Public Relations and Social Justice
This piece was a reflective writing assignment for the post grad Communications Management course, semester two, to meet the learning objectives for Global Citizenship and Equity
By Jillian Botting, Class of Fall 2023
Before applying to this program, I never would have considered that PR would have a role in advancing causes or righting wrongs. In all honesty, my view of PR began as one of naivety. I saw PR as people who just wrote what their CEO told them to, using possible flowery language in order to negate or minimize impact or nefarious intent.
I recognize that the media (like TV and movies) tend to not portray PR in the most authentic or kind light. I was pretty young when my dad showed me Aaron Sorkin’s “Sports Night”, a show showing the day to day in a sports news show. They had PR professionals in that. They were shown as liars, as people who would write anything in order to get their story out. I now know that to not be the case with PR, and as someone going into this profession, I will always strive to advance positive causes and right wrongs as a full agent of change.
I think PR professionals should understand the beliefs, values and behaviours that form different community identities. Both to create and continue positive, respectful relationships with one another, but also to understand how different communities communicate. As stakeholders and as a general audience, understanding how different groups view communication is incredibly important to the job.
Values are inherent to personal identity. They showcase a moral principle, or a code of ethics. Beliefs are created from these values and lead to different attitudes that can guide a person or a group of people (Macdonald 2021). A very common value in a community involves community membership (how they relate or are similar to the rest of the group) trust, equal respect and a shared purpose (Wray-Lake et al. 2014).
Taking this into account, you need to have that inherent respect towards your stakeholders, regardless of their positionality towards you, to communicate with them better. At the end of the day, community groups are trying to do what is best for their community, and as a PR professional, you need to understand that and meet them at their level in order to communicate with them effectively.
To relate this to the Ontario Government, a community ran protest group wants to protect the environmental stability of what was The Ontario Place? Great! Let’s see if there are some parts that we can protect in order to promote the environment. Communicate with them in the way they do: grassroots initiatives, posters, Town Hall meetings where their concerns can be heard.
I believe that we, as PR, should reflect values of equity and social/environmental justice. We are storytellers, the in between point of a corporation and the public. That balancing act of what is best for the public, and what is best for the business, should be as equal as possible. We don’t lie, and we don’t hide the truth. Especially in crisis or issues comms, there should be transparency.
I think an unjust practice is the “best for business” mentality. That mentality, more often than not, hurts everyone involved. Mass layoffs, Zoom firings, non-environment friendly practices, lack of appropriate maternity leave, all can be assigned to “best for business”. Money is the name of the game.
Obviously, I understand that PR professionals don’t make those decisions, but they can voice opinions on what can make these decisions hurt less. A good severance package, quality letters of reference, protecting the employees or the public, all can be done by a voice in the room representing those causes.
In the role I plan to play in PR, I want to make sure my communications align with my ethics and morals. I want to work for a company that believes in what I do. I want to be a strong enough communicator that I can help advance causes for positive societal change.
Communications help advance causes by enabling organizations to influence societal dialogue (Ayres 2023). I view this to mean that communication can help those who want to make change “have a seat at the table”. They can have their voices heard and understood, which is a goal of mine as I enter the PR field.
References
Macdonald, Linda. “Personal Values and Social Identity.” Business Communication: Creating
and Delivering Messages That Matter, Caul-CBUA Pressbooks, 2021, caul-cbua.pressbooks.pub/businesscommunication/chapter/personal-values-and-social-identity/. Accessed 4 Mar. 2024.
Whittall Ayres, Vanessa. “The Vital Role of Communications in Advancing Social Impact.”
LinkedIn, 25 Oct. 2023, www.linkedin.com/pulse/vital-role-communications-advancing-social-impact-whittall-ayres-qdepe/. Accessed 4 Mar. 2024.
Wray-Lake, L., Christens, B.D., Flanagan, C.A. (2014). Community Values. In: Michalos, A.C.
(eds) Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-0753-5_482
