation at the International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference (ICRCC), March 9-11, 2020, Orlando, FL. Abstract: How to detect side effects of repeated exposure of the same or […]
Accepted for presentation at the 23rd annual International Public Relations Research Conference (IPRRC), March 5-7, 2020, Orlando, FL. Abstract: This study examines the effects of environmental risk perception and risk […]
Accepted for presentation at the International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference (ICRCC), March 9-11, 2020, Orlando, FL. Abstract: Social media have become dominant channels for organizations and citizens to share […]
Invited Article: Yi-Ru Regina Chen, Yang Cheng, Chun-Ju Flora Hung-Baesecke, and Yan Jin (12/10/2019). “How Stakeholders React to Mobile-Enhanced Corporate Disaster Relief Efforts.” Behavioral Insights Research Center, Institute for Public […]
Abstract: In order to understand publics’ information consumption behavior in current media environment, this study addresses how and why individuals vet information (or not) in crisis situations. Grounded in dual-process […]
Abstract: The continuation of rapid changes in Web 2.0 has transformed the practice of business communication and stakeholders’ expectations. One paramount issue facing corporate communicators is stakeholders’ social media fatigue […]
Abstract: Depression is one of the most severe health threats to the college student population. Depression communication plays an essential role in reducing stigma and discrimination against sufferers. However, the […]
Abstract: Given the role the Internet plays in communicating anti-vaccine sentiments, coupled with limited research in this area, this study focused on the social media platform Pinterest, analyzing 1,119 vaccine-related […]
Abstract: This Delphi study explores the status of crisis communication research and education qualitatively through the lens of 22 internationally recognized crisis communication scholars, systematically recruited and retained to serve […]
2019 Emerald Literati Award for Excellence – Highly Commended Paper, Corporate Communications: an International Journal -LaShonda Eaddy and Yan Jin (2018). “Crisis History Tellers Matter: The Effects of Crisis History […]
Abstract:: Advancing Crisis Communication Effectiveness shows how crisis communication plans and efforts for complex and challenging issues benefit when academic perspectives are connected with practitioner experiences. This book brings crisis […]
Abstract: With globalization, corporations increasingly have to consider both domestic stakeholders and overseas stakeholders (i.e., international publics) in their corporate social responsibility (CSR) practice. Digitalization empowers international publics to scrutinize […]
Abstract: Social movements and social issue related public discourse has become one of the most impactful public communication phenomena in the digital space. Previous studies have examined the association between […]
Abstract: this study examines the effect of discrete emotional appeal (i.e., regret and hope) in loss-framing-based narrative by exploring its impact on people’s emotional engagement and attitude toward the smoking […]
Abstract: In a polarizing media environment increasingly fraught with misinformation, disinformation, contradicting information, and rumor, it is tougher than ever for brands and agencies to correct the record or make […]
Abstract: The proliferation of news sources and user-generated content, which is flooded by misinformation (Southwell, Thorson, & Sheble, 2018), present an urgent need for research that investigates audiences’ information consumption […]
Abstract: As Heath and O’Hair (2009) defined, crisis is when risk is manifested. The urgency and uncertainty of crisis can induce more complexity to organizations (Seeger, Sellnow, & Ulmer, 1998). […]
Abstract: An increasing lack of information truthfulness has become one fundamental challenge to communications. Insights into how to debunk this type of misinformation can especially be crucial for public health […]
Abstract: The public health communication challenges that arise in times of infectious disease threats (IDTs) were examined using the Risk Amplification through Media Spread (RAMS) Framework and in-depth phone interviews […]
Abstract: This longitudinal pedagogical research investigates students’ perceptions and learning outcomes by integrating web and social analytics-based learning activities (i.e., Google Analytics courses and certification test) into Public Relations Research […]
Abstract: With the heavy use of mobile social networking applications (SNA), corporations have widely applied corporate social responsibility activities enhanced by mobile technologies (i.e., mCSR) to target stakeholders. This study […]
Abstract: This study aims to identify the nature of, and find potential solutions to the kinds of vulnerabilities that misinformation imposes on older adults during infectious disease outbreaks with a […]
Abstract: This study explored how financial crisis history can inform corporate crisis communication practice across industries and over time. Thirty-eight interviews with chief communications officers (CCOs) and their counselors were […]
Abstract: As social media use on mobile devices has been integrated in people’s daily lives, corporations began to target the publics on corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities on mobile devices. […]
Abstract: This study explored how financial crisis history can inform corporate crisis communication practice across industries and over time. Thirty-eight interviews with chief communications officers (CCOs) and their counselors were […]
Abstract: This study first refined the conceptual framework of publics’ communicative behavior in social-mediated health crises. Then two multiple-item scales for measuring publics’ health crisis information seeking and sharing (CISS) […]
Dr. Jin teaches PR Research, PR Administration, PR Campaigns, AdPR Health, Crisis Communication, and Mass Communication Theory. Her PR Campaigns class has collaborated with The Home Depot and eBay, while her AdPR Health class has worked on strategic health communication projects with Amgen and Publicis Health. She also served as faculty advisor for Grady PRSSA Chapter’s Bateman Team (2016, 2017 and 2018).
