Spiro K. Kiousis, Ph.D., APR
Dr. Spiro Kiousis is executive associate dean for the College of Journalism and Communications and is a professor of public relations. He also served as interim dean from January until July of 2021. Previously, he served as chair of the Department of Public Relations from 2006-2012, was director of distance education for the College from 2010-2013, and was a University of Florida Research Foundation Professor from 2009-2011. From 2013-2014, he was selected as a SEC Academic Leadership Development Program fellow from Southeastern Conference universities and in 2021, he was selected as the Florida Public Relations Association Gainesville Chapter Professional of the Year. Throughout his academic career, he has produced over 190 refereed journal articles, book chapters, books, and conference papers/presentations. He holds a B.A. in mass media from the University of San Francisco, an M.A. in media studies from Stanford University, and a Ph.D. in journalism from the University of Texas at Austin. His current research interests include political public relations, political communication, and digital communication. Specifically, this interdisciplinary research explores the interplay among political public relations efforts, news media content, and public opinion in traditional and interactive mass mediated contexts.
Dr. Kiousis has had articles published in several leading journals, including Communication Research, Journal of Communication, the Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, Mass Communication & Society, Public Relations Review, Communication Yearbook, Communication Education, the International Journal of Public Opinion Research, the International Communication Gazette, Public Relations Journal, Journal of Public Relations Research, Journalism Studies, Journal of Media and Religion, Journal of Political Marketing, Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly, Public Relations Journal, the Southwestern Mass Communication Journal, Journal of Communication Management, and New Media & Society. He also serves on numerous editorial boards and has presented papers to the International Communication Association, the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, the National Communication Association, the World Association for Public Opinion Research, the American Association for Public Opinion Research, the Southwest Education Council for Journalism and Mass Communication, and the Public Relations Society of America.
Dr. Kiousis’ teaching areas include public relations campaigns, public relations strategy, public relations writing, persuasion theory and research, public relations management, and mass communication theory. He has professional experience in public relations, marketing, online journalism, and media production. He is a member of the graduate faculty, is a member of the Commission for Public Relations Education (CPRE), and has his APR credential from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).
In his free time, he enjoys traveling and sampling craft beer.
Publications
REFEREED JOURNAL ARTICLES
Spiro Kiousis - https://scholar.google.com/citations?hl=en&user=0tENrhoAAAAJ
Kiousis, S., Strömbäck, J., & McDevitt, M. (2015). Influence of Issue Decision Salience on Vote Choice: Linking Agenda Setting, Priming, and Issue Ownership. International Journal Of Communication, 9, 22. Retrieved from https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/3008
Cheng, Z., Golan, G. J., & Kiousis, S. (2015). The Second-Level Agenda-Building Function of the Xinhua News Agency. Journalism Practice, 10(6), 744–762. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2015.1063079
Golan, G. J., & Kiousis, S. K. (2010). Religion, Media Credibility, and Support for Democracy in the Arab World. Journal of Media and Religion, 9(2), 84–98. https://doi.org/10.1080/15348421003738793
Golan, G. J., Kiousis, S. K., & McDaniel, M. L. (2007). Second-level agenda setting and political advertising. Journalism Studies, 8(3), 432–443. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616700701276190
Kiousis, S. (2002). Killing the Messenger: an exploration of presidential newspaper coverage and public confidence in the press. Journalism Studies, 3(4), 557–572. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670022000019164
Kiousis, S. (2003). Job Approval and Favorability: The Impact of Media Attention to the Monica Lewinsky Scandal on Public Opinion of President Bill Clinton. Mass Communication and Society, 6(4), 435–451. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327825mcs0604_6
Kiousis, S. (2004). Explicating Media Salience: A Factor Analysis of New York Times Issue Coverage During the 2000 U.S. Presidential Election. Journal of Communication, 54(1), 71–87. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2004.tb02614.x
