AI and Communication

Media Psychology

Public Relations

Strategic Communication

Education

• Ph.D., Media, Art and Text, Media Psychology, VCU (Anticipated Spring 2025) 
• M.S., Mass Communications, Strategic Public Relations, VCU

Background

Joshua J. Smith is an assistant professor at the Richard T. Robertson School of Media and Culture. He leads Public Relations courses in the undergraduate curriculum and Integrated Communication graduate program. Smith is the principal owner of Smith & Something, providing communication and media services to clients throughout the U.S. Smith's current areas of instruction and practice span PR writing, media relations, graphic design and production, strategy, and integrated communication campaigns. Over the last decade, Smith has provided his services to business spanning the state of Virginia, including health care, nonprofit, B2B, B2C and government sectors. 

Smith holds both a bachelor's and master's of science in mass communication and is a student in the VCU Media, Art and Text (MATX) doctoral program. His academic work focuses on advancing the understanding of media effects on individuals. Additionally, Smith contributes to individual and group research in the areas of mass communication, integrated communication and public relations. Smith has an ongoing interest in the growing field of media psychology with a special passion for media literacy, computer mediated communication technology and public relations.

Affiliations

• Adobe Education Exchange (EdEx)
• American Psychological Association (APA)
  • Division 46: Media psychology and Technology
• Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)
• Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP)
• International Communication Association (ICA)
  • Division: Public Relations | Children, adolescents and media
• Public Relations Society of America (PRSA)
  • Richmond Chapter, Board of Directors 2019-2022

Articles/Opinions

• Communication Fatigue
• The Book of Crisis Management - The Crisis Paradox
• Bolstering during COVID
• Beware the Zombie Accounts
• Facebook's New Ad Policies for Minors Emphasize Organic PR
• Social media advertising changes amid pushback about digital spaces and teen mental health.
• New Advertising Regulations With Minors Puts Emphasis on Organic PR
• Brands and Membership Affiliation Strategy for Hotels
• Prepare Your Influencer Strategy for the Potential Ban of TikTok 
• Potential TikTok ban is a high-stakes threat for its young user base and beyond, VCU professor says

Accolades and Media Mentions

• VCU REAL Star: Joshua J. Smith
• New VCU class takes students on media and culture study of Vietnam
• VCU PR course provides ‘Agency’ work to area nonprofits
• VCU’s new ‘Agency’ provides Richmond-area nonprofits with pro bono PR
• Why undergrad-ran agencies are popping up across the country

Awards

2024

• Gold: Senior Insights Web Design
  Hermes Creative Awards
  Honored for outstanding website design and communication strategies in the medical/healthcare sector.

• Honorable Mention: Guaranteed Care Campaign
  MarCom Internal Awards
  Advertising/Marketing | Ads | 1c. Advertising Campaign

• Honorable Mention: #Love > Shame: Driving National Change Through NAS Awareness and Stigma Reduction – A Federally Funded Grant Effort
  MarCom International Awards
  Strategic Communications | Communications/Public Relations | 120c. Communication Plan

• Honorable Mention: #RxSafe: National Prescription Drug Take Back Day
  Hermes Creative Awards
  Acknowledged for effective communication strategies in promoting public health and safety awareness.

• Bronze: Senior Insights Website Design
  Summit International Media Awards
  Creative Website - Health Care

• Bronze: Senior Insights Consumer Website
  Summit Creative Awards
  Best Consumer Website (International) Health Care and Medicine.
  Recognized for excellence in consumer website development and digital marketing strategies.

2023

• Platinum: Media Careers Start Here: New Student Recruitment Campaign
  MarComm International Awards
  Strategic Communications | Marketing/Promotion Campaign | 104c. Integrated Marketing

• Gold: Boosting Volunteer Applications: Make-A-Wish Greater Virginia Campaign Results
  MarComm International Awards
  Strategic Communications | Communications/Public Relations | 127c. Social Media Campaign

2022

• Gold: #Love is > Greater Than Shame
  Hermes Creative Awards
  Recognized for strategic excellence in public relations during the pandemic.

