It was so great to meet you at AEJMC in Philly!

Thank you for taking the time to visit my website and learn more about my research and experience. I’m currently a PhD Candidate and am on the job market to find a position starting Fall 2025. You can download my CV at the button below or scroll down to view a condensed version on this webpage.

Where will I be at AEJMC?

  • Thursday, August 8

    • 8:30 AM - 10:00 AM - Refereed Research Poster Session, Public Relations Division [Thoughts and prayers…more such deaths will occur: Effects of combining organizational social media mourning for public tragedies with corporate social advocacy]

    • 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM - PRD Graduate Student Showcase

    • 2:30 PM - 4:00 PM - Graduate Teaching Excellence Panel [Demo], Commission on Graduate Education [Teaching persona creation through e-sports]

    • 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM - Graduate Student Teaching Showcase [Poster], Commission on Graduate Education [Nothing Wrong with a Little (in-class) Competition: Understanding the Esports Fan through Persona Creation and an Interactive Tournament]

  • Research Interests: Public Relations, Sports Communication, and Crisis Communication

  • Dissertation Focus: The impact of varying NIL deals on donation intention and communication/fan relationship components to begin to understand how the nature of NIL deals affect fan behavior and relationship.

  • Professional Experience: Five years of experience as an agency and freelance publicist with an entertainment PR agency in Los Angeles. I have helped develop and execute a wide range of publicity campaigns for documentary projects with Showtime, Discovery, TV One, and Netflix, including Discovery’s Shark Week and Netflix’s The Social Dilemma. I also worked on several competition shows, including The Voice, RuPaul’s Drag Race, American Ninja Warrior, World of Dance, Songland, and Making It. Outside of television, I have worked with an array of clients within publishing, podcast and audio entertainment, and more.

I’d love to connect! Email me at escox@ou.edu!

CV / Resume

Education

University of Oklahoma - Gaylord College of Journalism & Mass Communication
Ph.D. in Mass Communication, Expected May 2025
Aug 2021 to present

Boston University - College of Communication
Master’s in Public Relations
Sept 2016 to Sept 2017

Nebraska Wesleyan University
Bachelor’s in Communication Studies
Aug 2012 to May 2016

Research Publications

Moore, J., Cox, E. S., & Wagnitz, M. (2024). #BetterTogether: Examining race-related crisis communication on a university campus. Journal of Applied Communication Research. https://doi-org.ezproxy.lib.ou.edu/10.1080/00909882.2024.2370775

  • R&R’s and in-progress studies available upon request.

Conference Presentations and Papers

[Accepted for Presentation] Moore, J., Cox, E. S., & Persad, V. (2024, August 8-11). Thoughts and prayers…more such deaths will occur: Effects of combining organizational social media mourning for public tragedies with corporate social advocacy [Poster Presentation]. 107th annual Conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), Philadelphia.

[Accepted for Presentation] Cox, E. S. (2024, August 8). Teaching persona creation through e-sports. Graduate Teaching Excellence Panel. 107th annual Conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), Philadelphia.

[Accepted for Presentation] Cox, E. S. (2024, August 8). Nothing Wrong with a Little (in-class) Competition: Understanding the Esports Fan through Persona Creation and an Interactive Tournament. Graduate Student Showcase. 107th annual Conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), Philadelphia.

Cox, E.S. (2024, March 14-16). Why did we lose? An analysis of paracrisis management in collegiate football post-game press conferences [Conference Paper]. International Association for Communication & Sport 2024 Summit, Los Angeles, CA.

Persad, V., & Cox, E. S. (2024, March 7-9). “I’m an AI, trust me”: Measuring the impact of organizational AI initiatives on the organization-public relationship [Conference Paper]. International Public Relations Research Conference, Orlando, FL.

Eschbach, A., & Cox, E. S. (2023, November 16-19). On-field rivalries going face-to-face online: Intergroup communication of sports rivals in a digital community [Conference Paper]. National Communication Association Annual Convention, Washington, D.C.

Cox, E. S. (2023, August 7-10). “Pro Golf’s Civil War”: Applying Paracrisis Communication & Situational Crisis Communication Theory to the PGA’s Response Strategies [Conference Paper]. 106th annual Conference of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), Washington, D.C.

Cox, E. S. (2023, March 2-4). A Brand-New Opportunity: Student-Athletes’ Brand Image in the age of NIL [Conference Paper]. International Public Relations Research Conference, Orlando, FL.

Moore, J., & Cox, E. S. (2023, March 2-4). Combating Misinformation: Understanding Social Media User Perceptions of Responsibility [Conference Paper]. International Public Relations Research Conference, Orlando, FL.

