Park Fellow wins Page Society case study competition

Second-year master’s student and Roy H. Park Fellow at the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media Andrea Goetschius won the grand prize in the Arthur W. Page Society’s 2011 case study competition with a case study of the National Football League’s response to medical research on football-related concussions.

Her winning case study, “Just a Ding? The NFL Responds to Research on Football-Related Concussion,” examined how the wave of football veterans with degenerative brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy required the NFL to finally acknowledge, and act on, the connection between repeated concussions and the condition.

Goetschius received a $5,000 prize as winner of the competition. Her adviser, senior associate dean Dulcie Straughan, received $1,500.

The competition is sponsored by the Page Society and the Institute for Public Relations (IPR). This is the Page Society's ninth annual case study competition, designed to strengthen awareness of communication and corporate reputation issues among business, communication and journalism students.

"This year's case studies illustrate the role of authentic communications in building and protecting an organization's reputation," said Bill Margaritis, chairman of the Page Society. "The NFL case study in particular demonstrates the role that importance of actively engaging with stakeholders to successfully manage critical issues. We congratulate Andrea Goetschius from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and all of the winners in this year's competition."

"The 2011 case studies show the continued importance of strategic communications across a broad spectrum of enterprises — from education to sports to automotive," said Bob Grupp, president and CEO of IPR. "We're grateful to this year's winners for their thorough research and for providing a valuable resource for PR practitioners."

All case studies were evaluated on the basis of relevance and timeliness, as well as the significance of the problem and the effective use of the seven Page Principles, which the Page Society embraces as the core principles that guide the actions of public relations practitioners.