Michael L. Turney, Ph.D., ABC

Michael L. Turney, Ph.D., ABC
Professor Emeritus of Communication
& Independent Consultant

In addition to teaching and academic administration, my career included news writing, government public information, hosting radio and TV talk shows, conducting public relations and promotional campaigns, and producing multi-media planetarium and museum programs. My titles, employers, and target audiences varied, but I was always trying to provide useful information in a meaningful context.

Now, I'm retired and I'm still doing that, but I have more freedom, flexibility and fun because I'm doing it as an independent consultant and/or volunteer.

ABC - Accredited Business Communicator
International Association of Business Communicators

Ph.D. in mass communication
University of Iowa School of Journalism

standing and pointing

Being retired doesn't mean not working.
It means choosing what to do and when.

My decades at NKU were quite a ride.
From the early days when Nunn Hall was the only building on the Northern Kentucky State College campus to the frustration of preparing Northern Kentucky University for SACS re-accreditation it was like a thrill-filled roller coaster ride. I sometimes laughed, sometimes cried, and sometimes wanted to scream.
But, I always loved the joys and satisfactions of teaching.

Now that I'm retired, I take delight in ...
writing and producing whatever I choose, whenever I choose;

reading primarily for pleasure rather than necessity or to keep up with my students;

presenting to audiences who want to be there and hear what I have to say instead of classes who feel compelled to attend;

traveling leisurely and without a locked-in itinerary; and

living without a wristwatch.

My post-retirement projects have included ...
writing introductions to new public relations textbooks published by two different authors as well as dozens of new online readings;

self-publishing Six Decades of Shooting People: A Potpourri of People Pictures as well as a half-dozen other photobooks;

doing presentations on history and music as a member of the Kentucky Humanities Speakers Bureau;

developing an educational game about Ancestral Puebloan migration in the 12th century;

producing a Ken Burns-style documentary about Sisters of Charity nurses in the Civil War;

giving public lectures and radio interviews about radio news coverage of World War II;

participating in a score of multi-photographer photo exhibits at Northern Kentucky University;

expanding and refocusing what had been my PRClass website as Practing PublicRelations.com to serve PR professionals as well as students;

conducting a strategic public relations planning workshop for the American Association of Port Authorities;

coaching candidates who sought and successfully achieved IABC professional accreditation;

recruiting and training local field workers for the U.S. Census Bureau; and

playing banjo with the Hills of Kentucky Dulcimers.

Practicing Public Relations Website
Evolved from my former PR class website,
it's no longer just for students.

Online Readings in Public Relations
Now includes almost 100 textbook-quality articles
on a wide range of public relations topics.

If you need a communication consultant, teacher, or presenter,

I'm particularly adept at strategic public relations planning,
crisis communication,
hands-on writing workshops, and
explaining the socio-cultural impacts of mass media.

Email turney@nku.edu .

29 May 2024