In 2016, Dr. Jin led the Grady@Oxford Summer Study Abroad Program at Oxford University, UK. She has guest-lectured for a number of universities in the U.S., Europe, and Asia.
Experience
Dr. Jin serves on the editorial board of Journal of Public Relations Research, Public Relations Review, Communication Research, Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research, and Journal of Public Interest Communications. She also guest-edited special issues for Public Relations Review and Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research. She is an affiliated researcher of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism at the University of Maryland. She is also a faculty affiliate of the Owens Institute for Behavioral Research (OIBR) at the University of Georgia. As invited fellow, scholar and/or professor, Dr. Jin has visited and conducted international research collaborations at University of Jyväskylä (Finland), Aalto University (Finland), Northumbria University (UK), Università IULM (Italy), and Amsterdam School of Communication Research (ASCoR) at University of Amsterdam (Netherlands).
Actively engaged in bridging the gap between academia and industry, Dr. Jin has contributed over 20 articles to professional publications and outlets with a global outreach, such as PR News, Communication Director, PR Tactics, and Institute for Public Relations’ Social Science for Social Media Research Center. She has given a seminar talk at the National Conference of State Legislatures, conducted professional workshops at the Public Relations Society of America’s international conferences, and presented at the Public Relations Leadership Summit sponsored by The Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations. She was a keynote speaker at the 2019 International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference. Dr. Jin serves on the publications board and research committee of the Association for Business Communication.
Dr. Jin is the director and co-founder of Crisis Communication Think Tank (CCTT) at UGA, which aims to advance crisis communication effectiveness through dialogue and collaboration among leading public relations scholars and practitioners on emerging and complex crisis issues.
Awards and Honors
Dr. Jin received the 2014 Krieghbaum Under-40 Award from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC). This prestigious national award is given annually by AEJMC to recognize the recipient’s outstanding achievement in research, teaching, and public service. In 2016, Dr. Jin was elected to the Arthur W. Page Society based on her teaching and research distinction in corporate communications. In 2017, Dr. Jin was accepted for placement on the Fulbright Specialist Roster (2017-2020) by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, becoming eligible to be matched with projects designed by international host institutions. In 2019, Dr. Jin received the Kitty O. Locker Outstanding Researcher Award from the Association for Business Communication (ABC), an international award that recognizes excellence in business communication research and outstanding contribution to the business communication discipline.
Dr. Jin has earned numerous top paper awards at leading conferences, including the International Public Relations Research Conference, the International Communication Association, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, and the National Communication Association conferences, as well as the European Public Relations Education and Research Association (EUPRERA) Congress. She was named a Page Legacy Scholar in 2013, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022 by the Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication.
Serving as principle investigator (PI), Co-PI, co-investigator (CI), or lead researcher, Dr. Jin has contributed to public relations, crisis communication, strategic conflict management, health and risk communication projects funded by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication, The Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations, C. R. Anderson Research Fund of the Association for Business Communication, and WhatsApp Research Awards for Social Science and Misinformation.
