Journalism

Education

• Ph.D., University of Miami, Florida
• M.A., University of Miami, Florida
• B.A., Angelo State University, Texas

Research Interests

Messner's main research focus is on the influence and adoption of social media in journalism, public relations and health communication and he has a scholarship record of more than 120 academic publications and presentations at academic conferences. He has published his research in academic journals such as Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Newspaper Research Journal, Journalism Studies, Journalism Practice, Mass Communication & Society, Corporate Communications and Public Relations Journal as well as in various books. His research studies have won top paper awards at the conferences of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) and the International Communication Association (ICA) as well as at the International Public Relations Research Conference (IPRRC). He is a regular speaker on social media issues at professional meetings and events and is also regularly interviewed by news media on social media issues. Interviews with him have appeared in various international and national media, such as the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Reuters, Bloomberg, National Public Radio, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post.

Courses

• MASC 101: Mass Communications

Awards

• Distinguished Teaching Award, Virginia Commonwealth University
• Community Engagement Award, Virginia Commonwealth University
• Eminent Scholar Award, College of Humanities and Sciences
• Excellence in Scholarship Award, College of Humanities and Sciences
• Best Practices in Teaching Award, Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication