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Photograph of Scott Talan

Scott Talan Senior Professorial Lecturer Public Communication

Degrees
• Harvard Çà¹ÏÊÓƵ - Master in Public Administration
• Çà¹ÏÊÓƵ of California (Davis) - Poli Sci & Econ
• Stanford Çà¹ÏÊÓƵ - TV News Certificate

Favorite Spot on Campus
The Dav. The Bridge. Starbucks. Moai Statue (of Easter Island Fame).
Favorite Place in Washington DC
#1. AU #2. Kennedy Center #3. National Press Club
Bio
Scott Talan, MPA, is an assistant professor of Public Relations & Strategic Communication. Talan is an expert in social media and personal branding honed through communications experience in four distinct fields: TV News, Politics, Nonprofits/NGO's and Higher Education. Talan has worked at the United Nations, Harvard Çà¹ÏÊÓƵ and the March of Dimes.


Talan wrote at ABC News Good Morning America. He's also reported on-air for local TV news stations in several states including California, New Mexico, and Florida while covering politics including the 2000 presidential recount story where he bested other reporters for stories and interviews.


Before news, Talan was as an elected city council member and Mayor of Lafayette, California.


Talan received his Master in Public Administration from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, studied broadcast journalism at Stanford, and completed his BA at the Çà¹ÏÊÓƵ of California at Davis in Political Science and Economics.


Prior to joining American Çà¹ÏÊÓƵ Scott was an adjunct faculty member at George Washington and Johns Hopkins. In the summer of 2012 Talan also taught media courses in China at Xiamen Çà¹ÏÊÓƵ and lectured at Renmin Çà¹ÏÊÓƵ. He has also guest lectured at Japan's Ritsumeikan Çà¹ÏÊÓƵ.


In 2013, Talan conducted research on the nature of student awareness of current employer recruiting practices and gave a TED-x talk based on this project. He has given the
For the Media
To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.

Teaching

Fall 2024

  • COMM-100 Understanding Media

  • COMM-337 Public Relations Writing

  • HNRS-395 Theories of Inquiry

Spring 2025

  • COMM-100 Understanding Media

  • COMM-296 Selected Topics:Non-Recurring: Brand You

  • COMM-337 Public Relations Writing

  • HNRS-398 Honors Challenge Course

  • HNRS-398 Honors Challenge Course

Scholarly, Creative & Professional Activities

Design and Communication Arts Work

Comm Kid (Student )

SOC Style (Student )

(Student project)

Media Appearances

on Social Media & Newton Shooting

on Social Media & Crimes

Social Media & Presidential Debates Go Well Together - 

AU Experts

Area of Expertise

Social media, digital media, new media, personal branding and multimedia

Additional Information

Scott Talan is an expert in social media and personal branding honed through communications experience in four distinct fields: TV News, Politics, Nonprofits/NGO's and Higher Education. He has been a writer, producer, and reporter for numerous media organizations, including ABC News/Good Morning America, and he has taught both undergraduate and graduate courses at George Washington Çà¹ÏÊÓƵ and Johns Hopkins Çà¹ÏÊÓƵ.

For the Media

To request an interview for a news story, call AU Communications at 202-885-5950 or submit a request.

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