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Bernie Ankney, Ph.D.

Dean, School of Communication
Professor

Pictured is Bernie Ankney. Contact Information

Education

  • Ph.D., Mass Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • M.A., Public Communication Studies, Syracuse University
  • B.A., Journalism, Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Background

Bernie Ankney, Ph.D., comes to Point Park from Samford University, where he was an associate professor and chair of the Journalism and Mass Communication Department (2006-19) and interim chair of Communication Studies (2017-19). He had previously served as the program director in the Journalism Department at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and as the head of news-editorial at Temple University.

Ankney has nearly 10 years of professional experience in public relations, print journalism and science writing for Conemaugh Health System, Western PA Medicine, U.S. Medicine and Status Report.

Curriculum Vitae

Video with Dean Ankney

Dean Ankney describes how Point Park's School of Communication makes its students career-ready in the field of their choice.


Publications

  • Carvalho, J, and Ankney, RN (2008). Haunted by the Babe: Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick’s Columns about Babe Ruth. American Journalism, 25:65–82.
  • Ankney, RN (2003). The Influence of Communication Technologies on Political Participation and Social Interaction. Lewiston, NY: The Edwin Mellen Press.
  • Ankney, RN and Procopio, DA (2003). Corporate Culture, Minority Hiring, and Newspaper Coverage of Affirmative Action. Howard Journal of Communications, 14:159-176.
  • Ankney, RN (2002). The Viability of the Libel-Proof Plaintiff Doctrine Following the Masson Decision. Newspaper Research Journal, 23(2-3):79-87.
  • Ankney, RN (2002). Delineating (and Delimiting) the Boundary Spanning Role of the Medical Public Information Officer. Public Relations Review, 28:229-241.
  • Ankney, RN (2001). Newspaper Coverage of Medicine: A Survey of Editors and Cardiothoracic Surgeons. American Medical Writers Association Journal, 16(1):23-32.
  • Ankney, RN (1999). Miracle in South Africa: A Historical Review of U.S. Magazines’ Coverage of the First Heart Transplant. Ecquid Novi, 19(2):26-38.
  • Ankney, RN, Heilman P, Kolff J (1996). Newspaper Coverage of the Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting Report. Science Communication, 18:153-164.
  • Ankney, RN, Kolff J, Moore RA (1995). The Role of a Medical Editor in a Surgical Residency Program. American Medical Writers Association Journal, 10:66-68.

Panel Presentations

  • Raymond N. Ankney and Clay Carey. "Challenges and Opportunities for Student Journalists at Religious-Affiliated Universities," Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Chicago, Ill., 2017. 
  • Raymond N. Ankney, Randy Jesick, Dennis Jones, Andrew Mendelson. "Teaching Writing and Basic Journalistic Skills in a Media Convergence Environment,” Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Boston, Mass., 2009.
  • Edward J. Lordan, V. Cullum Rogers, Raymond N. Ankney. "The History of Editorial Cartoons in American Newspapers: From Franklin’s Snake to Online Agitation," American Journalism Historians Association, Richmond, Va., 2007.

Conference Presentations

  • John Carvalho and Raymond N. Ankney. "Haunted by the Babe: Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick’s Newspaper Columns about Babe Ruth," Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Washington, D.C., 2007.
  • Raymond N. Ankney. "The Viability of the Libel-Proof Plaintiff Doctrine Following the Masson Decision: A Two-Year Follow-Up," Hawaii International Conference on Social Sciences, Honolulu, Hawaii, 2006.
  • Raymond N. Ankney. "Cultural Catalysis Theory: A Communication Theory to Supplement Social Capital Theory," Hawaii International Conference on Social Sciences, Honolulu, Hawaii, 2003. 
  • Raymond N. Ankney. "The Effect of Internet Usage on Social Capital," Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication 85th Annual Convention, Communication Technology & Policy Division, Miami Beach, Fla., 2002. (Selected as the top faculty paper).
  • Raymond N. Ankney and Deborah A. Procopio. "The Effect of Corporate Culture on Minority Hiring and Newspaper Coverage of Affirmative Action," International Communication Association, Washington, D.C., 2001.

Research Interests

  • Communication technologies and their effects on community involvement
  • Media coverage of medicine and science
  • Communication law
  • Political communication
  • Survey research