A box of memories

Beloved communication professor reminisces about his 30-year career

By Neeka Eghbali | neeka7@vt.edu | 703-309-5380
BLACKSBURG, Va. Nestled in the
corner of a room in Shanks Hall is a
cardboard box overflowing with table
cards, flyers and other remnants from
the Public Relations Student Society of
Americas (PRSSA) annual networking
event, Elevations. They are not mere
objects, however. They are memories.
Only one man has had the chance to
witness the events evolution since his
first year at Virginia Tech in June 2010.
Professor Douglas Cannon, PRSSA
faculty adviser and professor of
practice in the department of
communication, said he tell[s] every
special events person to look at the box
to see the history.

Professor Douglas Cannon has been part of the faculty at Virginia

Tech since June 2010. Behind him is a collection of all of the
newspapers he has worked for in the past.

This years event Elevations, previously

called Comm Connections, is scheduled for
Friday, Nov. 4. Speakers will address
aspiring PR students with a special emphasis
on personal branding. However,
unbeknownst to a majority of members in
PRSSA is that their own faculty adviser
possesses a unique personal brand that is
deeply rooted in his early career.
Although he has spent 20 practicing public
relations and is accredited in the field. His
passion for journalism emerged during high
school in Ohio. Cannon got his start
studying journalism and working for the
Lantern newspaper at The Ohio State
University.
Prior experience in journalism taught him
the value of good writing, but much of
Cannons discipline and diligence stem from
his time in the military. He was on a ROTC

scholarship at The Ohio State, and after

graduating and working for The TimesLeader, Cannon reluctantly served as an
armor officer. He would have liked to have
been a signal officer whose expertise was in
TV and radio, a preference that was an
indication of his persisting passion for
journalism.
In his subsequent position as a public affairs
officer, he was able to revisit what he had
always loved doing. Cannon ran The Turret,
the weekly newspaper in Fort Knox,
Kentucky. The publication was recently
renamed The Gold Standard in February
2012. Under his jurisdiction, it was the top
newspaper in the Army and in the
Department of Defense for three years.
Emblazoned on a single wall in Cannons
office is a collection of each of the
newspapers he worked for, framed and lined

up neatly. However, he was quick to point

out one publication in particular.
I owned a newspaper called The

Bob Robertson, a man characterized by his

entrepreneurial spirit. Although Robertson
focused little on the logistical details and
more on the big picture, Cannon
nevertheless admired him for his willingness
to fail if necessary. It is a trait that Cannon
attempts to instill in his own students, he
says.
An article he co-wrote with Professor Jenn
MacKay will be published in the Newspaper
Research Journal next summer about a study
they conducted on millenials examining
their civic duty to keep informed.

Photo by Public Relations Society of America (PRSA)

Professor Cannon (first row, third from right) was inducted

into the College of Fellows by the Public Relations Society
of America in 2014. He is the first full-time Virginia Tech
communication faculty member to receive this honor.

Sellersburg Star and ran that for a few years.

Then, the Depression did it in at the end of
the Carter administration. A lot of things
went out of business in Sellersburg, and that
was when I got an offer to teach journalism
at the University of Kentucky, said
Cannon.
After leaving his job at the University of
Kentucky, Cannon went to work for the
United Methodist Church for 25 years. As a
Protestant, his specialty is researching how
faith groups practice public relations.
Cannon noted that most individuals look at
religion in the news, but not at the strategic
ideas of how faith groups try to tell their
stories and relate to different publics. He
gained his PhD in Journalism from The
University of Texas at Austin, and his
dissertation focused on faith in public
relations.
While working at the United Methodist
Church, Cannon met his mentor and pastor

Doug Cannon is a fantastic colleague. He

has this tremendous focus. This paper
reminds us that the next generation has lost
the desire to stay fully informed about the
world around them, said MacKay.
Cannon's office is his own personal box of
memories. He especially cherishes the lamp
on his desk, which used to be his fathers
during his teaching days at Eastern
Kentucky University.
His students knew that if they went by his
door and the lamp was on, he would be
available, said Cannon.
Cannon is not very different from his father,
and recent graduate and former president of
PRSSA Melanie Ford can attest to that fact.
Professor Cannon is an incredible mentor
and is more than willing to dedicate time to
his students and to PRSSA, she said.
Always there for his students, one may find
Cannon sitting in room 106 in Shanks Hall,
working on grading papers or a project, with
the lamp on.