This op-ed was written for my senior capstone class. I’m shocked my teeth aren’t stained red from all the blood I’ve shed biting my tongue. Hell, I’m shocked I even have a tongue - they’ve spent so long trying to convince me otherwise. Them being anyone who benefits from our current hegemonic structure; white people, straight people, men, etc. Me being you, being any minority that has ever sat silent and watched injustice play out. But I, as a PR professional, should not be silent. My work is a position of power. PR shapes the media, which in turn shapes culture. In theory, working as a PR professional should amplify my voice and all other minorities in the field. So, why doesn’t it?
The news doesn’t want to hear us This choking began in the Ragan administration with the repeal of the fairness doctrine. This doctrine required broadcasters to devote some of their airtime to discussing controversial matters of public interest, and to air contrasting views regarding those matters. The FCC enforced this as a measure to ensure that the public was exposed to a diversity of opinions. This meant that PR professionals could send out pitches and news releases with a variety of stances and have an equal chance of the story being picked up. In 1987, the doctrine was abolished because it restricted journalistic freedom of broadcasters and therefore negated the first amendment. Conservatives preached the idea of conservative victimization, claiming that the fairness doctrine was used to silence their ideas. The biggest advocative of this perspective was Carl McIntire, known (unsurprisingly) for his anti-semitic and racist views. I fail to see how advocating for equality silences anyone. By requiring broadcasters to air both sides of a controversy, the public was forced to think critically and form their own opinions. This was media as it was intended, serving the greater good and encouraging public discourse. The victimization conservatives claimed was not a loss of power, but an increase in equity. When power is based on the suppression of others, it’s easy to mistake the two. Since the abolition of the fairness doctrine, the media has fallen victim to confirmation bias. There was an almost immediate monopolization of media that pushed out people of color. Now, people only consume media that agrees with them. PR professionals are forced to angle stories to have a bias for the medium they are pitched to. Consumers are not forced to consider other points of view and thus lack the ability to empathize. Worse yet, people have begun to dismiss all other perspectives as ‘fake news.’ If you receive news from one source you will only ever receive half the story, because the source is only receiving half the pitches. The viewer will never consider another opinion because they will never encounter another one. We have become a dumber society because we are no longer asked to think. Now that alternative points of view are blocked from the media, it becomes harder to start important conversations. Athletes are kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality yet some consider this an offense to the military. It’s not their fault they don’t know better, they haven’t been taught better. It’s not how companies make money No one wants to tell the other half of the story. I sit in class and listen to a professor claim Bruno Mars brought funk back and I say nothing. The words accusing him of cultural appropriation are trapped in my throat and the professor keeps talking. Instead of educating the room on my experiences, I sit afraid of becoming that girl, the girl who disagrees with everything and never shuts up. I’m afraid that if I talk, I’ll only cough up blood. This is a result of decades of oppression. Minorities have been silenced for so long that we now feel guilty when we want to speak. This blood is also a metaphor for why the media fails to challenge societal ideas: it’s ugly. To show both sides risks being wrong, alienating a consumer, or just making those that are comfortable with the status quo (read: those with wealth and power) uncomfortable. Questioning social norms is a risky move, and when a company is acting with profits in mind, they will never take it. How can society turn up the volume on minority voices Minority voices will never be heard if we are always screaming in white spaces. The ethnic makeup of the PR industry in the U.S. is 87.9% white, 8.3% African American, 2.6% Asian American, and 5.7% Hispanic American. By maintaining a homogenized environment, media agencies could only ever share one perspective. This leads to the perpetuation of stereotypes that enables systems of inequality. In order to share diverse perspectives, diverse people must be in the decision-making process. To improve diversity in this field, minorities in the industry need to work together. I was in PRSSA for three years before I learned about the National Black Public Relations Society. That is embarrassing. Organizations that allow minorities to help each other need to be openly promoted to increase their reach. Agencies and in house teams should promote such organizations to their employees as part of their career development programs. Moreover, companies need to change their hiring process. When applying for jobs, I always hear, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Minorities have been systematically isolated and thus lack the connections needed to get hired. Companies need to expand their job promotions to include minorities who would not be otherwise considered. This could be promoting at HBCUs or participating in career readiness programs in minority populated communities. There is blood running down my shirt and it’s time the world notices. It’s time minorities work together and demand our voices be heard.
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This was made for a pitch to Lipton in my campaigns class.
In September, I began freelance writing on medium. I research, write, and edit daily with the intent of publishing as often as possible. My content spans a vast array of topics, from self-improvement to cultural assimilation.I ghost wrote blog posts about Marketing Madness, an annual marketing event held in March.I ghost wrote this blog post to display Walker Sands' great culture and accomplishments.I wrote the copy and designed the website for the 2019 PRSSA regional conference.
I redesigned this page, researched topics and wrote blog posts. |
AboutSome of these are examples of school work, others are examples of work I've done at past internships. Archives |