Debbie Menger
Lecturer
Deborah Menger, utilizing her education (BA, UT-Austin; MA, University of the Incarnate Word) and extensive experience as a journalist and public-relations professional, teaches in the Public Relations concentration of the Communication program. Course emphasis is on the practical application of theory to the realities of communication, including broadening and improving students' skills and competencies related to writing for business and professional audiences, developing and implementing public-relations strategies, acquiring written and oral-communication skills and writing for the mass media. Texts, community-focused projects and lectures are supplemented with lectures by media professionals and public-relations practitioners.
Menger's primary research interest is extending the understanding of mass media from three perspectives: The media, the audience and those who rely on the media for message dissemination. Research under review or in-process includes an in-depth analysis of agenda- setting and priming, international media-relations-management strategies and media credibility.
In addition to traditional academic research, Menger is a contributing features writer for a major daily newspaper, with regularly published articles on a myriad of topics. She regularly consults with corporate-communications clients through her firm, MengerMedia, Ltd.
She represents UTSA as a member of a broad range of local, state, regional and national organizations.