Dr. Patrick Merle is a newly appointed Assistant Professor of Public Relations (PR) at the FSU School of Communication who will start in Fall 2013.  He will teach two classes this upcoming semester, Political Communication (COM 3510) and International Public Relations (COM 6400).

Merle recently completed his PhD. in Media & Communication at the College of Media & Communication at Texas Tech University, focusing on the relationship between political aptitude and agenda-setting.  He had previously earned a Post master’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from l’Institut Français de Presse in Paris, a M.A. in History from St Patrick’s College in Ireland, and a Bachelor’s degree in History and Political Science.

“I feel privileged to join a reputable program with such experienced colleagues.  To put it simply, my level of excitement brings me back to my initial reporting assignments.  I am as enthusiastic as a French kid eating a fresh croissant.  My interaction with students both undergraduate and graduate thus far definitely leaves me hungry for more.”

Merle has taught several courses in the field of public relations and news reporting.  He has previous teaching experience as an instructor at the Texas Tech University College of Media & Communication (Fall 2010 – Spring 2013), Ancilla Domini College, Ind. (Spring 2003 – Summer 2010) and a semester as an adjunct at Loyola University Chicago’s School of Communication (Fall Semester, 2005).

FSU School of Communication Interim Director and Associate Professor, Dr. Ulla Sypher, remarked, “We feel honored to have someone like Patrick join our faculty.   He has impressive and varied expertise in terms of teaching, research and professional experience in the fields of international news reporting as well as public and media relations.”

Before joining academe, Merle worked as a media professional covering various political, economic, social and cultural events as well as sports stories in multiple countries such as Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the U.K, and U.S.  He has also worked as the agent to a professional athlete securing sponsorships and managing media inquiries.  Today, he still actively freelances as a PR writer and reporter/editor for several international media and firms.

Merle started his career in 1996 as a general assignment reporter at a publication in France.  He later joined a national business magazine in Paris and the New York Times Paris bureau as an editorial assistant.  He went on to freelance for Associated Press, covering the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Paris.

In 1998, Peter Ford, European bureau chief for The Christian Science Monitor, hired Merle as his editorial assistant.  After two years spent assisting Ford and freelancing in French and English across Europe, Merle integrated the international newsroom of Eurosport International, Europe’s leading sports network.  There, he first worked as an online reporter for eurosport.com providing breaking news for the network’s main webpage.  Merle then became Deputy News Editor managing a team of international reporters.

While at Eurosport, Merle collaborated with the network covering the preparation of the 2004 Olympic from Athens.  He participated in the coverage of multiple Tour de France and world indoor and outdoor track and field championships.  Merle was also sent to New York to cover September 11, 2001, where he reported and produced a documentary.  In July 2005, he covered the London subway terrorists’ attacks for ABC radio Detroit.  During his career, he notably interviewed public figures such as Lance Armstrong, Rudolph Giuliani, Sean Connery, Johnny Depp, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Michael Douglas, Sarah Jessica-Parker, as well as several local and foreign officials.

Since he joined academe, Merle has won multiple awards and served on numerous committees.  He currently serves as a reviewer for the journal Political Behavior, and for the Global Communication and Social Change as well as Public Relations divisions for the International Communication Association (ICA). He additionally reviews papers for the Political Communication, Public Relations, and Communication Theory and Methodology divisions for the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC).

Merle’s works have appeared in the Journal of Media Psychology, International Communication Gazette, Public Relations Journal, French Politics, Newspaper Research Journal, Communication, Culture and Critique, Feminist Media Studies, and Southwestern Mass Communication Journal.  He has also presented more than 25 research papers in prominent international conferences.

 

Find more information about Merle through at Twitter.com/PatrickMerle.