Richard Taflinger

Biography

Biography

Richard Taflinger has taught communication at Washington State University for 37 years. His career began when the then department of communications asked him to teach Public Speaking, and that experience flourished into a life-long career teaching communication.

Working as an actor for 30 years, Taflinger acquired a passion for media. He earned his bachelor’s degree in theatre from WSU and his master’s degree in script writing from the University of Arizona. He returned to Pullman to earn his doctorate in theatre with a specialty in mass media criticism and began work as a teacher’s assistant.

Taflinger has taught 15 different courses in the Edward R. Murrow College of College from Writing for Television to the Principles of Advertising. He currently teaches Media and Society, Mass Media Criticism, and Television Scriptwriting.   His teaching focuses on storytelling and critical thinking because he wants students to understand how the media affect their sense of reality.

He said he enjoys reading and watching television simultaneously, so he can illustrate his lectures with recorded television clips and present students with facts they could not find in a history book.

Taflinger also wrote “Taking ADvantage,” a book that explores how the human mind works and reacts, specifically to advertising, and “From Gutenberg to Berners-Lee,” a book that traces the history and invention of the various media and how the introduction of each medium affected the societies that use them.

With retirement looming, Taflinger said he is still trying to decide what he wants to do when he grows up.

Bio authored by Gabriella Ramos, Class of 2019

Education

• Ph.D., Washington State University

Classes Taught

• COM 101 – Media and Society
• COM 460/560 – Mass Media Criticism
• BDCST 360 – Television Scriptwriting
• COMST 351 – Television Performance

Research Interests

• Psychophysiological responses to communication messages
• Primarily in advertising and television.