Kiousis, S. (2005). Compelling Arguments and Attitude Strength: Exploring the impact of second-level agenda setting on public opinion of presidential candidate images. Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, 10(2), 3–27. https://doi.org/10.1177/1081180x05276095
Kiousis, S. (2011). Agenda-Setting and Attitudes: Exploring the impact of media salience on perceived salience and public attitude strength of US presidential candidates from 1984 to 2004. Journalism Studies, 12(3), 359–374. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670x.2010.501149
Kiousis, S., Kim, J. Y., Carnifax, A. C., & Kochhar, S. (2014). Exploring the role of the Senate Majority Leader’s political public relations efforts. Public Relations Review, 40(3), 615–617. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2014.04.003
Kiousis, S., Kim, J. Y., Kochhar, S. K., Lim, H.-J., Park, J. M., & Im, J. S. (2016). Agenda-building linkages between public relations and state news media during the 2010 Florida Senate Election. Public Relations Review, 42(1), 240–242. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2015.07.009
Kiousis, S., Kim, J. Y., Ragas, M., Wheat, G., Kochhar, S., Svensson, E., & Miles, M. (2014). Exploring New Frontiers of Agenda Building During the 2012 US Presidential Election Pre-Convention Period. Journalism Studies, 16(3), 363–382. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670x.2014.906930
Kiousis, S., Kim, S.-Y., McDevitt, M., & Ostrowski, A. (2009). Competing for Attention: Information Subsidy Influence in Agenda Building during Election Campaigns. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 86(3), 545–562. https://doi.org/10.1177/107769900908600306
Kiousis, S., & McCombs, M. (2004). Agenda-Setting Effects and Attitude Strength: Political figures during the 1996 presidential election. Communication Research, 31(1), 36–57. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650203260205
Kiousis, S., & McDevitt, M. (2008). Agenda Setting in Civic Development: Effects of curricula and issue importance on youth voter turnout. Communication Research, 35(4), 481–502. https://doi.org/10.1177/0093650208315978
Kiousis, S., McDevitt, M., & Wu, X. (2005). The Genesis of Civic Awareness: Agenda Setting in Political Socialization. Journal of Communication, 55(4), 756–774. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2005.tb03021.x
Kiousis, S., Mitrook, M., Wu, X., & Seltzer, T. (2006). First- and Second-Level Agenda-Building and Agenda-Setting Effects: Exploring the Linkages Among Candidate News Releases, Media Coverage, and Public Opinion During the 2002 Florida Gubernatorial Election. Journal of Public Relations Research, 18(3), 265–285. https://doi.org/10.1207/s1532754xjprr1803_4
Kiousis, S., Bantimaroudis, P., & Ban, H. (1999). Candidate Image Attributes: Experiments on the substantive dimension of second level agenda setting. Communication Research, 26(4), 414–428. https://doi.org/10.1177/009365099026004003
Kiousis, S., Park, J. M., Kim, J. Y., & Go, E. (2013). Exploring the Role of Agenda-Building Efforts in Media Coverage and Policymaking Activity of Healthcare Reform. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 90(4), 652–672. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077699013503157
Kiousis, S., Laskin, A., & Kim, J. Y. (2011). Congressional agenda building: Examining the influence of congressional communications from the speaker of the house. Public Relations Journal, 5(1), 1-14.
Kiousis, S., Ragas, M. W., Kim, J. Y., Schweickart, T., Neil, J., & Kochhar, S. (2016). Presidential Agenda Building and Policymaking: Examining Linkages Across Three Levels. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 10(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/1553118x.2015.1090441
Kiousis, S., & Shields, A. (2008). Intercandidate agenda-setting in presidential elections: Issue and attribute agendas in the 2004 campaign. Public Relations Review, 34(4), 325–330. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2008.07.004
Kiousis, S., & Strömbäck, J. (2010). The White House and public relations: Examining the linkages between presidential communications and public opinion. Public Relations Review, 36(1), 7–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2009.08.013
Kiousis, S., & Xu Wu. (2008). International Agenda-Building and Agenda-Setting. International Communication Gazette, 70(1), 58–75. https://doi.org/10.1177/1748048507084578
McDevitt, M., & Kiousis, S. (2014). Active Political Parenting: Youth Contributions During Election Campaigns. Social Science Quarterly, 96(1), 19–33. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.12127
Ragas, M. W., & Kiousis, S. (2010). Intermedia Agenda-Setting and Political Activism: MoveOn.org and the 2008 Presidential Election. Mass Communication and Society, 13(5), 560–583. https://doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2010.515372