Yesterday, we completed day 5 of the summer residency for MCM733: Communication Theory, offered in the Master of Communication Management Program at McMaster University. It was an excellent class – quite intense, quite a whirlwind, very engaging. The class was very active – we had many in-depth discussions on how a solid grasp of communication …
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Public relations was born out of idealism, elitism and a desire to perfect democracy. The founder of the field, Edward T. Bernays, was the nephew of Sigmund Freud. He created the field and named it on a whim. This video, produced in the United Kingdom and called The Century of the Self, while quite critical …
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Today we had our first introductory class in MCM733: Communication Theory. It went very well! We worked through the following questions: “What is communications theory? and why is it useful to public relations practitioners?” I focused on the idea that theory provide vision, language and strategy. When you use communication theory, you stand on the …
I have always believed that humans have feelings and that these feelings impact our reasoning. Current trends in neuroscience seem to be bearing this belief out. For me, my thinking about emotional cognition started during a philosophy seminar in which we discussed René Descartes notion that cognition is purely rational. Cogito ergo sum. He also …
Continue reading “We remember what we hear and feel, not what people say.”
I just pulled into my driveway after spending four whirlwind days at the Canadian Public Relations Society Annual Meeting 2010 in Regina. As I drove home from Pearson, I gathered my thoughts and began processing what the last few days meant for me. I was very impressed with the quality and diversity of the keynote …
Today we launched the first call for papers for the Journal of Professional Communication. You may remember the first launch of the journal at the Canadian Public Relations Leadership Summit 2010. We warmly invite you to join our official JPC Facebook group. Or to follow us on Twitter. Please visit the journal’s official home, on …
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Quite the day of travel today. I left my car in the long-term parking at Pearson airport and walked over to the Maple Leaf Lounge to wait for my flight. I love the ML lounges, because they really make for a happier trip, especially for someone like me – I can be a nervous flier …
Continue reading “Quite the day of airports and hot air balloonists.”
Today was a very special day, as the first six graduates of the Master of Communication Management program at McMaster University crossed the stage to graduate. Hooded one-by-one, by my colleague, the extraordinary Dr Terry Flynn, Founder and Director of the MCM Program, the “pathfinder” class of the program all received their diplomas and took …
Continue reading “Master of Communication Management Convocation – McMaster 2010”
Today was the McMaster Humanities Convocation, held as usual at the Hamilton Place auditorium. What a great afternoon! I love our students. They are such impressive people and they were at their best today. Elegantly dressed, well-spoken, surrounded by families who love them. It was a pleasure to watch them file in. I love our …
I am continually amazed at how prescient Marshall McLuhan was about how new media would change our culture, economy and society. Listen to him in this series of clips: Here he is, interviewed on CBC TV: And here he is, presented by Peter Hirshberg during his TED Talk: The Web and TV, a sibling rivalry …
