$500,000 Gift, New Faculty, Bring Powerful Media Analysis Technology to the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication
$500,000 Gift, New Faculty, Bring Powerful Media Analysis Technology to the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Sep. 6, 2007 06:47 PM
CHAPEL HILL, NC -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 09/06/07 -- Public relations research firms KDPaine &
Partners and CustomScoop are giving the UNC School of Journalism and Mass
Communication database access, design capabilities and data valued at
$500,000 to bring the most advanced media monitoring and analysis
techniques to the school.
The one-year gift supports the teaching and research of newly appointed
assistant professor Craig Carroll, who specializes in the relationship
between corporate reputation and the news media. Carroll joined the school
in August from the University of Southern California's Annenberg School for
Communication in Los Angeles.
"We're grateful for this gift and excited about Craig Carroll's arrival to
the school," said Jean Folkerts, dean of the UNC School of Journalism and
Mass Communication. "At Carolina, we are redefining journalism and
communication education. Great faculty and strong partnerships like this
prepare our students to thrive in a rapidly changing media environment."
"The University of North Carolina sends a strong message it is serious
about public relations education by adding Craig Carroll to its already
impressive public relations faculty," said Donald Wright, professor of
public relations at Boston University. "Professor Carroll has tremendous
potential and is one of the brightest young scholars in our field."
Media content analysis is increasingly important to organizations in
determining how best to reach the people they serve. It is one of the
fastest growing areas in the public relations industry today as the growth
of digital content produced via online newspapers, Web sites, Web blogs and
other sources challenges conventional methods for monitoring and evaluating
media content. The gift provides Carroll access to the latest technology
for his research and allows students to prepare for careers using the most
advanced tools in the industry. This is the first partnership of its kind
that both companies have entered with a university.
KDPaine & Partners, a New Hampshire-based firm, provides research tools and
communications analysis for organizations including Raytheon, the American
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and Epson.
"We want to help students understand how the latest technologies are used
to analyze digital media content effectively," said Katie Delahaye Paine,
president and CEO of KDPaine & Partners. "We chose to support Craig
Carroll, hands-down, because he has demonstrated a real dedication to
excellence in teaching, research and service. We know his students will be
well-trained to make the most of the technology."
CustomScoop, also based in New Hampshire, produces customizable media
monitoring technology and analysis through software, a database of sources
and a team of search experts. CustomScoop customers include Fortune 500
companies, public relations and marketing firms, non-profit organizations
and sole proprietors.
"Today's students are so computer and Internet savvy that it makes sense to
give them the leading technology tools as part of their educational
curriculum," said Chip Griffin, CEO of CustomScoop. "When you combine that
with a visionary professor like Dr. Carroll, you have a great educational
experience for the students."
In the past four years, Carroll's students have received jobs and
internships in Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, New York, Hong Kong,
Paris, Geneva and Amsterdam.
Carroll, a Nashville, Tenn., native who earned his doctorate from the
University of Texas at Austin in 2004, was an assistant professor at USC
before being recruited to Carolina. He has served recently as a visiting
scholar at the University of Cambridge's Judge Business School in England
and was the opening speaker for their Global Symposium on Media and
Business. In 2005, he won the Andrew W. Mellon Award for Excellence in
Mentoring. He is the author of numerous journal articles, book chapters and
encyclopedia entries related to corporate reputation and the news media.
"The combined databases and architecture of these two research firms help
integrate teaching, research and service in public relations and corporate
reputation," Carroll said. "Students will be learning critical skills in
the classroom that organizations, policy makers and critics need; but for
the research-minded, the ability to aggregate what is observed in the
classroom to identify patterns and themes will help those of us interested
in advancing knowledge across organizations, industries and sectors."
"Craig Carroll brings an intelligent and disciplined approach to measuring
public relations and related disciplines," said Clarke Caywood, professor
of integrated marketing communications at Northwestern University's Medill
School of Journalism. "His global experience and research will also provide
his students and colleagues with a valuable point of view."
The gift counts toward the Carolina First Campaign, a comprehensive,
multi-year, private fund-raising campaign that has raised more than $2
billion to support Carolina's vision of becoming the nation's leading
public university.
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