Professor emeritus Patrick Parsons joins Page Center advisory board
May 14, 2024 • Jonathan McVerry
The Page Center’s newest board member Patrick Parsons has studied emerging media technology for four decades. His interests target the history of technology in media, the philosophy behind its use in society and how it got to where it is today.
Parsons is an emeritus professor at the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications. Since joining the faculty in 1985, he has seen many technologies come and go – and some that never got off the ground.
From cable television to artificial intelligence, Parsons is curious about a technology’s effects on the economy and industry, as well as changes in cultural and social behaviors. He maintains an ethical eye on the new big thing and the next technology that may replace it.
“Ethics in communications, integrity in new media, the role of new media in public life and in democracy have all been a part of what I've been teaching, thinking about and writing about for four decades,” Parsons said. “There is always a spin to new technology, which promotes certain kinds of activities and lessens others. It’s not totally neutral.”
The Page Center’s advisory board consists of 18 active and retired leaders in several professional disciplines, including advertising, corporate communication, journalism, and public relations. Parsons and fellow professor emeritus and founding director of the Center John Nichols bring an academic and theoretical eye to the board.
Parsons, who retired in 2022, said joining the board is a way to stay connected to and involved with the Bellisario College. The Center’s focus on ethics and integrity – areas of interest central to much of Parsons’ work – make it a natural fit.
“New technology and how it affects society are important to me,” Parsons said. “Privacy, truth, integrity … these are problems we've been dealing with for as long as we've been around. You can take a lot of the old ideas and apply them in these new contexts.”
He added, “In broad strokes, it isn't so much about what the technology can do, it's what we do with the technology.”
Parsons has authored or co-authored four books and contributed to many more. His 2008 book "Blue Skies: A History of Cable Television," received the Picard Award for top research project in the Media Management and Economics Division from AEJMC. The book has been hailed as the definitive history of cable television. In 2005, Parsons was named the inaugural Don Davis Professorship in Ethics at the Bellisario College.
“The Page Center’s goal is to conduct research that addresses the ethical challenges of public communication,” Center director Denise Bortree said. “Having Patrick’s ethical eye and theoretical perspective will help us strengthen our scholarly work to meet those needs. We are so pleased to have Patrick join the board.”
Parsons joins founder and executive chairman of APCO Worldwide Margery Kraus as the Page Center’s newest board members.
Since its 2004 founding, the Page Center has become an international leader in research on ethics and integrity in public communication. Over the past 20 years, the Center has funded nearly 300 scholars and awarded more than $1 million in research funding. The Center’s advisory board consists of 18 members that represent decades of leadership in education, business, journalism, non-profit and public relations.