Dr. Richardson and alum Joe McGlynn accepted for publication | Communication Studies
February 11, 2013

Dr. Richardson and alum Joe McGlynn accepted for publication

Former UNT graduate student Joe McGlynn and Dr. Brian Richardson have co-authored a manuscript that was recently accepted for publication in the Western Journal of Communication. The manuscript is titled "Public support, private alienation: Whistle-blowers and the paradox of social support." This particular study explicates how reporting wrongdoing can isolate whistle-blowers at a time when they are in dire need of social support. However, they are too often tainted or scapegoated for exposing the sins of the organization. Even co-workers who consider them friends do not want to risk association with the whistle-blower. The paper makes recommendations to improve this situation such as making whistle-blowers aware of professional support groups, e.g. the Drake Group, and personal stigma management strategies, such as making favorable comparisons to historically renowned whistle-blowers, e.g. Frank Serpico. Joe is currently a Ph.D. student at the University of Texas at Austin; this is the second study he and Dr. Richardson have published on their research into the experiences of collegiate sports whistle-blowers