Select Publications

• Alkazemi, M.F., Alkhubaizi, N. & Smith, J.J. (In Press). The implications of public health messaging strategies: How branding disease may improve public health awareness in the GCC. Intercultural public relations: Realities and reflections in practical contexts. (N. Lan, Q. Wang, and B.-L. Sha, Eds.). Routledge.
• Shana Meganck, Joshua Smith, Jeanine P.D. Guidry, The skills required for entry-level public relations: An analysis of skills required in 1,000 PR job ads, Public Relations Review, Volume 46, Issue 5, 2020, 101973, ISSN 0363-8111.
• Smith, Joshua J., “PR Should Beware of Zombie Accounts,” PRNews 2020. 
• Article: “How to Use Bolstering Messages to Grow Brand Trust,” PRNews, 2020
• Book chapter: “Apologize or Advocate: Choices for Crafting Statements During Pandemic.” Publishing in Crisis Management: A Guide to Preparing for, Mitigating During and Recovering After Crises, Volume 10, PR News, 2020.
• Article. PR Say: Avoiding Communication Fatigue as Coronavirus Separates Workforce, 2020.
• Logo Design: “Sepsis in Rwanda” Hopkins, et al. 2019. Poster Session. 
• Yen-I Lee, Yuan Zhang, Yan Jin, Sungsu Kim, Ernest F. Martin & Joshua J. Smith. 2019. Opening the Minds’ Eye: The Pivotal Role of Sympathy in Depression Coverage Effectiveness, Routledge, Communication Studies 
• Freelance: Illustrative EKG image restoration and repair for use in medical case report, University of Rwanda School of Medicine and Pharmacy; Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Kigali, Department of Accident & Emergency. D. Hopkinson, W. Mucyo, M. Nkeshimana. Two young men with STEMI in Rwanda: a case report. Rwanda Medical Journal. 2019.
• Poster Session: Great Ideas For Teaching (GIFT): “On-Camera Media Relations Training for Public Relations Students: A ‘Look Live’ on-camera interview assignment.”  2019. Bajkiewicz, Smith. AEJMC Conference, Toronto, Canada.  
• Embracing Public Relations Writing Techniques in the Classroom. Meganck, S. & Smith, J. Teaching Journalism and Mass Communication. Vol. 9, no. 1. (2019), pp. 41-44 (2019, July). 
• Meganck, S., Guidry, J., & Smith, J. (2019, April) Skills Needed for Entry-Level Public Relations Positions: An Analysis of Job Listings. BRIDGE Conference, Washington, D.C. 
• Freelance: Print book design and layout: “Dear Kay: One Man’s Journey Through Grief” (2018). Copyright (C) 2018 by Thomas A Bajkiewicz. Published by Amazon Books. ASIN:B07KBTBLKW
• Freelance: Cover Design. Social Marketing Quarterly Volume 24 Issue 2, June 2018
•  Freelance: Visual stimulus design for research study > Motivating Influenza Vaccination among Young Adults: The Effects of Public Service Advertising Message Framing and Text versus Image Support. Social Marketing Quarterly Volume 24 Issue 2, June 2018
• R. Anderson Foundation, Association for Business Communication (ABC), Yan Jin, Augustine Pang, Joshua Smith, (2018) “Crisis communication and ethics: the role of public relations”, Journal of Business Strategy, Vol. 39 Issue: 1, pp.43-52
• Freelance: Infographic design: “Constructive journalism: An introduction and practical guide for applying positive psychology techniques to news production.” McIntyre, K. & Gyldensted, C. (2017).  Journal of Media Innovations, 4(2).
• Freelance: Print book design and layout: “Nine Lives - A Life In Ten Minutes Anthology.” (2017). Copyright (C) 2017 by Life in 10 minutes LLC. Published by Chop Suey Books. ISBN: 978-0-9960912-5-1 
• VCU Richard T. Robertson School of Media & Culture and VCU School of Nursing Joint Research Project, “Media Framing of Alternative Uses of Tobacco Products as a Culture Phenomenon” to understand the portrayal of waterpipes as an alternative form of tobacco use in the United States. (Jeanine Guidry, Yan Jin, Linda Haddad, Yuan Zhang, and Joshua Smith) (Published, 2016) Journal of Health Communication 31(6), 659-667. [1.927] Included in National Center for Biotechnology Information’s (NCBI) PubMed, U.S. National Library of Medicine (2016)
• Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication funded project: “Informing how social and traditional media produce and distribute crisis information, with an emphasis on ethical standards.” (PIs: Dr. Lucinda Austin, Elon University, and Dr. Yan Jin, Virginia Commonwealth University.)
• “The Effects of Framing and Attribution on Individuals’ Responses to Depression Coverage.” Yan Jin, Yuan Zhang, Yen-I Lee, Ernest Martin, and Joshua Smith. AEJMC Conference, San Francisco, CA (2015).