Dr. Jin was named the Georgia Athletic Association Professor in Grady College in November 2018. She was named the C. Richard Yarbrough Professor in Crisis Communications Leadership in August 2022.
About: Dr. Himelboim, the Thomas C. Dowden Professor of Media Analytics and director of the SEE Suite, studies the role social media plays in news, politics and international communication. Through applying network analysis, he examines political talk and information flow.
Ph.D. (2008) – School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Minnesota
M.A. (2003) – Department of Political Science (emphasis on Political communication), Tel-Aviv University
B.A. (1999) – Department of Communication and Department of Psychology, Tel Aviv University
Research Interests and Activities
Dr. Himelboim’s research involves computer-mediated social networks and their implications for political communication, international communication and the news. He examines political discussions on online forums and the micro-blogging social media Twitter, as well as international networks, based on foreign news reporting and the flow of information technologies. The role of news media, traditional and online, in political communication is examined via their websites and their presence in social media spaces.
Taking a network-related theoretical approach to research is natural to communication as a discipline, as it focuses on the relationships and communication patterns among Internet users, individuals and organizations. This is valid particularly in online spaces that merge interpersonal and mass communication. Across online technologies, Dr. Himelboim identifies the naturally occurring patterns of communications among social actors in online spaces; how these patterns indicate how we choose our information sources; who the most connected users – hubs – in these networks are; and what role news media plays in these primarily interpersonal-communication spaces.
His research has been published in top journals in the field, including Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, Communication Research, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication (JCMC) and Journal of Public Relations Research. These and other studies have been presented in major national and international conferences in the field.
Itai Himelboim, Araujo, T., & Maslowska, E. (Accepted). Integrating network clustering analysis and computational methods to understand communication with and about brands: opportunities and challenges. Journal of Advertising. Abstract: Brand-related content […]
Itai Himelboim & Golan, G. (2022). Social Network approach to Social Media Influencers on Instagram: The Strength of being a Nano Influencer. Journal of Interactive Advertising, 23(1), 1-13. Abstract: Emerging literature […]
Itai Himelboim, proposal accepted: “Computational Approaches to Advertising Research: Ongoing and Emerging Challenges,” panel to take place at the March 2023 annual conference of the American Academy of Advertising, Denver. […]
Itai Himelboim, proposal accepted: “Creating a Social Media Listening Center,” panel to take place at the March 2023 annual conference of the American Academy of Advertising, Denver. Abstract: Social media […]
Itai Himelboim, Borah, P., Ka Lai Lee, D., *Lee, J., Su, Y., Vishnevskaya, A., and Xiao, X. (Accepted). “What do 5G networks, Bill Gates, Agenda 21, and QAnon have in […]
Stafford, M., Itai Himelboim, Walter, D. & Ophir, Y. (Accepted). The Evolution of the Advertising Discipline Through Four Decades: A Machine Learning Scope Analysis of Themes, Topics and Methods. International Journal […]
Borah, P., Trude, B., Binford, M., Keib, K., and Himelboim, I. (2022). “You are a disgrace and traitor to our country: Uncivil rhetoric against the ‘squad’ on Twitter.” Internet Research. […]
Itai Himelboim (December, 2021). Covid-19 Misinformation Spread on Social Media: What, Who and to What Extent? Presented at the Bucharest Security Conference Dialogues (via teleconference). Bucharest, Romania.
