Communications Professor Daniel Stout is retiring after teaching for five years at BYU-Hawaii. Stout has previously held academic and professional positions at BYU in Provo and the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Students at BYUH described Stout as an easy-going yet knowledgeable professor.
Commenting on his retirement, Stout said, “I’ll be going to a small town called Anderson in South Carolina. By the house, we’ve built a small office space in the woods so I can escape and write there.” In his retirement, he will focus on his journal, “Media and Religion.”
Despite his easy going attitude, Stout instilled the importance of communicating in class with his students. One of his students, Gertie Bulaong, a senior from the Philippines studying communications and humanities, said Stout taught her to be an active learner, encouraged discussions, and opinion sharing.
She said, “To this day, I strive to learn something in even the smallest conversations because Stout taught me that it’s important to listen, pay attention, and contribute to any kind of communication.”
Deedra Ramachandram, a junior from Malaysia studying graphic design, said she loved Stout’s enthusiasm and passion when he taught. She said his approach was easy and made it interesting to learn. “He taught by having us interact more in class, speak up more, and share experiences instead of always jotting down notes…” Ramachandram said she feels it’s more effective to learn from those around her because everyone has different experiences people can learn from.
Stout is known for having a relaxed atmosphere in class. Bulaong said, “He has a very laid-back approach to teaching.” Ramachandram said Stout loved Aloha Fridays and bringing food to class.
Stout grew up in New Jersey being close to media centers like New York City and Washington, D.C. As a child, Stout said he was raised watching films and television with his family. He said, “My parents were also avid readers and they inculcated in me a love of reading. I kind of filled my time with media and along the line I thought I would eventually work for a T.V. station or something.”
Stout earned a degree in communications at BYU in Provo that led to a master’s degree in journalism and mass communications from the University of Georgia. He ultimately earned his doctorate at Rutgers University.
While at Rutgers, he was asked what kind of rules members of the church follow in regards to media. This question led him to write his doctoral dissertation “Resolving Conflicts of Worldviews: Mormons and Television Viewing.” In the dissertation, he gathered information on three groups of active members. Two groups had either relaxed or strict rules in regards to television viewing, while the third group had conflicting ideas about which rules to follow.
His interests in media led him to create a journal called “Media and Religion.” Beginning back in 2002, the journal publishes monthly articles about the relationship between media and religious groups. Stout said, “We studied groups like Muslims, Jews, and Buddhists, and see what they teach about media and how they use it. We encourage serious study of this topic in the journal and how religion is portrayed in media and the news. ”
Sharing his love of films, Stout revealed he binge watches shows with his family. With his communications and media background, he talked about the merging of media and the internet. He said, “Now you get shows with 90 episodes, and I think it’s a wonderful audience experience. Being able to immerse oneself in story and study the characters. Media keeps changing like that.”
Writer: Bruno Maynez