Bios

David Rockland Partner and Managing Director, Global Research and Stromberg Consulting, Ketchum David Rockland is a Partner and Managing Director of Ketchum, responsible for overseeing the agency’s research products and services, as well as developing innovative approaches to public relations research and measurement for clients around the globe. He also serves as head of Stromberg Consulting, Ketchum’s change management and workplace communications consulting firm.
Nicholas Scibetta Partner and Global Director, Global Media Network, Ketchum As a Partner and Global Director of Ketchum’s Global Media Network, Nicholas Scibetta provides senior strategic program management, media planning counsel and placement for clients across the agency’s network. He has developed and managed strategic, high-profile programs for clients including Oprah Winfrey’s Leadership Academy for Girls, the Russian Federation, Kodak, Disney’s Lion King, Stand Up Two Cancer, Aetna, and Mo Ibrahim Foundation. He founded and serves as editor of In The Know, a global media placement newsletter that features trend analysis and behind-the-scenes interviews with producers, reporters, and bloggers from the nation’s agenda-setting media outlets, and ITK NewsFlash, which combines comprehensive analysis of today’s most sought-after media outlets with top-of-the-day news items. Nicholas also is a co-author of the Ketchum/USC-Annenberg 2006 and 2007 Media Myths and Realities surveys.
Jerry Swerling Director, USC Annenberg Strategic PR Center Jerry Swerling serves as a Professor of Professional Practice and Director of Public Relations Studies at the University of Southern California, where he is responsible for the management of the undergraduate and graduate programs in public relations, including curriculum design, faculty organization, and student mentoring. He is Director of the USC Annenberg Strategic Public Relations Center, which produces the annual PR Generally Accepted Practices (GAP) Study. He also is principal of Swerling & Associates, a PR management consultancy he formed in 1998 to help corporate clients solve a wide variety of organizational and strategic communications challenges. Jerry is the co-author of the 2006 and 2007 Ketchum/USC-Annenberg Media Myths and Realities surveys.
Tom Watson Deputy Dean, Bournemouth University Media School Dr. Tom Watson is Deputy Dean (Education) and Reader in Communications at Bournemouth University's Media School in England. Before returning to England, he was Associate Professor in Communication and Head of the School of Communication at Charles Sturt University in Australia. Before "going academic," he was a journalist and public relations adviser. Tom was awarded in his Ph.D. for research into models of public relations evaluation in 1995 and, with Paul Noble, wrote Evaluating Public Relations. The second edition was published by Kogan Page recently and is available in Japanese, Korean and Russian. Tom's research interests are evaluation of public relations activity, corporate reputation, and the history of public relations. He was chairman of the U.K.'s Public Relations Consultants Association from 2000 to 2002, and knows both the academic and practitioner sides of the public relations business.