Director, SMART Lab/Professor
Communication, School of
CHBS Building 2128
PO Box 6932
Teaching and research interests: Public relations, crisis communication, issues management, organizational legitimacy, organizational values, social network analysis, activism and social capital.
John Brummette earned a B.A. in Communication and Rhetoric from the University of Pittsburgh in 2001, his master’s degree in Corporate and Professional Communication from Radford University in 2003, and his doctorate in Communication and Information from the University of Tennessee - Knoxville in 2008. He taught at Lincoln Memorial University and worked as a community liaison for the Safety, Environment, and Education Center at UT-Knoxville. He was designated as a Legacy Scholar by the Arthur Page Society in 2014 and his research has been published in Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Public Relations Review, PR Journal, PRism, Corporate Communication: An International Journal, The Journal of Social Media and Society, Journal of Communication Management, Health Marketing Quarterly and the Encyclopedia of Public Relations. He also serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Public Relations Research and Public Relations Journal.
John Brummette currently serves as the director of the SMART Lab here at Radford University.
Brummette, J. E., Fussell-Sisco, H. (2015). Using Twitter as a means of coping with emotions and uncontrollable crises. Public Relations Review, 41(1), 89-96.
Brummette, J. E. (2015). Merging public relations with health communication in the context of university alcohol prevention. Health Marketing Quarterly, 32(1), 65-80.
Brummette, J. E., Dodd, M., Hazleton, V. (in press). A social capital approach: An examination of Putnam's civic engagement and public relations roles. Public Relations Review.
Yao, S., Brummette, J. E., Luo, Y. (2015). Balancing between organizations and society: Exploring Chinese organizations' legitimacy efforts. Corporate Communications: An international journal. 20(1), 90-110.
Brummette, J., & Zoch, L. M. (in press). Identifying the values that guide stakeholder expectations. PRism.
Brummette, J. (2012). Trains, chains, blame and elephant appeal: A case study of the public relations significance of Mary the Elephant. Public Relations Review, 38, 341-346.
Brummette, J. (2013). Mental models approach to risk communication. In R. E. Heath (Ed.), Encyclopedia of public relations. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Brummette, J., & Zoch, L. M. (2015, August). If organizations are people, they need to have the same values: Personal values and organizational values in stakeholder evaluations of organizational legitimacy. Presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Conference, San Francisco, CA.
Brummette, J. & Zoch, L. M. (2015, March). Connecting stakeholder values with expectations for organizations. Presented at the 18th Annual International Public Relations Research Conference in Miami, FL.
Fussell-Sisco, H., & Brummette, J. & Pidal, G. (2015, March). The reason behind a retweet: Using the theory of reasoned action to evaluate stakeholder decision-making. Presented at the 18th Annual International Public Relations Research Conference in Miami, FL.
Brummette, J., Zoch, L. M., Cavalcanti, N. & Palmer, S. (2014, March). Tweeting for your second amendment rights: A content analysis of how the NRA uses Twitter to serve its members and target its opponents. Presented at the 17th Annual International Public Relations Research Conference in Miami, FL.
Brummette, J., & Fussell-Sisco, H. (2014, March). Emotional tweeting: Using Twitter as a means of coping with uncontrollable crises. Presented at the 17th Annual International Public Relations Research Conference in Miami, FL.
Yao, S. & Brummette, J. (2013, November). “Making money with a soul:” A values-driven approach to examining legitimacy in China. Paper presented at the National Communication Association Conference, Washington, D.C.
Dodd, M., Brummette, J. & Hazleton, V. (2013, August). Support for a social capital theory of PR via Putnam's civic engagement and PR roles. Paper presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Conference, Washington, D.C.
Brummette, J., Miller, L., & Zoch, L. M. (2013, March). PETA: Media reputation and press agentry in the context of animal rights activism. Paper presented at the 16th International Public Relations Research Conference, Miami, FL.
Yao, S., Brummette, J., & Yi, L. (2012, August). The influence of Confucianism on the legitimacy of Chinese organizations. Paper presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Conference, Chicago, IL. First place, Visual Poster Presentation
Dodd, M., Brummette, J., & Strickland, T. (2012, March). Using theory for strategic social media practices via conflict research: Risk, hazard and outrage in university crisis communication. Paper presented at the 15th International Public Relations Research Conference, Miami, FL.
Taylor, R., Zoch, L. M., & Brummette, J. (2012, March). Non-profit organizations, values, and the need for strategic legitimacy. Paper presented at the 15th International Public Relations Research Conference, Miami, FL.
Brummette, J. (2011, July). Trains, chains and elephant appeal: A case study of the public relations significance of Mary the Elephant. Paper presented at the 2nd Annual International History of Public Relations Conference, Bournemouth, England.
Brummette, J., Zoch, L. M., & Taylor, R. (2011, May) Do Fortune 500 companies communicate their values? Paper presented at the International Communication Association Conference, Boston, MA.
Brummette, J., Zoch, L. M., Taylor, R. (2011, March). Stating organizational values as an approach to obtaining strategic legitimacy: An examination of corporate use of organizational values on Fortune 500 Web sites. Paper presented at the 14th International Public Relations Research Conference, Miami, FL.
Brummette, J. & Zoch, L. M. (2010, March). Organizational legitimacy: Finding congruence with societal values. Paper presented at the 13th International Public Relations Research Conference, Miami, FL.
Brummette, J. & Zoch, L. M. (2010, August). Grounding organizational legitimacy in societal values. Paper presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Denver, CO.
Brummette, J., & Palenchar, M. (2007, August). University reputations and campus health education campaigns: Managing strategic stakeholder relationships. Paper presented at the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Conference, Washington, D.C. First place, High Density Research Presentation
Levine, K .J., Kushniryk, A., Allard, S. L., Brummette, J., & Tenopir, C. (2007, November). Meetings and multitasking: Keep busy or looking busy. Paper presented at the National Communication Association Conference, Chicago, IL.