Stories by T. Garland Stansell

As PR pros celebrate Ethics in Communication month, PRSA’s chair Garland Stansell urges communicators to redouble their effort to always do the right thing. Advocating for truth and responsibility is a key, if not the key, element of a communicator’s daily role, he writes.

Nobody enjoys having difficult conversations. Sometimes, as PR pros, we have difficult exchanges with those who pay our salary and can influence our career. Being direct, empathetic and solutions-oriented can help make such exchanges less difficult and, most important, help build trust and understanding.

In the latest article in this series with the Institute for PR, veteran communicator Geoff Curtis discusses how a three-day off-site helped change his life. 10 years later, he’s still applying the lessons he learned during the off-site as he continues on a journey toward self-awareness.

With so many companies deciding to stay with virtual work arrangements, what you used to budget for office costs/overhead now is available for other uses. How should communicators spend this new-found money? Our author, a veteran of remote work, has several ideas.

Many PR firms, media companies and advertising agencies have noticed the Department of Justice (DOJ) increasingly is targeting these sectors for enforcement under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). A trio of attorneys tells communicators what they need to know about this statute.

Do you know the history of PR? If so, you should be able to handle this quiz with ease. Be prepared to learn something (who the first Black woman to own a PR firm was, who is considered to be the “father of PR,” or which legendary PR pro helped conceive the celebration for the first Earth Day in New York).

There seems to be a new story everyday with TikTok, the popular video-sharing app that’s in a battle against the White House for survival. The most recent story is that new CEO Kevin Mayer is leaving after just four months. Still, TikTok is fighting back, deploying weapons that are familiar to PR pros. Can it win?

Today we celebrate the 100th anniversary of Women’s Equality Day, marking a century since women won the right to vote via the 19th Amendment. It’s prudent to temper the celebration and recognize that the vestiges of inequality persist. The author offers examples of how PR can attack current instances of inequality.

In this difficult moment, veteran communicator Marc Whitt offers a pep talk to fellow PR pros. He compares PR work to a craft and concludes that like a stonemason, the communicator’s reward is personal. It’s knowing that you’ve done your job well and that its benefits may last for years.

Should you defer media training owing to the pandemic’s restrictions on travel and social distancing? While it’s a bit trickier during COVID-19, and in-person coaching is best, technology workarounds exist, our author, a former TV journalist, argues.