Stuart H. Schwartz

Stuart H. Schwartz is an author and a retired associate dean and professor of digital and strategic communication studies at Liberty University. He specialized in advertising, direct, and interactive marketing. His background includes a 25-year career as a senior executive with media and retail organizations. In addition, he was a frequent contributor to American Thinker and currently is a blogger for Times of Israel. In 2012, Schwartz was awarded Liberty University’s Chancellor’s Award for Teaching Excellence. He has been featured in numerous media outlets, including The Dennis Miller Show, The Wall Street Journal, the Public Broadcasting System, as well as a number of magazines and websites. 
Schwartz earned a B.A. from the University of Connecticut, an M.A. in Corporate and Political Communication from Fairfield University, and a Ph.D. in Communication from Temple University in Philadelphia. In addition, he holds an M.A. from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a contributor to multiple reference books indexed in SCOPUS. 
==Impact on News Industry==
As a circulation and marketing consultant in the early 1980s, Schwartz pioneered the controversial notion that the failing newspaper industry could revolutionize its readership by changing its traditional approach to reporting news to a research-based approach instead. Schwartz contrasted the thriving circulation boasted by supermarket tabloids with the steady decline in circulation that plagued traditional dailies. He taught his clients to first analyze the psychographics of their readership and then apply the results to change the newspaper's focus to appeal to readers' interests. Additionally among his recommendations to increase advertising and circulation were to shorten articles, add more visual elements, write eye-catching headlines, and feature more articles on subjects of interest to the general public, including a greater focus on local news. Throughout his career, he was an advocate for greater media understanding of its audiences, and a critic of existing uses of market research in shaping media product. 
Among the newspapers that successfully implemented Schwartz’s suggestions were The Quad City Times of Davenport, Iowa and The Lake County Telegraph in Painesville, Ohio. Vernon Henry, executive editor of the Telegraph at that time, reported a 35% increase in circulation after working with Schwartz to adapt the new practices. Countering criticism from more traditional journalists who argued that Schwartz's approach was merely "hype", Henry maintained that the newspaper's newfound success was accomplished without the lowering of journalistic standards.
==Influence on E-Commerce==
Schwartz joined designer footwear retailer Steve Madden, Ltd. as vice president of business development in 1999, where he directed the web site and Internet operations of stevemadden.com. In his first year managing its online business, Madden’s web site increased sales by nearly 700 percent, earning $1.2 million in revenue in 1999.
In 2000 the company named Schwartz the president of its new subsidiary, Madden Direct, formed to market designer shoes, fashion accessories, and other designer apparel directly to customers through Internet and catalog sales. This set the stage for Steve Madden Ltd. to successfully enter the digital era of retail marketing.
==Personal Life==
In 2013 his late wife, Sharon, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease). In his 2023 book, Be Still and Know: Psalm 46 and the Stinkin’ Stuff of Life, Schwartz recounts their conversations over the months as she struggled with terminal illness. Sharon used her final days to impress on him that the lifelong lessons she had learned from applying Psalm 46 and faith in God to “the stinkin’ stuff of life” could also sustain him through grief and prepare him for a future without her.
==Publications==
* Graham, B. P., & Schwartz, S. H. (1983). Try the Case Approach in the Features Course. Journalism Educator, 38(1), 45–48.
* Schwartz, S. H. (1978). The Development and Application of a “Cognitive Map” to the Daily Newspaper Newsroom. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED165139.
*Schwartz, S. H. (1980). A General Psychographic Analysis of Newspaper Use and Life Style. Journalism Quarterly, 57(3), 392. https://doi.org/10.1177/107769908005700302
*Schwartz, S. H. (1978). Inner-Directed and Other-Directed Values of Professional Journalists. Journalism Quarterly, 55(4), 721.
*Schwartz, S. H., & Others, A. (1979). Life Style and the Daily Paper: A Psychographic Profile of Midwestern Readers. Newspaper Research Journal, 1(1), 9–18. https://doi.org/10.1177/073953297900100102
*Schwartz, S. H. (1981). Media Management Course Takes Marketing Approach. The Journalism Educator, 36(1), 30–33. https://doi.org/10.1177/107769588103600113.
*Schwartz, S. H., & Moore, R. L. (1979). Newspaper Research on the Rocks: An Argument for the Use of Q Methodology in Readership Studies. Operant Subjectivity, 2(4), 124–134.
*Schwartz, S. H. (1978). A Q-Study of the Value Structures and Professionalism of 35 Reporters, Editors, and Photographers from Five Daily Newspapers in New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. [Ph.D., Temple University]. https://www.proquest.com/docview/302882389/citation/D07ADE802C90495APQ/6
*Schwartz, S. H. (1978). Reflections on a Q dissertation and its opposition. Operant Subjectivity, 1(3), 78–94.
*Schwartz, S. H. (1976). Tomorrow’s Journalists: Control by Purposive Selection. Journalism Quarterly, 53(3), 538–540. https://doi.org/10.1177/107769907605300323.
Category:University of Connecticut alumni
Category:Fairfield University alumni
Category:Temple University alumni
Category:Author
Category:Professors