Public Relations

Spotlight
Colby Swann

Colby Swann received his Bachelor of Arts in communication with a concentration in public relations in 1997 from Mississippi State University. In 2019, Swann earned his master’s in business administration through Mississippi State’s online program. Swann grew up in Hartselle, Ala. After receiving his degree at MSU, he moved to Hendersonville, Tenn., where he now works as the Chief Operating Officer of Old Time Pottery.

Spotlight
Destine Lalas

Destine Lalas received her Bachelor of Arts in communication with a concentration in public relations in 2015 from Mississippi State University. Lalas grew up in Gulfport, Miss. After receiving her degree, she returned to Gulfport to start her job as the digital marketing specialist at the Mississippi Aquarium. Daily responsibilities for Lalas include managing all owned media of Mississippi Aquarium, including the website, social media, email outreach and analytics.

MSU proves successful at annual CPRAM, SPRF competitions

Awards & Honors
MSU proves successful at annual CPRAM, SPRF competitions

Mississippi State students and staff members representing various colleges, departments and professional units took home numerous awards from recent College Public Relations Association of Mississippi and Southern Public Relations Federation annual competitions.

Spotlight
Zoie Henson

Zoie Henson is a senior communication and philosophy major from Philadelphia, Miss., with concentrations in public relations and religion. Henson is involved in College of Arts and Science Ambassadors, Delight Ministries where she serves as the communication chair, and in PRISM. In the future, she plans to receive a dual master’s degree in both communication and philosophy. Henson would ultimately like to work as a communication director and women’s minister in a church. 

Dr. Heesook Choi presents “What Mobilizes Political Satire Viewers: The Role of Partisanship and Discussion Networks in the Effects of Political Satire Viewing on Political Participation"

Presentations
Dr. Heesook Choi presents “What Mobilizes Political Satire Viewers: The Role of Partisanship and Discussion Networks in the Effects of Political Satire Viewing on Political Participation"

Dr. Heesook Choi presented “What Mobilizes Political Satire Viewers: The Role of Partisanship and Discussion Networks in the Effects of Political Satire Viewing on Political Participation" at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication convention held in Detroit in August. Within the framework of social identity theory, this survey study (N = 1,203) explores the role of partisanship in the selection and processing of political satire and its influence on political participation.

Dr. Uyanga Bazaa & co-author present “#EAListen: A Thematic Analysis of a Successful Fan Activist Campaign" at ICA conference

Presentations
Dr. Uyanga Bazaa & co-author present “#EAListen: A Thematic Analysis of a Successful Fan Activist Campaign" at ICA conference

Dr. Bazaa and her co-author, Megan Condis, presented their work “#EAListen: A Thematic Analysis of a Successful Fan Activist Campaign" in May at the 72nd Annual International Communication Association's conference in Paris, France.
Fans are a special type of public that is of great interest to public relations researchers. Dr. Bazaa and her co-author analyzed tweets with the hashtag #EAListen to further understand online fan activism that happened to occur during the peak of Black Lives Matter movement in the United States. The authors discovered Simmers (people who play the Sims, a real life simulation video game) successfully pressured Electronic Arts (EA; the Sims developer) to ensure inclusion and diversity in their video game.

Two PRISM client projects win awards at 2022 PRAM Conference

Awards & Honors
Two PRISM client projects win awards at 2022 PRAM Conference

Two MSU Public Relations & Integrated Student Media Agency client projects won awards at the 2022 PRism Awards Banquet as part of PRAM’s 2022 Conference in Gulfport, Miss. PRISM students won an Award of Excellence and a Best of Show award.

MSU Communication students win annual prestigious awards at PRAM conference

Awards & Honors
MSU Communication students win annual prestigious awards at PRAM conference

For the fifth year in a row, an MSU Department of Communication public relations concentration student has won the honor of Public Relations Association of Mississippi Student of the Year. Flora Dedeaux, a communication major double concentrating in public relations and broadcast & digital journalism, from Gulfport, Miss., received the 2022 PRAM Student of the Year.

Spotlight
Kristi Brown

Kristi Brown received her Bachelor of Arts in Communication with a concentration in Public Relations in 1992 from Mississippi State University. Brown grew up in Collierville, Tenn. and then moved to Starkville, Miss. in the 9th grade. She has resided here ever since, now working for Tennessee Valley Authority as a Regional Consultant in Economic Development in the MS region of TVA. Brown also has her own life coaching and speaking business, Upside Brown Consulting. 

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