Writing for Public Relations and Strategic Communication

William Thompson brought experience from an active national consulting career to his students during 23 years teaching public relations and communication theory at the University of Louisville. A former head of AEJMC's Public Relations division, he authored a previous PR writing textbook, Targeting the Message.Nicholas Browning (Ph.D., The University of Georgia) is an associate professor at The Media School at Indiana University, where he serves as the school's curriculum coordinator for the public relations major and teaches courses in the sequence. He also serves as associate editor for the Journal of Public Relations Research and is the co-founder director of IU's Strategic Communication Research Lab.

"This is one of the best strategic communication texts I have read. From the moment the authors clearly demonstrated the connection between communications and economic theory, I was sold. It is an excellent text for high-performing institutions. The theoretical backing is superb and the authors excel at demonstrating the relationship between theory and practice without confusion and in a tone that is interesting and easy to read while offering just the right amount of challenge in concepts to create relevant dialogue. … The organization makes excellent sense to me as a professor and practitioner who appreciates guided processes. ... I like the more academic tone that is set throughout the text. … I believe theory gets the short end of the stick in too many communications writing texts. Based up having attained my master's in communications management after a number of years in the professional world, I understand the value of the theory in helping students to understand the landscape of communications and the media. Why what we do works makes the how and what we do more meaningful. The theoretical aspects are deep and rich and help to create an understanding that most books don't cover."Kelly C. Gaggin, APR, Assistant Teaching Professor, Public Relations, Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University"I like the idea of not just getting students to write first, but to think first before writing. Most textbooks tend to have students just writing for the sake of diving into skills and tactics. Writing can't solve all problems and sometimes we shouldn't write for our audiences, but instead do something else. … Most important is Part I, 'Think First, Write Second,' in which the textbook shows how much prep goes on before the writing begins. That's a good niche for this textbook to fill, and it addresses the problems of writing for writing's sake, rather than for good reason for the right audience in the right way. … This textbook brings together the whole toolbox of strategic communication—with its research, planning, and strategies—and places this toolbox at the disposal of writers and content creators, so that they don't do writing in isolation from the toolbox. In addition to writing formats, this text includes terrific resources such as quizzes and assignments, which is helpful to any writing professor who will spend a bulk of their time in responding to assignments."Jacqueline Lambiase, Professor of Strategic Communication, Bob Schieffer College of Communication, Texas Christian University"I believe the idea behind the book is a good one. In my classes, I continually emphasize the process of first thinking strategically about the purpose of a communication, and only after that, putting together the actual content. The book does a good job of describing up front the relationship between initial strategic thinking and its eventual execution. … Their approach differs in a couple of ways, which are positive. First, there are a good many anecdotes and specific examples, which I believe greatly strengthen any book of this kind. Second, there is generally a breezy, conversational, informal tone to the wording, which generally works well with students. Third, the breakdown [at the beginning of each chapter] of 'What You Know' and 'What You'll Learn' and the summary of each chapter is a nice tool. … [This textbook] is an interesting, up-to-date discussion of the interplay between strategy, content, and tactics in PR and marketing communication."Russell Mack, Instructor of Strategic Communication, Bob Schieffer College of Communication, Texas Christian University"I very much like this approach, because it emphasizes that each piece of writing must have a defined purpose (goals and objectives) and must be developed in response to the organization's goals and objectives. … As students learn to use the thinking and planning principles to understand and think strategically beyond just creating some type of communication, their writing becomes sharper and more focused on the goals and objectives. They also find they can defend why they approached different situations as they did, which is essential to demonstrating the power of public relations."Barbara DeSanto, ARP, Fellow PRSA, Adjunct Associate Professor, A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communications, Kansas State University"Thompson and Browning's Writing for Public Relations and Strategic Communication provides a thorough introduction to the thinking and planning that's required prior to the penning of any PR product. Thompson and Browning leave no gaps—they begin with an application of the theoretical underpinnings of behavioral response, and offer a number of novel approaches for strategic communication. An excellent resource for anyone who wishes to fully explore the why behind prospective word choice in PR tools."Paul T.M. Hemenway, Professor of Communication, Department of Communication and Media, Lamar University"An overview of strategic communication writing on multiple platforms, from planning to assessment. … The authors clearly love their topic and are excited to share information with students. The approach is grounded in strategic and critical thinking, which is essential for student to understand professional and effective public relations. The writing level is appropriate for an introductory course and moves at a fairly effective pace. It would be easy to incorporate this text into just about any broad PR or strategic communications course."Erica Salkin, Associate Professor of Communication Studies, Whitworth University"This text emphasizes the importance and value of understanding target audiences, which is a positive; further, it gives time to the importance of research and data analysis on which communication content approaches are based. ... [T]his is a very comprehensive book that moves beyond just writing. It helps create an integrated picture about the role of writing in the larger practice of PR."Stephanie Smith, Associate Professor, School of Communication, Virginia Tech"Very thorough and well written textbook on writing for strategic communication. The text covers current topics every professional in this field deals with regularly and shares excellent personal examples and stories to emphasize important concepts."John J. Powers, School of Communications, Quinnipiac University"I personally like their concept of the 'receiver-centered writing process,' which is a new and interesting concept for me and makes total sense. I also like their integrated approach to traditional and social media communications."Donna Stein, Adjunct Professor of Public Relations, New School of Public Communications, Syracuse University"A practical writing text that incorporates theory in an easy to understand manner."Arien Rozelle, Assistant Professor of Public Relations, St. John Fisher College"This is an excellent introduction to contemporary theories of public relations and marketing."Vivian Wagner, Associate Professor of English, Muskingum University