Strategic Sport Communication

Strategic Sport Communication, Third Edition, presents a comprehensive examination of the evolving field of sport communication. With a complete approach to the multifaceted and interrelated applications of sport communication, this text will help the reader understand modern trends and industry demands. The book’s topics align with the Common Professional Component topics outlined by the Commission on Sport Management Accreditation (COSMA).

Organized into three parts for easy understanding, part I familiarizes students with the field by defining sport communication, presenting historical analysis, and providing an extensive discussion of career opportunities. Part II focuses on the elements of the Strategic Sport Communication Model (SSCM). This model details the three main components of sport communication: personal and organizational aspects of communication, mediated communication in sport, and sport communication services and support systems. Students will understand how each component plays an integral role in sport management, sport marketing, and operational goals at all levels of sport organizations. Part III examines legal aspects and critical sociological and cultural issues.

Significant updates throughout the third edition capture the evolution of sport communication:

• A look at emerging communication platforms and modern technologies such as fantasy sports and online gambling
• New content covering the cutting-edge topics of customer-centric marketing, influencer marketing, the rise of digital media in integrated marketing, and the use of data analytics in marketing communication
• A new discussion of digital public relations tools and new examples of crises in sport, including a case study that provides a real-world example of a crisis in sport communication

Learning aids—including key terms, chapter objectives, and chapter wrap-ups with review questions and individual exercises—provide for an engaging and focused learning experience. Updated for this edition, Sport Communication at Work sidebars feature industry experts applying chapter content, and Profile of a Sport Communicator sidebars highlight professional opportunities.

In Strategic Sport Communication, Third Edition, students will develop a thorough understanding of the vast and varied field of sport communication. As the exciting field of sport communication continues to present new challenges, the analysis provided within this text will provide the foundational and theoretical understanding necessary for aspiring sport communication professionals to succeed.

Paul M. Pedersen, PhD, is a professor of sport management in the School of Public Health at Indiana University at Bloomington (IU). In addition to teaching undergraduate and graduate courses at IU, Pedersen has been the doctoral chair of 19 PhD graduates and a committee member of another 22 dissertations. As an extension of his previous work as a sportswriter and sport business columnist, Pedersen's primary areas of scholarly interest and research are the symbiotic relationship between sport and communication as well as the activities and practices of various sport organization personnel.

A research fellow of the North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM), Pedersen has published eight books (including Contemporary Sport Management, Handbook of Sport Communication, and Strategic Sport Communication) and more than 100 articles in peer-reviewed outlets such as the Journal of Sport Management, European Sport Management Quarterly, Sport Marketing Quarterly, International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, Sociology of Sport Journal, International Review for the Sociology of Sport, and Journal of Sports Economics. He has also been a part of more than 100 refereed presentations at professional conferences and more than 50 invited presentations, including invited addresses in China, Denmark, Hungary, Norway, and South Korea. He has been interviewed and quoted in publications as diverse as the New York Times and China Daily.

Founder and editor in chief of the International Journal of Sport Communication, he serves on the editorial board of nine journals. A 2011 inductee into the Golden Eagle Hall of Fame (East High School in Pueblo, Colorado), Pedersen lives in Bloomington, Indiana, with his wife, Jennifer, and their two youngest children, Brock and Carlie. Their two oldest children, Hallie and Zack, graduated from IU.

Pamela C. Laucella, PhD, is the academic director of the sports capital journalism program at Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) as well as an associate professor. She was previously academic director of the National Sports Journalism Center and, along with the former director, helped create and develop the first sport journalism graduate program in the United States. She earned her PhD in journalism and mass communication from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was a Roy H. Park fellow, and received her master’s and bachelor degrees from The George Washington University and the University of Virginia, respectively.

Before coming to IUPUI, Laucella was an assistant professor of sport communication at Indiana University and an assistant professor in communication studies at Christopher Newport University.

Laucella’s positions integrate academia and industry. She has moderated numerous panels and supervised students at major sporting events like the Women’s Final Four and the Indianapolis 500, editing articles for sites such as those of NCAA, Turner Sports, and the Indianapolis Star.

