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Sage College DEI - Answering the Call for Inclusivity

From the Editor's Desk page

Answering the Call for Inclusivity

The Creation of a Video Program that Reflects the Public Relations Field*

By Sam Held, Content Development Editor
July 2023

image of a video interview

With Sage’s two introductory public relations textbooks—Karen Freberg’s Discovering Public Relations and Janis Teruggi Page and Lawrence J. Parnell’s Introduction to Public Relations—moving into new digital editions, the time was ripe to enhance our video offerings for this course. The subject matter for these videos was a no-brainer: Interview-style, day-in-the-life videos with public relations professionals who could speak to real-world challenges and opportunities, as well as the highs and lows of working in this exciting field.

For career-driven PR students, few things are more valuable and instructive than practical advice and applied approaches. Instructors told us that they wanted resources to help these topics “come alive.” With the field of PR becoming increasingly diverse in terms of audiences, brands, and practitioners—not to mention industry specialties and job responsibilities—our video program needed to cover a lot of ground to speak to students of varied backgrounds and interests. 

Our efforts began with the stars of the program: The interviewees. After mining our authors’ professional networks for a list of contacts who might be game to take the time to chat with us, we narrowed down our interviewees to four PR professionals who would, together, showcase diversity on a number of fronts.

In terms of demographics, we engaged an equal number of men and women; black people and white people; those earlier in their careers and those who are more seasoned. The group represented freelancers, entrepreneurs, and agency employees, with experience across corporate, political, nonprofit, sports, crisis, and LGBTQ-focused PR. Our goal in collaborating with these four professionals is for students to see themselves belonging in the PR field, bringing their own unique backgrounds and interests to a range of professional opportunities and settings.

Recruiting these accomplished professionals with such varied experiences yielded wonderful stories and advice when it came time to sit down with them for our interviews. Yes, students will learn about the nitty-gritty, day-to-day details of using research methods in public relations, writing for different audiences, and applying best practices when it comes to branding and relationship management. But they’ll also benefit from the type of advice that’s better delivered via a mentor than via a textbook.  

Some examples of important topics covered include the following:

•    Challenges and gratification that come from finding your place as a woman in the male-dominated sports industry.
•    Tough conversations that need to happen regarding employee sexual harassment.
•    The importance of including people of all races at the decision-making table.
•    The critical role that people’s lived experiences play in communicating effectively to insider and outsider audiences.
•    Important ways that young people and people new to the industry can advocate for changes that will make it more inclusive.

The key takeaway from our experience with this video program is valuable in the PR field, too: Taking care to recruit and involve a wide range of people in your efforts will enhance your product and benefit all audiences and stakeholders involved.

*Published 07/23. © 2023 Sage Publishing. All rights reserved. All other brand and product names are the property of their respective owners.