Bruce Berger
Bruce K. Berger, Ph.D., is Reese Phifer Professor of Advertising & Public Relations in the College of Communication and Information Sciences at the University of Alabama. He also serves as a board member of The Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations in the College. Previously he was chair of the department, and prior to that, director of the MA Program in the department. Berger teaches public relations writing, management, and campaigns courses at the undergraduate level, and courses in persuasion, communication campaigns, and international public relations at the graduate level.
Berger earned his Ph.D. in Communication in 1999 at the University of Kentucky, where he also taught courses in public relations and organizational communications. He has received a number of teaching awards, including: an Excellence in Teaching Award (1997) at Kentucky; an Educator of the Year Award (2006) from the Public Relations Society of America; the Knox Hagood Faculty Award (2006) at UA; and the College’s Board of Visitors Teaching Excellence Award (2008).
Professional Experience
Prior to entering academia, Berger was a PR professional and executive for 20 years. From 1975-1989 he worked at the (then) Upjohn Company, a pharmaceutical research and manufacturing company. His assignments included serving as manager of Public Affairs, based in Brussels, Belgium, and subsequently as director of Worldwide Human Health Public Relations. He worked on public relations programs in 30 countries.
In 1989 Berger became corporate VP of Corporate Affairs for Whirlpool Corporation, and president of the Whirlpool Foundation. He was responsible for developing and implementing the company’s first global PR strategic plan.
Service
Berger currently is a member of the Arthur W. Page Society, the Public Relations Society of America, the International Communication Association, the National Communication Association, and the Association for Education In Journalism and Mass Communication. He also serves as a member of the editorial review boards for the Journal of Public Relations Research, Management Communication Quarterly, International Journal of Strategic Communication, Journal of Communication Studies, and Atlantic Journal of Communication.
Research and Publications
Berger’s current research focuses leadership in public relations and power and influence in practice. He has published more than 30 academic and professional articles in leading scholarly journals and trade publications, including the Journal of Public Relations Research, Public Relations Review, Asian Pacific Journal of Communication, Communication Yearbook, International Journal of Strategic Communication, Journal of Communication Management, and Journal of Employee Communication. His research publications include:
Aldoory, L, Reber, B., Berger, B., & Toth. E. L. (2008). Provocations in public relations: A study of gendered ideologies of power-influence in practice. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 85(4), 735-750.
Erzikova, E., & Berger, B. K. (2008). West meets East: A cross-cultural look at American and Russian public relations students’ perceptions of leadership style and ethics. Public Relations Journal, 2(3), 1-24.
Berger, B. K., & Erzikova, E. (2008). Ethics in Public Relations: American and Russian Student Perspectives on Professional Challenges. Russian Journal of Communication, 1(2), 149-167.
Meng, J., & Berger, B. K. (2008). Comprehensive dimensions of government intervention in crisis management: A qualitative content analysis of news coverage of the 2003 SARS epidemic in China. China Media Research, 4(1), 19-28.
Berger, B. K. (2008, Nov. 17). Employee and organizational communication: Institute for Public Relations, Essential Knowledge Project (www.instituteforpr.com).
Berger, B. K., Reber, B. H., & Heyman, W. C. (2007). You can’t homogenize success in communication management: PR leaders take diverse paths to top. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 1(1), 53-71.
Reber, B. H., & Berger, B. K. (2006). Finding Influence: Examining the Role of Influence in Public Relations Practice. Journal of Communication Management, 10(3), 235-249.
Berger, B. K., & Reber, B. (2006). Gaining Influence in Public Relations: The Role of Resistance in Practice. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Berger, B. K. (2006). Public relations and organizational power. In E. L. Toth (Ed.), The Future of Excellence in Public Relations and Communication Management (pp. 221-234). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Berger, B. K. (2005). Power Over, Power With, and Power to Relations: Critical Reflections on Public Relations, the Dominant Coalition, and Activism. Journal of Public Relations Research, 17(1), 5-28.
Reber, B. H., & Berger, B. K. (2005, June). Framing analysis of activist rhetoric: How the Sierra Club succeeds or fails at creating salient messages. Public Relations Review, 31, 185-195.
Park, D-J, & Berger, B. K. (2004). The presentation of CEOs in the Press, 1990-2000: Increasing salience, positive valence, and a focus on competency and personal dimensions of CEO image. Journal of Public Relations Research, 16(1), 93-125.
Berger, B., & Park, D-J. (2003). Public relationships or private controls? Practitioner perspectives on the uses and benefits of new technologies. The New Jersey Journal of Communication, 11(1), 78-99.
Park, D-J, & Berger, B. K. (2003). Korean and American companies in cyberspace: Comparing public relations models reflected in web sites. Journal of Asian Pacific Communication, 13(1), 75-94.
Berger, B. K., Hertog, J. K., & Park, D-J. (2002). The political role and influence of business organizations: A communication perspective. In W. B. Gudykunst (Ed.), Communication Yearbook 26 (pp. 160-200). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers.
Berger, B. K. (2002, June). Applying active learning at the graduate level: Merger issues at Newco. Public Relations Review, 28, 191-200.
Berger, B. K. (2001). Private issues and public policy: Locating the corporate agenda in agenda-setting theory. Journal of Public Relations Research, 13(2), 91-126.