John Fortunato

John A. Fortunato is a professor and area chair of communications and media management at Gabelli School of Business. Before coming to Fordham, he was a professor in the advertising and public relations department at the University of Texas at Austin and also taught at St. Peter's College. He earned his PhD in 1999 from Rutgers University in New Jersey.

Dr. Fortunato is the author of four books: Commissioner, The Legacy of Pete Rozelle; Making media: The Influence of Constituency Groups on Mass Media Content; The Ultimate Assist: The Relationship and Broadcast Strategies of the National Basketball Association and Television Networks; and Sponsorship: Principles and Practices. He has published scholarly articles in the Journal of Sport Management, Public Relations Review, Texas Review of Entertainment & Sports Law, Rutgers Law Review, Atlantic Journal of Communication, Fordham Intellectual Property, Media & Entertainment Law Journal and Child & Youth Care Forum. He has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Global Academy of Marketing Science, International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship, Journal of Brand Strategy, International Journal of Sport Communication and Journal of Sports Media.

Dr. Fortunato worked for NBC Sports during the 1992 and 1996 summer Olympic Games and was a play-by-play radio announcer for St. Peter's College basketball.

Education

• PhD: Rutgers University
• Master's: William Paterson University
• Bachelor's: William Paterson University

Research interests

• Sports Media and Promotional Communication
• Advertising and Sponsorship
• Public Relations
• Broadcasting

Publications

• Fortunato, J.A. (2016). Business-to-business sponsorship opportunities: Examining UPS’ functional congruence with the NCAA. Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science (Special issue on Business-to-Business Marketing), 26(1), 36-50.
• Fortunato, J.A. (2016). How the Citi Olympic Sponsorship Strategy uses the Knowledge of the Elaboration Likelihood Model. Journal of Financial Services Marketing, 21(1), 76-85.
• Fortunato, J.A. (2015). Changing the competitive environment for sports broadcast rights. In J. McGuire, G.G. Armfield, & A.C. Earnheardt (Eds.). The ESPN effect: Exploring the worldwide leader in sports (pp. 23-35). Peter Lang Publishing Group.
• Fortunato, J.A. (2015). The advocacy and corrective strategies of the National Football League: Addressing concussions and player safety. Journal of Conflict Management, 3(1), 7-21.
• Fortunato, J.A. (2015). The sponsorship function in collegiate athletics: Discussing a potential outcome of the Jenkins v. NCAA lawsuit. University of Denver Sports and Entertainment Law Journal, 17, 91-119.
• Fortunato, J.A. (2015). Sponsorship and the elaboration likelihood model: BMW’s 2014 Winter Olympic marketing strategy. Journal of Brand Strategy, 4(1), 83-95.
• Fortunato, J.A. (2015). Media. In T. Strecker (Ed.). Understanding baseball: A textbook (pp. 96-142). Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co. Publishing.
• Fortunato, J.A., and Williams, JD (2014). Using marketing theory to increase African-American participation with Major League Baseball. In L.L. Martin (Ed.). Out of bounds: Racism and the black athlete (pp. 55-80). Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger Publishers.
• Fortunato, J.A. (2014). Sponsorship implications of the Lance Armstrong v. USPS lawsuit. University of California Berkeley Journal of Entertainment & Sports Law, 3(1), 72-85.
• Fortunato, J.A. (2014). Setting the media agenda: A study of Angelina Jolie’s op-ed announcing her undergoing a preventative double mastectomy. Florida Communication Journal, 42(1), 1-9.
• Fortunato, J.A. (2013). Sponsorship activation and social responsibility: How MasterCard and Major League Baseball partner to Stand Up To Cancer. Journal of Brand Strategy, 2(3), 300-311.
• Fortunato, J.A. (2013). Television broadcast rights: Still the golden goose. In P.M. Pedersen (Ed.). Routledge Handbook of Sport Communication (pp. 188-196). New York, NY: Routledge.
• Sports Sponsorship: Principles and Practices. McFarland, 2013.
• Fortunato, J.A. (2012). The many faces of "fans:" How the NBA reaches out to its different audience segments. In A.C. Earnheardt, P.M. Haridakis, & B. Hugenberg, (Eds.). Sports fans, identity and socialization: Exploring the fandemonium (165-176). Lanham, MD: Lexington.
• Fortunato, J.A. (2012). CBS promotion of future programming during the 2011 NCAA Tournament. Journal of Promotion Management, 18(4), 474-488.
• Fortunato, J.A. (2011). Digital media & sports advertising. In M.S. Eastin, T. Daugherty, & N.M. Burns (Ed.). Handbook of research on digital media and advertising: User generated content consumption (pp. 491-506). Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference.
• Fortunato, J.A. (2011) Confronting obesity: The corporate social responsibility of McDonald's. Advances in Management, 4(10), 20-23.
• Fortunato, J.A. (2011). The influence of fantasy football on NFL television ratings. Journal of Sports Administration & Supervision, 3(1), 74-90.
• Fortunato, J.A. (2011). Dancing in the dark: Ticketmaster's response to its Bruce Springsteen ticket crisis. Public Relations Review, 37(1), 77-79.
• Fortunato, J.A. & Martin, S.E. (2010). American Needle v. NFL: Legal and Sponsorship Implications. University of Denver Sports and Entertainment Law Journal, 9, 73-82.
• Fortunato, J.A., & Williams, JD (2010). Essay: Major League Baseball and African-American participation: Is free television part of the solution? Journal of Sport Media,5(1), 79-83.
• Fortunato, J.A. (2009). Using sponsorship as a form of public relations: A case study of Chevrolet and Major League Baseball. Journal of Sponsorship, 4(2), 330-339.
• Fortunato, J.A., & Martin, S.E. (2008). The Supreme Court perspective of media effects as expressed in campaign finance reform. Texas Wesleyan Law Review, 14(2), 197-215.