Danny Blanton. Photo by Robert Jordan/Ole Miss Communications
OXFORD, Miss. – With more than 24 years of experience in military, corporate, political and nonprofit sector public relations, Danny N. Blanton has returned to the University of Mississippi as his alma mater’s director of media and public relations.
“Ole Miss has been a part of my life for the past 30 years,” said Blanton, a Clarksdale native who joined the university’s staff Aug. 6. “I’ve been fortunate enough to have been mentored by outstanding university faculty and staff, who played a major role in my becoming who and what I am today. To come back and be part of telling the great stories here was a chance too good to pass up.”
Tom Eppes, UM’s chief communications officer, said Blanton’s extensive experience working in national and international communications gives Ole Miss valuable expertise in delivering the university’s leadership message to a broad audience.
“We have much to share about this university’s extraordinary programs, which are oftentimes ranked among the very best in the nation,” Eppes said. “Danny adds significant skills to the team that will tell that story of academic excellence.”Blanton’s objectives include providing strategic direction in crisis communications, internal communications, target audience analysis and message management. His career path literally spans the globe and encompasses a wide spectrum of both military and civilian work experiences. Most recently, he was NATO’s public affairs adviser to the Afghan Ministry of Defense. Embedded in Afghanistan, he trained, advised and worked to develop and publish long-term strategic communications plans, event-specific public affairs goals and written Standard Operating Procedures and policies regarding communications efforts, media relations, community relations and humanitarian aid.
His other military experiences include serving as information operations officer for the 155th Brigade Combat Team in Iraq and with the 102nd Public Affairs Detachment in Bosnia. He was also an officer in the 155th Infantry Battalion during Operation Desert Storm and spent eight years as public affairs officer for the Mississippi Military Department.
Maj. Gen. Augustus L. Collins, adjutant general of the Mississippi National Guard, remembers working closely with Blanton as his effects coordinator in Iraq. He credits Blanton with improving the perceptions the Iraqi people had of U.S. soldiers.
“Not only did he manage my public interviews and any written press we produced, but he also played a part in planning kinetic engagements,” Collins said. “The job Danny had was very important, and he was outstanding. By his efforts, we were able to get two TV stations up and running and at least two newspapers printing balanced press. The effects of this were positive and allowed us to achieve marked success during our time in theater. ”
Blanton’s corporate experience includes serving as nuclear communications manager for Entergy Corp. A former communications director for U.S. Sen. Trent Lott (R.-Miss.), Blanton has had extensive journalism/advertising experience with several Mississippi newspapers, including the Kosciusko Star-Herald, Brookhaven Daily Leader and Aberdeen Examiner.
“These professional experiences have given me a strategic approach to fulfilling my responsibilities wherever I have worked,” Blanton said. “The university is a great organization with great stories to tell at every level. We must learn to understand who the audience for our messages is and how best to reach them with those messages.”
Crossing barriers and building understanding are two areas in which Blanton has proven leadership ability.
“Having had to work closely with Iraqi media and the Afghan government, I had the opportunity to be submerged in different cultures and learn about what makes people the way they are,” he said. “Necessity has required me to look at things in a larger context. It has significantly broadened my horizons.”
At a time when democracy was emerging in Iraq, Blanton said the media there had to go from being government-controlled to being strong and independent.
“They needed to learn the business of journalism, so I began meeting with them,” he said. “In addition to discussing technical and tactical aspects of the job, we talked about how the media serves as a bridge between the government and its people. This not only helped the Iraqi media and the government, but also the Iraqi people.”
Will H. Norton, dean and professor of journalism in UM’s Meek School of Journalism and New Media, was a mentor of Blanton’s when he was just an eager aspiring journalism student.
“When Danny was a student at Ole Miss, he was doing the kinds of things he’s doing now in terms of integrated and corporate marketing,” Norton said. “He’s done very well wherever he has gone, so for him to return here is a catch for the university.”
Blanton’s wife, Caron, communications director for the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning, said she is thrilled that her husband has joined the university staff.
“Danny has a wealth of experience in strategic communications and has worked with local, national and international media, but his love for his alma mater and desire to see the university reach even greater heights of achievement will fuel every aspect of his work,” Caron Blanton said. “He has a great sense of humor and a lot of energy, so I look forward to working with him and adding a new dimension to our partnership.”
“My wife has been my greatest mentor, supporter and friend,” Danny Blanton said. “She has always supported me and my vision for improving the world, even if it meant living apart from her halfway around the world for months at a stretch.”