Moore, J., Cox, E. S., & Wagnitz, M. (2022, November 12). When your university is in the news for the wrong reasons: Discourse of renewal applied to racist actions by students and retrospective outlook of campus community [Conference Paper]. PRSA Educators Academy Summit, Dallas, TX.

Moore, J., Meux, A., & Cox, E. S. (2022, May 26-30). From “It’s Not Your Place!” to “I’m Just Not Comfortable Seeing It”: Understanding intergroup grief policing of social media mourning [Conference Paper]. International Communication Association Conference, Paris, France.

Cox, E. S. (2022, March 3-5). "Make it quick": A thematic analysis of a post-game press conference from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers [Conference Paper]. International Public Relations Research Conference, Orlando, FL.

Book Chapters

Cox, E. S., Persad, V., & Newcombe, K. (in production). Public relations theory. In J. Moore (Ed.), Public Relations: Principles, Origins, and Practice.

Carstarphen, M. G., Cox, E. S., Tapia, M., & Frisby, C. (in production). Media Relations & PR Writing. In J. Moore (Ed.), Public Relations: Principles, Origins, and Practice.

Speaking Engagements

Promoting “Sportsball”: How Our Favorite Athletes and Teams Communicate, April 2024, Annual Lecture on Communication in the Modern World, Nebraska Wesleyan University

Public Relations Student Society of America, University of Oklahoma Chapter
April 2023, Topic: Overview of Entertainment Public Relations and Working in an Agency

Grants

Gaylord College Graduate Research Grant | $980

  • Funded [in-progress] project, “A crisis caused by silence: Exploring Division I athlete expectations on mental health messaging in collegiate athletics”

Academic Employment

University of Oklahoma - Gaylord College of Journalism & Mass Communication

Instructor of Record   

  • Public Relations Research, Fall 2024

  • Sports Promotion, Spring 2024  

Research Assistant to Dr. Jensen Moore   
Fall 2021 to Present

  • Assist with current research studies that have been presented at conferences such as ICA and IPRRC.

Teaching Assistant to Prof. Carla Holmes - PR Writing, PR Campaigns (Capstone), and Race, Gender, Class, and Media
Fall 2023

Teaching Assistant to Dr. Jensen Moore - Social Media Strategies
Spring 2023

Research Assistant to Dr. Jeong-Nam Kim
Fall 2022

Research Assistant to Dr. Doyle Yoon
Fall 2021 - Spring 2022

Boston University - College of Communication
Teaching Assistant - COM CO 101     
Fall 2016 & Spring 2017

  • Assisted with the introduction communication course for new students to the College of Communication. Led a discussion group of 25 students each week which focused on reviewing class concepts, learning APA style, and preparing for semester exams.

Professional Employment

Freelance Publicist
April - September 2022, May - August 2023 [10 months]

  • Consult on projects and provide media relations assistance, primarily within entertainment.

  • Write press materials, including project pitches, press releases, key messages, bios and corporate messaging, etc.

MPRM Communications, Account Executive
May 2017 - June 2021

  • Managed and executed multiple publicity campaigns for a wide variety of entertainment clients, including Netflix, Showtime, NBC, TV One, and more.

  • Formed working relationships with influential journalists and media contacts within the entertainment area that led to prominent client press placements.

  • Supervised and trained 1-2 interns and 2-3 account assistants/coordinators at a time.

  • Previous positions held: Account Coordinator, Account Assistant, Publicity Intern

Service

Discipline Service

  • AEJMC Commission on Graduate Education, Board Member [2023 – Present]

  • AEJMC Sports Communication Interest Group, Graduate Student Representative [2023-Present]

  • PRSA Educator's Academy, Graduate Student Committee Member [2023 – Present]

  • AEJMC Mid-Winter Conference, Discussant & Moderator [March 2024]

  • AEJMC Mid-Winter Conference, Moderator [March 2023]

Reviewer

  • AEJMC [2024], Sports Communication Interest Group & Commission on Graduate Education

  • AEJMC Midwinter Conference [2024], Commission on Graduate Education

Institution Service

  • Gaylord College Faculty Graduate Committee, Doctoral Representative [2022-Present]

  • Gaylord College Graduate Student Association, President [2023-Present]

  • Graduate College Academic Appeals Committee [2023-2024]

  • University of Oklahoma Graduate Student Senate, Public Relations Chair & Senator [2022-2023]

Affiliations

Association of Education in Journalism and Mass Communication [Public Relations Division, Sports Interest Group, & Commission on Graduate Education]

International Association for Communication & Sport

National Communication Association [Public Relations & Sports Communication]

Public Relations Society of America [Oklahoma City Chapter & Educators Academy]

References

Available upon request