Faculty research profiles
Spiro K. Kiousis
Summary
Dr. Kiousis principal research endeavors have been in the areas of political communication, political public relations, and new media. Collectively, this interdisciplinary research explores the interrelationships among political public relations efforts, news media content, and public opinion in traditional and interactive mass mediated contexts. In the area of political communication, his research focuses on the processes and consequences of agenda-setting using survey, content analysis, and experimental methodologies. In the area of political public relations, he has developed a complementary line of agenda-building research that probes how political public relations efforts impact news media content and public opinion. In research that synthesizes the areas of political communication and political public relations, he has scrutinized the role of civic communication campaign interventions in the political socialization of adolescents and their parents. Finally, in the area of new media, his scholarship centers on the concept of interactivity and how variations in online news and public relations messages influence audience perceptions. In conclusion, while each of these research streams advance knowledge in their respective areas, as a whole, they help improve our understanding of the relationship between communication and public opinion in democracy.
Recent publications
Kiousis, S., & McDevitt, M. (Accepted/In Press). Agenda-Setting and Voter Turnout: Implications for Political Socialization. Communication Research.
Strömbäck, J., Mitrook, M., & Kiousis, S. (Accepted/In Press). Bridging Two Schools of Thought: Applications of Public Relations Theory to Political Marketing. Journal of Political Marketing.
Kiousis, S. (Accepted/In Press). Priming. In L. Kaid & C. Holtz-Bacha (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Political Communication. Sage.
Kiousis, S., & Wu, X. (2008). International Agenda-Building and Agenda-Setting: Exploring the Influence of Public Relations Counsel on News Media and Public Perceptions of Foreign Nations. International Communication Gazette, 70, 58-75.
Kiousis, S., Popescu, C., & Mitrook, M. (2007). Understanding Influence on Corporate Reputation: An Examination of Public Relations Efforts, Media Coverage, Public Opinion, and Financial Performance from an Agenda-Building and Agenda-Setting Perspective. Journal of Public Relations Research, 19, 147-165.
Yeon, H., Choi, Y., & Kiousis, S. (2007). Interactive Communication Features on Nonprofit Organizations’ Web Pages for the Practice of Excellent Public Relations. Journal of Website Promotion, 1, 61-83.
Kiousis, S. (2007). Issues Management in Politics. In W. Donsbach (Ed.), The International Encyclopedia of Communication.
McDevitt, M., & Kiousis, S. (2007). The Red and Blue of Adolescence: Origins of the Compliant Voter and Defiant Activist. American Behavioral Scientist, 50, 1214-1230.
Golan, G., Kiousis, S, & McDaniel, M. (2007). Second-Level Agenda-Setting and Political Advertising: Investigating the Transfer of Issue and Attribute Saliency during the 2004 Presidential Election. Journalism Studies, 8, 432-443.
Keywords
Political communication, political public relations, new media, agenda building/setting, online public relations, framing, and persuasion
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