Laucella has presented at numerous professional conferences in journalism, sociology, history, and communication and has published in peer-reviewed national and international journals, including Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, Journal of Sports Media, and International Journal of Sport Communication. Outside of IUPUI, she has served as head and vice head of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication’s Sports Communication Interest Group. She is active in the North American Society for the Sociology of Sport, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, the National Communication Association, and the Association for Women in Sports Media.

Laucella is originally from Richmond, Virginia, and enjoys hiking with her rescue Labrador retriever, doing yoga, playing tennis, and swimming. She also plays the violin, writes creative nonfiction, and roots for her ACC alma maters.

Edward (Ted) M. Kian, PhD, is a professor and the Welch-Bridgewater Endowed Chair of Sports Media in the School of Media and Strategic Communications at Oklahoma State University. He earned an undergraduate degree in journalism from the University of Georgia, a master’s in sport management from the University of Texas at Austin, and a doctorate in sport administration from Florida State University.

Previously, he served on the faculty at the University of Central Florida, where he was founding coordinator of the graduate program in sport leadership and coaching and held the rank of tenured associate professor of sport administration. Kian’s research focuses on sport media, examining the framing of gender, sex, and LGBT issues in media coverage and social media content; attitudes and experiences of sport media members; and marketing of sport. He has authored more than 100 journal articles, conference papers, and book chapters, and his work has appeared in top journals from a variety of academic disciplines. Dr. Kian has reviewed more than 110 submissions for 30 different academic journals as an editorial board member or ad hoc reviewer.

Kian’s journalism, research, and expertise have been cited by media outlets such as 60 Minutes, the New York Times, and Fox Sports. Dr. Kian has 15 years of professional experience in sport communication, having worked in the newspaper, magazine, and radio industries as well as in media relations. He served as prep sports editor for the Press-Telegram (Long Beach), where he was on a team of reporters honored with a national Associated Press sports editors award for investigative journalism. Among his other positions were serving as a full-time sportswriter for the Pensacola News Journal, covering University of Texas athletics as editor and website manager for Horns Illustrated, and being one of the original contracted bloggers for AOL Fanhouse, where he wrote about University of Georgia and Southeastern Conference football.

Andrea N. Geurin, PhD, is a reader and the program director for the master’s sport marketing program in the Institute for Sport Business at Loughborough University London. She has published extensively on the topics of sport communication and marketing, focusing on athletes’ and sport organizations’ use of social media and on media portrayals of athletes with regard to race, gender, and nationality. Her work has appeared in more than 40 peer-reviewed articles in publications such as Journal of Sport Management, Sport Management Review, European Sport Management Quarterly, Sport Marketing Quarterly, and International Journal of Sport Communication.

She has presented her research at conferences and invited lectures around the world, including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, and South Korea. In 2015, she was named a North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM) research fellow in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the field of sport management. Additionally, she received the NASSM Janet B. Parks research grant in 2012 and 2015. Geurin is an associate editor of Managing Sport and Leisure and Frontiers in Sports and Active Living. Additionally, she serves on the editorial boards of six academic journals and is a professional member of the European Association for Sport Management (EASM) and NASSM, where she served on the executive council from 2017 to 2019.

Prior to her appointment at Loughborough University London in 2019, Geurin was an associate professor and served as the academic director of graduate programs in the Tisch Institute for Global Sport at New York University. She also held full-time faculty positions at Griffith University (Australia), Massey University (New Zealand), Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, Indiana University at Bloomington, and Saint Mary’s College of California. She earned her undergraduate degree in journalism from Indiana University, where she also received both her master’s degree and her PhD in sport management.

Geurin is a former sport public relations professional who held positions with USA Gymnastics and the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) Top Fuel drag-racing team. Originally from Mount Vernon, Indiana, Geurin was awarded the Mount Vernon Senior High School Outstanding Alumnus Award in 2019 and served as the commencement speaker at the class of 2019 graduation ceremony. In her spare time, she enjoys running; yin yoga; traveling with her partner, Martyn; and spending time with her cat, DC.