Matt Ragas is a Ph.D. student in
Public Relations in the College of Journalism and Communications at the
University of Florida. With a decade of experience in interactive
publishing
and strategic communication, Matt links theory and practice in his
research and teaching. His interdisciplinary research interests
include financial public relations, business journalism, political public relations and interactive media. Specifically, his media effects-focused research explores agenda-building, agenda-setting, framing and the attitudinal/ behavioral consequences among news
media
content, public opinion and the strategic communication efforts (information subsidies) of
corporate,
brand and political actors.
His research has been published in Journalism
& Mass Communication Quarterly, the International
Journal of Strategic Communication and the International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences. He has
presented his research, including two Top Student Papers, at the International Communication Association and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication conferences. Named the College’s Outstanding Graduate Student Teacher
for 2009, Matt has served as instructor of record for sections of Public Relations Writing, Public Relations Strategy and Advertising Strategy.
The author of two trade books with Random House/Crown
Business, Matt has consulted for clients in the U.S., Canada, India and
Switzerland on communication strategy and brand positioning. He was a co-founder and principal of Indie Research, an investment research provider, and the founding editor of RagingBull, an online investor community (owned by eSignal, Inc.). Matt holds an M.S.
in Management
and a B.S. in Marketing, both from the University of Central
Florida. He anticipates being ABD in fall
2009 and graduating spring 2010.
In his spare time, Matt maintains the FloridaFoodHound blog which provides "Gainesville (and Tampa Bay) restaurant reviews and ruminations by a New Orleans native." He is passionate about good food, traveling, politics and the stock market.
