The Global Strategic Communication Consortium named Ruth Avidar, Ph.D., senior lecturer, Yezreel Valley College, Israel, and Itzhak
Mashiah, Ph.D. visiting scholar, University of Mississippi, recipients of the inaugural
Berger Research Award. They were competitively selected for their proposed research titled, "Strategic
Approaches of AI Technology by PR Leadership: Exploring Ethical Artificial Intelligence
Usage in Public Relations."
Avidar will present a lecture on the research at the University of South Carolina
School of Journalism and Mass Communications on August 28, 2024.
Avidar and Mashiah’s research argues that the field of AI in PR is ripe for a study
that systematically explores how PR firms can uphold ethical standards amidst technological
disruption. It seeks to bridge the theoretical gap by proposing strategies to ensure
that AI is used in ways that align with the foundational principles of PR professionalism.
Shannon A. Bowen, founder and executive director of GSCC, said that although there are academic ethical
AI standards there is a need to know what is happening in industry.
"This research examines what public relations agencies are using as standards for
their AI provisions, the ethical examination of AI use, and how practitioners are
trained on AI — topics we desperately need to study in our industry that has received
little to no attention from researchers,” Bowen said.
The authors want to develop and refine strategic approaches that guarantee AI advancements
and improve communication effectiveness while examining ethical standards. Their research
will provide practical insights for industry to help PR professionals ethically utilize
AI technologies, thereby contributing to the development of ethical practices in strategic
communication.
About the Berger Award
The Berger Award is an annual $2,500 award donated by longtime public relations academician
Bruce Berger, Ph.D., professor emeritus and GSCC Executive Board Member, formerly with The Plank Center for Public Relations at the University of Alabama. The award focuses on data collection for PR research that analyzes the intersection
of ethics and futurism in global strategic communication. It is given to researchers
focusing on ethical considerations in strategic communication, future trends and challenges,
innovative approaches to moral decision-making, implications of emerging technologies
on communication ethics, leadership through challenges and crises, and responsible
values management.
About the Researchers
Ruth Avidar
Avidar is a senior lecturer and the head of the marketing communication track in the
Department of Communication at Max Stern Yezreel Valley College, Israel. She is also
a faculty member in the Department of Health Systems Management. Her research examines
online public relations, social media, customer and patient experience, and new technologies
in communication and healthcare. Her works appear in several books and international
journals and she serves on editorial boards of international communication journals.
Itzhak Mashiah
Mashiah is a visiting scholar in the Integrated Marketing Communication Department
at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, MS. His research interests include marketing
communication, brand management, strategic rhetoric, tech storytelling, innovation
discourse and policy. Both scholars represent the GSCC at institutions in Israel,
and will present their award-winning research at a specially-themed Berger Award session
of the GSCC Conclave in Sardinia, Italy, in May 2025.
About the Global Strategic Communication Consortium
Based at the University of South Carolina, the GSCC aims to advance strategic communication
by focusing research on ethics, future challenges, AI and technological innovations,
crises and challenges in the public relations field. Its membership is comprised of
leading scholars from six continents.
For more information on the GSCC and the Berger Award, contact:
Shannon A. Bowen, Ph.D., Exec. Director
sbowen@sc.edu
803-777-3764 (O) 803-777-4103 (F)
X: @GlobalStratComm
