Derek Moscato, PhD

Professor

About

Ph.D., Media Studies, University of Oregon; M.Sc., Journalism, University of Kansas; B.A., History, Western University.

Moscato is a professor in the department of journalism, where he teaches classes in public relations, news media, and environmental journalism. Additionally, Moscato teaches in the Canadian-American (C/AM) Studies program, and has taught previously in the Western Honors Program and the Salish Sea Minor. He has been a research fellow with Western's Border Policy Research Institute (BPRI), the Salish Sea Institute, and the Center for Canadian-American Studies. Previous to WWU's Department of Journalism, Moscato taught strategic communication and news media courses at the University of Oregon and Douglas College. 

A Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication Scholar, Derek’s research is driven by the workings of global communication flows, political economy of media, and environmental persuasion. His recent research has explored environmental persuasion in global, cross-border, and bioregional contexts; public diplomacy issues including the soft power of sport and culture; and news media ethics issues including media censorship and bias. Additionally, Moscato has explored journalism and public communication histories in the Arctic region, including the Yukon and Alaska. 

His 2022 book, Dirt Persuasion: Civic Environmental Persuasion and the Heartland's Pipeline Fight, was recipient of the 2023 Choice Outstanding Academic Title and the 2023 Nebraska Best Book Award. More recently, he published Environmental Strategic Communication: Advocacy, Persuasion, and Public Relations (Rowman & Littlefield) to help students and practitioners navigate the communication terrain of ecological policy and protection. 

Moscato is currently a member with several scholarly associations, including the Association for Educators in Journalism and Mass Communication; the Public Relations Society of America; the American Academy of Advertising; and the Association for Borderland Studies. Previous to academia, Moscato held professional communication and marketing leadership roles at Simon Fraser University, the University of British Columbia, and the British Columbia Lung Association. He was also a weekly opinion-page columnist, writing for both the Vancouver Metro and The Vancouver Province. Previous to his public relations work, he was a business journalist with several global publications, focused on resources, urban economics, technology, and global capital markets. 

Research Interests

  • Environmental communication
  • Public diplomacy
  • Persuasion and rhetoric
  • Media history
  • Political economy of media
  • Media ecology

Current Courses

J397M: Canadian-American Media Systems

J480: Senior Media Research Seminar

E412: Environmental Journalism

J330: Public Relations Principles

H352: Hockey's Political Economy and Public Diplomacy

J407: Public Relations Cases

J397I: Environmental PR and Advocacy

H351: Arctic Media: News, Culture, and Diplomacy

S490: Salish Sea Community Seminar

Selected Publications

Moscato, D. (2023). Strategic Environmental Communication: Advocacy, Persuasion, and Public Relations. Rowman & Littlefield.

Moscato, D. (2023). Pandemic media narratives of an American-Canadian exclave. American Review of Canadian Studies. 

Moscato, D. and Valencia, R. (2023). Global Narratives of Ecological Modernization: The Construction of Climate Change Op-eds in China Daily and the New York Times. Journal of Communication Inquiry. 

Moscato, D. (2023). Constructing the pipeline fight narrative: Micromobilizations, participation, and environmental advoacy. In Narratives in Public Communication, 198-212. 

Moscato, D. (2022). Dirt Persuasion: Civic Environmental Populism and the Heartland's Pipeline Fight. U of Nebraska Press.

Moscato, D. (2022). “The ritual of the Bering Sea: Commodity, country, and mortality in the Deadliest Catch.” In Persevering During the Pandemic: Communication, Creativity, and Connection.

Moscato, D. (2021). Ichiro the Public Diplomat: Professional Sport as Cultural Intermediary in Configuring US-Japan Relations. The Hague Journal of Diplomacy, 16(1), 82-104.

Bowe, B. J., Moscato, D., & Alkazemi, M. F. (2021). An appeal to shared values: framing and moral persuasion in the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ press releases. Journal of Public Relations Research, 33(1), 39-57.

Valencia, R. J., & Moscato, D. (2021). Navigating# ObamainCuba: how Twitter mediates frames and history in public diplomacy. Place Branding and Public Diplomacy, 17(2), 168-179.

Moscato, D. (2020). Aerial Activism in Old-Growth Rainforest: The Ancient Forest Alliance’s Drone Videography as Spatial Communication. The local and the digital in environmental communication, 33-48.

Moscato, D. (2020). The Amplification of Polar Diplomacy: A Textual Analysis of Arctic Council Declarations. Arctic Yearbook.