Faculty and Staff Profile

Brandon Boatwright

Educational Background

Ph.D. Communication & Information
University of Tennessee 2020

M.A. Communication, Technology, & Society
Clemson University 2013

B.A. Communication Studies
Clemson University 2010

Courses Taught

COMM 3240 - Communication, Sport and Society
COMM 3260 - Public Relations in Sport
COMM 3270 - Sports Media Criticism
COMM 4260 - Sport and Social Media
COMM 8110 - Qualitative Research Methods
COMM 8210 - Social Media Strategy

Profile

Dr. Boatwright is a two-time graduate of Clemson University, and recently completed his doctoral studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in Communication and Information with an emphasis in Advertising and Public Relations. His research focus examines the intersection of sports, social media, and opinion leadership. Dr. Boatwright also serves as the Director of the Social Media Listening Center in the Department of Communication. He has published original research in Public Relations Review, The Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, Computers in Human Behavior, The Journal of Public Interest Communication, and the Southern Communication Journal. He is an active member of the National Communication Association and the Southern States Communication Association.

Research Publications

Cox, E., Cranmer, G., & Boatwright, B.C. (2023). “Why Can’t We Play on Grass?” An Investigation of Discourse on Sterling Shepard’s ACL Tear. Communication & Sport. https://doi.org/10.1177/21674795231182903

Cranmer, G., Boatwright, B.C., Gertz., H., & Kowalski, K. (2023). Happy Birthday Title IX: The Role of Stakeholder Groups and Identity in Reactions to the 50th Anniversary of Title IX. Western Journal of Communication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10570314.2023.2236061

Boatwright, B.C. & Pyle, A.S. (2023). “Don’t Mess with Ukrainian Farmers”: An examination of Ukraine and Kyiv’s official Twitter accounts as crisis communication, public diplomacy, and nation building. Public Relations Review. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2023.102338

Cranmer, G., Pelt, S., Boatwright, B.C., Sanderson, J., & Scheinbaum, A. (2023). Athletes’ displaced dissent on social media: triggering agents, message strategies, and user-generated responses. Communication Quarterly. https://doi.org/10.1080/01463373.2023.2203828

Cho, M., Xu, S., & Boatwright, B.C. (2023). CEO Activism and employee relations: Factors affecting employees’ sense of belonging in the workplace. Public Relations Review. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2023.102295

Boatwright, B.C. & Freberg, K. (2023). Multi-modal influencers: Exploring how fitness coaches leverage social media and technology to foster engagement among their followers. International Journal of Strategic Communication. https://doi.org/10.1080/1553118X.2022.2152341

Steiner, E., Pittman, M., Boatwright, B.C. (2023). When sports fans buy: Contextualizing social media engagement behavior to predict purchase intention. International Journal of Sport Communication. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsc.2022-0158

Boatwright, B.C. (2022). Exploring online opinion leadership in the network paradigm: An analysis of influential users on Twitter shaping conversations around anthem protests by prominent athletes. Public Relations Review, 48(4), 102229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2022.102229

Harrison, V., Boatwright, B.C., & Bober, J. (2022). “A manifestation of their city as a god”: Gritty memes, the 2020 U.S. presidential election, and online representations of home. Communication & Sport. https://doi.org/10.1177/21674795221106115

Pangborn, S. M., Boatwright, B. C., Miller, C. L., & Velting, M. N. (2021). ‘I don’t feel like a hero’: Frontline healthcare providers’ social media storytelling during COVID-19. Health Communication. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2021.2017108

Stamm, J., & Boatwright, B.C. (2021). We love you; we hate you: Fan Twitter responses to top college football recruits’ decisions. International Journal of Sports Communication. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsc.2021-0031.

Cranmer, G. A., Boatwright, B., Mikkilineni, S., & Fontana, J. (2021). Everyone Hates the NCAA: The Role of Identity in the Evaluations of Amateurism Transgressions: A Case Study of the Chase Young’s Loan Scandal. Communication & Sport. https://doi.org/10.1177/21674795211009162

Cho, M., Xiong, Y., & Boatwright, B.C. (2021). Through the lens of ethnicity and nationalism: A semantic network analysis of United Airlines’ dragging crisis. Public Relations Review, 47(1), 102006. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2020.102006

Childers, C.C. & Boatwright, B.C. (2020). Are digital natives naive about digital influence? An exploration of generational differences and understanding of social media influencer marketing. Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising. https://doi.org/10.1080/10641734.2020.1830893

Boatwright, B.C., & White, C. (2020). Is privacy dead? Does it matter? How Facebook defines data collection and frames its data policy through public communication. Journal of Public Interest Communications,4(1), 78-101.

Foster, E.A., Park, S., & Boatwright, B.C. (2019). Information Source Preference in Health Crisis: Exploring the Roles of Perceived Risk, Preparedness, Knowledge, and Intent to Follow Directives. Public Relations Review, 44(5), 101794.

Pyle, A.S., Morgoch, M.L., & Boatwright, B.C. (2019). SnowedOut Atlanta: Examining digital emergence on Facebook during a crisis. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 27(4), 414-422.

Linvill, D.L., Boatwright, B.C., Grant, W.J., & Warren, P. (2019). The Russians are Hacking My Brain! Investigating the Strategic Tweeting of Russia’s Internet Research Agency during the 2016 United States Presidential Election. Computers in Human Behavior, 99, 292-300.

Boatwright, B.C., Mazer, J. P., & Beach, S. (2019). The 2016 US Presidential Election and Transition Events: A Social Media Volume and Sentiment Analysis. Southern Communication Journal, 84 (3), 1-14.

Xiong, Y., Cho, M., & Boatwright, B.C. (2019). Hashtag activism and message frames among social movement organizations: Semantic network analysis and thematic analysis of Twitter during the #MeToo movement. Public Relations Review, 45(1), 10-23.

Kent, M. L., & Boatwright, B. C. (2018). Ritualistic sacrifice in crisis communication: A case for eliminating scapegoating from the crisis/apologia lexicon. Public Relations Review, 44(4), 514-522.

Pyle, A., & Boatwright, B.C. (2018). Coming together around hashtags: Exploring the formation of digital emergent citizen groups. Journal of Public Interest Communication, 2(1), 3-17.

Linvill, D. L., Boatwright, B. C., & Grant, W. J. (2018). “Back-stage” dissent: student Twitter use addressing instructor ideology. Communication Education, 67(2), 125-143.

Boatwright, B.C., & Mazer, J.P. (2017). Developing discourse of renewal during campus crisis. Communication Teacher, 31(1), 41-46.