| Strategic Planning for Public Relations offers college and university students a new way to deepen their understanding of public relations and other kinds of strategic communication. It is intended for people serious about entering a profession that is rapidly changing, shedding a past that often involved merely performing tasks managed by others and taking on a newer, more mature role in the management of organizations.
This book provides an in-depth approach to public relations planning, more comprehensive than can be found anywhere else. It is built on a step-by-step unfolding of the planning process most often used in public relations, with explanations, examples and exercises that combine to guide students toward a contemporary understanding of the profession.
The approach used in Strategic Planning for Public Relations is rooted in the author's belief and observation that students learn best through a three-fold pattern of being exposed to an idea, seeing it in use, and then applying it themselves. This is the rhythm of this book—its cadence, if you will. This is the design that takes a complex problem-solving and decision-making process and turns it into a series of easy-tofollow steps.
This second edition of Strategic Planning for Public Relations follows the same format as the first edition. It updates examples and incorporates recent research. It also adds a few new sections, particularly a section on stereotyping in Step 3 and a section on statistics in Step 6.
About the Author
Ronald D. Smith, APR, is a professor of public communication at Buffalo State College, the largest college within the State University of New York. He teaches public relations planning, writing and related courses to undergraduate and graduate students, and he currently serves as chair of the 500-student communication department. As time permits, he also is active as a consultant in public relations and strategic communication, assisting businesses and nonprofit organizations with planning, research, communication management and media training.
In this book, Smith draws on considerable professional experience. In addition to 14 years as an educator, he worked for 10 years as a public relations director and eight years as a newspaper reporter and editor. He also has been a navy journalist.
Smith holds a bachelor's degree in English education from Lock Haven State College and a master's degree in public relations from Syracuse University. He has presented numerous workshops and seminars and has published research on public relations and persuasive communication. He also is the author of Becoming a Public Relations Writer (2nd edition, 2003) and co-author of MediaWriting (2nd edition, 2004), both with Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Smith is an accredited member of the Public Relations Society of America and has served as president of PRSA's Buffalo/Niagara chapter and chair of PRSA's Northeast District. He has been named "Practitioner of the Year" by the Buffalo chapter, which has given him several other awards and citations. |