Joseph T. Yun, Brittany R. L. Duff, Patrick T. Vargas, Hari Sundaram, Itai Himelboim (2020), “Computationally Analyzing Social Media Text for Topics: A Primer for Advertising Researchers,” Journal of Interactive Advertising, […]
Yun, Joseph T., Brittany R. L. Duff, Patrick T. Vargas, Hari Sundaram, and Itai Himelboim (2020), Won the best article of the year from Journal of Interactive Advertising (for 2020).”Computationally […]
Van Noort, G., Himelboim, I., Martin, J., & Collinger, T. (2020). Introducing a model of automated brand-generated content in an era of computational advertising. Abstract: Advancements in computing, technology, […]
Glen Nowak, Michael Cacciatore, Bart Wojdynski, Glenna Read, and Itai Himelboim are part of a University of Georgia proposal submitted in response to a National Institutes of Health call for […]
Abstract: Cause‐related marketing (CRM) refers to the phenomenon where brands partner with causes, such as nonprofit organizations. Consumers may see some CRM partnerships as less compatible than others, however the […]
Abstract: Individuals increasingly rely on the Internet, and social media in particular, for health-related information. A recent survey reports that 80% of Internet users search for health information online. In […]
Abstract: The diffusion of social networking platforms ushered in a new age of peer-to-peer distributed online advertising content, widely referred to as viral advertising. The current study proposes a social […]
Abstract: In the current highly fragmented (social) media landscape, brands must increasingly rely on their own consumers to reach out to new potential consumers. Taking a social networks approach, the […]
Abstract: The diffusion of social networks platforms opened the door to a new age of peer to peer distributed advertising content widely referred to as viral advertising. The current study […]
Abstract: Social movements are increasingly using social media, and Twitter in particular, to reach existing and new publics and advance their mission. While historically movements had to rely on traditional […]
Dr. Himelboim teaches in the area of new communication technologies and social networks. He developed and teaches Network Analysis of Social Media (JRMC 8240) for graduate students and Social Media Analytics (TELE 4450/NMIX 4200) at the undergraduate level. He also teaches the graduate level seminar Mass Communication and Society (JRMC 8030), focusing on new communication technologies and undergraduate classes entitled Media and Technology (Tele 3290), Digital Media Production (Tele 4290/NMIX 4110) and Media Research and Theory (Tele 3410).
About: Dr. Han teaches communication theory, research methods, and technology and health. Research foci include health communication and technology, new media effects, and research methods and design.
Ph.D., Mass Communication, University of Wisconsin – Madison (Minor: Statistics in Social Science)
M.A., Communication, Seoul National University, South Korea
B.A., Communication, Seoul National University, South Korea (Summa Cum Laude)
Research Interests and Activities
Han’s research mainly concerns the design and evaluation of interactive health communication campaigns, the benefits of online social support groups for cancer and other health related cognitions and behaviors, and statistical methods and research design. Han has developed programs of research on (a) antecedents and consequences of engagement with various eHealth initiatives, particularly focusing on theory and measurement development, (b) transaction logfile analysis, a unique method to probe interaction between computer and human, and (c) message expression and reception effects, particularly within online social media tools. Articles presenting this work appear in leading communication, psychology, and public health journals: Computers in Human Behavior, Health Communication, Health Education Research, International Journal of Medical Informatics, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, Journal of Communication, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Journal of Health Communication, Journal of Health Psychology, Mass Communication and Society, Patient Education and Counseling, Psycho-Oncology, and Translational Behavioral Medicine.
Joon Choi (Georgia), Jeong-Yeob Han (Georgia), and Jieun Han (KAN-WIN) organized a Workshop on “Religious Leaders for Healthy Family,” for Greater Chicago and Midwestern area Korean faith organizations and community leaders, […]
Hahm, Jung Min (Grady Ph.D. Alum) & Han, Jeong-Yeob. (2023, March). “The Impact of Social Distance and Message Framing on Young Adults’ Response to the Anti-vaping PSAs on Instagram: The […]
Kim, Hanyoung (Grady Ph.D. Alum) & Han, Jeong-Yeob. (2023, May). “Unraveling The Effect of Social Media-Based Mental Health Campaigns During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Social Support Reception, Expression, and Coping Strategies” […]
Choi, J (UGA Social Work)., Orpinas, Pamela (UGA Public Health)., Han, Jeong-Yeob, Cho, S., Li, T., & Kim, C. (2022). “Promoting Survivor Safety in Immigrant Communities: Online Simulation Training for […]
