Research & Creative Work

The faculty of the School of Media and Communication pursue numerous scholarly and creative projects. Research and creative work within the school meet the highest standards of professional work and encourage students to develop both an intellectual background and a sense of social responsibility.

Award-winning creative faculty members boast extensive professional experience as journalists, television producers, speechwriters, advertising executives and public relations practitioners.

Our highly ranked scholarly researchers focus on contemporary theory and research issues, covering mass, interpersonal, political, intercultural, international, and development communication, as well as emerging technologies.

Research and creative faculty are actively involved in the interdepartmental PhD program in Mass Media and Communication, as well as graduate programs in Media Studies and Production (MA),  Journalism (MJ) and Strategic Communication (MS).

Recent awards and achievements are listed below.

Advertising Department

Michael Maynard, Associate Professor and chair of the Advertising department, published “Hyping the efficiencies of fast(er) food: The globalization of McDonald’s Snack Wrap in Japan” in The Culture of Efficiency in 2009. In 2008, he published “Reports of the Death of the 30-second Commercial Have Been Greatly Exaggerated” along with Alison Care, in Pennsylvania Communication Annual 28-48 and “The Advertising Internship: Tips on Optimizing the Academic and Business Community Relationship” along with fellow SCT Professor Dana Saewitz in the Journal of Advertising Education Fall 31-34. Professor Maynard and Professor Saewitz’s “Learning from the Industry: Employer Internship Satisfaction Survey” was awarded top paper in division at the National Conference of AEJMC in August 2008.

Assistant Professor Jin Seong Park published “The Social Reality of Depression: DTC Advertising of Antidepressants and Perceptions of the Prevalence and Lifetime Risk of Depression” in 2008 in the Journal of Business Ethics 379-393. Professor Park’s “Effects of Consumer Mood States on Processing of Disease” was awarded top faculty paper at a conference held by the Association for Marketing and Healthcare Research in February 2009.

Communications Program

Professor Scott Gratson served the Temple community in many ways other than as outgoing co-chair of the Faculty Council. For example, he gave a riveting introductory address to the incoming Class of 2012 at the university’s convocation ceremony. Gratson served on the President’s Inaugural Council on Diversity and as SCT director of the Temple University Undergraduate Research Forum and Creative Works Symposium. His students continue to present their research at regional and national conferences.

Journalism Department

Associate Professor Fabienne Darling-Wolf participated all semester in a Global Learning Circle organized by the Teaching and Learning Center. The circle developed a project that was presented as a poster at the Shared Futures, Global Learning Forum on March 19-21, 2009. Darling-Wolf was awarded a research leave for 2010 and a Grantin-Aid to write a book. She conducted a program review for SUNY Geneseo, published a book chapter titled “World citizens ‘à la française’: Star Ac’ and the negotiation of ‘French’ identities,” in Real Worlds: Global perspectives and the politics of reality television, and an article with Associate Professor Andrew Mendelson titled “Seeing themselves through the lens of the other: An analysis of Japanese readers’ negotiations of National Geographic‘s ‘The Samurai Way’ story,” in Journalism and Communication Monographs.

Associate Professor Carolyn Kitch has an invited essay titled “The Afterlife of Print,” that will appear in the 10th-anniversary issue of the international journal Journalism: Theory, Practice and Criticism.

Assistant Professor George Miller received multiple awards for his journalism from the PA Press Association and the Society of Professional Journalists’ Keystone State Pro Chapter.

Department of Strategic Communication

Jason Del Gandio was much sough-after nationwide for radio interviews on his book, Rhetoric for Radicals: A Handbook for Twenty-First Century Activists (Gabriola Island, British Columbia: New Society Press, 2008). The book tied for first place for the Independent Publishers Industry’s Gold Award in the social-activism category. Because the book “is written for a general audience, helping activists and organizers to become better communicators and rhetoricians,” Del Gandio offered his views on key social and political issues and gave public workshops on communication skills, rhetorical strategies, and social and political theory.

Gregg Feistman was interviewed on the 5:30 p.m. newscast of Philadelphia’s Fox 29 on the subject “communicating in a crisis.” Feistman’s much-anticipated novel, The War Merchants, has been published by Strategic Book Publishing, a division of Ingram Publishing. It is a corporate thriller, set primarily in Philadelphia, featuring a corporate public relations professional as the heroine.

Tracey Weiss served as Guest Leader Speaker in Temple’s Student Leadership Challenge, a Provost Office-backed activity of the university’s Leadership Living Learning Community, which provides opportunities for students to develop into thoughtful citizens and transformational leaders. Weiss and Elizabeth Housholder, also of the leadership program, submitted a proposal for a GenEd course titled “Emotional Intelligence and Leadership.” Weiss is currently developing a minor in organizational leadership. She continues her pro-bono work in strategic planning and coaching for non–profit organizations, including the Philadelphia Theater Company and the Cosmopolitan Club.