St. John, Burton, III

Research

research overview

Burton St. John III researches public relations and the management of risk and crisis. Specifically, he studies how institutional actors use various rhetorical constructs to manage perceived threats to their continuing existence. This line of research crosses into various settings including a) how institutions attempt to manage threats from climate change by engaging various stakeholders, b) how corporations attempt to manage socio-economic threats by offering an affinitive corporate persona, and, c) how traditional journalism attempts to use public facing reporting approaches (e.g., public/citizen journalism) to assuage declining public trust in journalism.

keywords

Propaganda, Crisis Communication, Crisis Management, Risk analysis & resilience

Publications

selected publications

book
chapter
journal article
- Public relations, activism, and the culture of assertion: The case of Blackrock's Larry Fink and the letter to the CEOs. Public Relations Inquiry. 189-209. 2024
- Facts Do Care about Your Feelings: The "Assertive Turn" in Emergent Attributes of the Contemporary U.S. Public Sphere. Journal of Communication Inquiry. 459-480. 2023
- Waiting for the punch(line): the circuit of culture and internal public relations at Netflix. Corporate Communications: an international journal. 2023
- Locating a narrative paradigm Nexus in the circuit of culture: articulating the anti-proposition 112 public relations campaign in Colorado. Journal of Public Relations Research. 135-151. 2022
- Developing an Institutional Arrangement for a Whole-of-Government and Whole-of-Community Approach to Regional Adaptation to Sea Level Rise: The Hampton Roads Pilot Project. International Journal of Public Administration. 486-498. 2022

Teaching

courses taught

APRD 1003 - Principles of Strategic Communication
Primary Instructor - Fall 2022 / Spring 2023
Introduces the foundations, nature, and practices of advertising and public relations and the various industry functions - including account management, market research, account planning, media planning, creative strategy, creative execution, branding, image reputation and crisis management. This course offers historical, organizational, financial, creative and critical perspectives concerning strategic communication.
APRD 2001 - Strategic Thinking in Advertising and Public Relations
Primary Instructor - Summer 2020 / Spring 2021 / Summer 2022 / Spring 2023 / Spring 2024
Reviews historical and contemporary views of critical and strategic thinking, as well as strategic practices utilized in advertising, branding, and public relations through the use of readings, exploration of case studies, lectures, individual and group exercises, and client projects.
APRD 3002 - Communication and Media Planning
Primary Instructor - Summer 2023
Concentrates on strategies and tactics advertisers and marketers use to communicate their brand stories to their desired audiences. These include traditional media planning and placement - TV, print, radio, and out-of-home - as well as new areas like digital, social, and experiential approaches to communications. Students will learn how to create, develop, and present communication plans and campaigns in an interactive and fast-paced environment.
APRD 3103 - Public Relations Writing
Primary Instructor - Fall 2018 / Summer 2021 / Fall 2021
Emphasizes communication tactics: How to plan, write, and produce public relations tools; select audience and media; utilize print and electronic media. Focuses on Associated Press style and advanced writing techniques.
APRD 3300 - Crisis Communication in Public Relations
Primary Instructor - Summer 2019 / Fall 2019 / Fall 2020 / Fall 2021 / Fall 2022 / Spring 2024
Explores theories and research related to public relations communication before, during and after a crisis; examines the fundamentals of organizational communication, crisis management and strategic planning.

APRD 3302 - Case Studies in Public Relations
Primary Instructor - Fall 2018 / Fall 2020 / Spring 2022
Designed to help develop and refine critical thinking in selecting, creating and applying tools, techniques and principles of public relations to a variety of managerial cases and problem situations.

APRD 3523 - The Art and Strategy of Science Communication: Branding Climate Change
Primary Instructor - Fall 2019
Integrating the science of climate change and science communication with the research, strategy and execution practices of strategic communication (e.g., advertising and public relations). Same as EBIO 3523 and ATLS 3523.

APRD 4931 - Internship
Primary Instructor - Fall 2018 / Summer 2019 / Fall 2019 / Spring 2021 / Fall 2021 / Spring 2022
Internship course

APRD 7002 - Research Design
Primary Instructor - Fall 2023
Adopts a holistic and creative approach to bridging theory with method for the purpose of research design. Students learn how to bridge theory and method, exploring research designs that effectively address research questions and hypotheses through elaboration of theoretical and operational linkages. Same as JRNL 7002.

APRD 7003 - ProSeminar in Mass Communication Theory II
Primary Instructor - Spring 2019 / Spring 2020 / Spring 2021 / Spring 2024
Continues introducing and discussing theoretical and methodological points of view in areas of communication, journalism and persuasion. Discusses the most important qualitative and quantitative methodological points of view, and from theoretical viewpoints that range from social science to critical studies. The idea is to develop an appreciation for theories and methodologies that can be employed depending upon the research question. Same as JRNL7003.

EBIO 3523 - The Art and Strategy of Science Communication: Branding Climate Change
Primary Instructor - Fall 2019
Integrating the science of climate change and science communication with the research, strategy and execution practices of strategic communication (e.g., advertising and public relations). Same as ATLS 3523.

JRNL 7002 - Research Design
Primary Instructor - Fall 2023
Adopts a holistic and creative approach to bridging theory with method for the purpose of research design. Students learn how to bridge theory and method, exploring research designs that effectively address research questions and hypotheses through elaboration of theoretical and operational linkages. Same as APRD 7002.

JRNL 7003 - ProSeminar in Mass Communication Theory II
Primary Instructor - Spring 2019 / Spring 2020 / Spring 2021 / Spring 2024
Continues introducing and discussing theoretical and methodological points of view in areas of communication, journalism and persuasion. Discusses the most important qualitative and quantitative methodological points of view, and from theoretical viewpoints that range from social science to critical studies. The idea is to develop an appreciation for theories and methodologies that can be employed depending upon the research question. Same as APRD 7003.

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Positions

Research Areas

Research

research overview

keywords

Publications

selected publications

book

chapter

journal article

Teaching

courses taught

Background

education and training

International Activities

geographic focus

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