Ja Kyung Seo (Ph.D. student), Hanyoung Kim (Ph.D. alumni), Youngjee Ko (Ph.D. candidate), Hye Jin Yoon, Jeong-Yeob Han, and Youngji Seo (Ph.D. alumni). “Are Interactive PSA Formats Always Good? Testing […]
Abstract: Successful COVID-19 vaccine promotion for the unvaccinated relies on increasing positive reactions but also reducing negative responses to persuasive messages. The current study examined the relative effects of narrative […]
Title: Researcher-Practitioner Partnership to Promote Safety of Asian Women: Effectiveness of a Community- based Intervention Funding Source: Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against […]
Hye Jin Yoon and Jeong-Yeob Han has been awarded the Faculty Seed Grants in the Sciences Program ($9,720) through The Owens Institute for Behavioral Research (OIBR) for their proposed project Abstract: People have been found to […]
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to revisit the Bud Light “Superstitions” campaign, for which we examined how superstitious fans’ inferences of manipulative intention might influence their responses to […]
Abstract: Scholars have adopted Street’s (2003) ecological model of communication in medical encounters to investigate the factors promoting patient participation in health care. However, factors demonstrated in the ecological model […]
Abstract: This study investigated if and how exposure to Facebook comments about vaccines influences one’s attitude toward the vaccines. In this investigation, comments were examined in light of their effect […]
Paper to be presented to American Advertising Academy (AAA) conference, San Diego, CA. Abstract: Given the prevalent use of social media in disseminating public service announcements (PSAs) encouraging healthy behavior, […]
Abstract: This study investigated if and how exposure to Facebook comments about vaccines influences one’s attitude toward the vaccines. In this investigation, comments were examined in light of their effect […]
Abstract: Recent studies have devoted attention to the effects of both expression and reception in communication process. However, there remain both theoretical and methodological complexities concerning whether and under what […]
The Owens Institute for Behavioral Research (OIBR) Faculty Seed Grant Program in support of “Primary Prevention of Intimate Partner Violence in Immigrant Communities: Development of a Social Marketing Strategy” – […]
Jeong-Yeob Han has won the 2019 Enzaim Best Article Award from Korea Health Communication Association (KHCA), in recognition of the article published in the journal Health Communication Research: “Co-presence in Gamified […]
Abstract: Recent studies have devoted attention to the effects of both expression and reception in communication process. However, there remain both theoretical and methodological complexities concerning whether and under what […]
Abstract: According to studies on the impact of comments on the false consensus effect, exposure to other people’s reactions can elicit misperceptions, in turn influencing message acceptance. We investigated whether […]
Abstract: Recognizing that social media has become an important place for individuals to acquire vaccine-related information, this study investigated if and how user-generated comments on social media platforms influence individuals’ […]
Abstract: Recognizing that social media has become an important place for individuals to acquire vaccine-related information, this study investigated if and how exposure to user-generated comments in social media platforms […]
Abstract: Despite the popularity of gamified geosocial fitness applications, there are only a few empirical studies examining their effectiveness in promoting physical activity. This study proposes co-presence, which combines spatial […]
Han’s areas of specializations are health communication and technology, communication theory, and research methods and design. He teaches courses in the Telecommunications Department and the New Media Institute. His courses include Tele3410, Media Research and Theory; Tele4290, Digital Media Production; NMIX4110, New Media Production; JRMC8010 Research Methodology in Mass Communication Research.
Awards and Fellowships
• ICA Communication and Technology Division, Top Three Faculty Paper (lead author) – 2011
• University of Georgia, Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, Provost Travel Grant Award – 2011
• Listed in Marquis Who’s Who in America, 65th Edition – 2011
• University of Georgia, Office of the Vice President for Research, Foreign Travel Grant Award – 2010
• ICA Health Communication Division, Top Three Student Paper (lead author) – 2008
• ICA Health Communication Division, ICA Travel Grant Award – 2008
• ICA Health Communication Division, Top Student-led Paper (lead author) – 2007
• AEJMC Communication Technology Division, Top Three Faculty Paper (lead author) – 2006
• AEJMC Communication Technology & Policy Division, Top Three Faculty Paper – 2005
• University of Wisconsin-Madison, Mass Communication Research Center, Top Four Student Paper – 2005
• Seoul National University, Department of Communication, Summa Cum Laude – 1999
