ABSTRACT
We argue throughout this book that to be communication professionals, you need to know how to evaluate information and find the right research, as well as how to interact, learn from and communicate with and understand other people-many of whom may have different beliefs, opinions, life experiences and attitudes than you may have. In
journalism, we rely on sources, readers, advertisers and news audiences. In public relations, we have many publics (i.e., consumers, employees, regulators, journalists, politicians, etc.). And advertisers and marketers have target audiences (i.e., soccer moms between 25 and 44 who work outside the home). Across all our professions, we create messages for specific audiences. We’re only in our jobs if people feel that what we produce is useful, valuable or entertaining. While we can teach a class of 8th or 10th graders to use Photoshop® or code HTML, a majority probably aren’t at the sophistication level or have the maturity to fully understand the concepts that we will discuss here. It is the ability to think critically, process information and understand how best to communicate with others that will set you apart. You produce something great by generating story ideas and campaign strategies that resonate with the lived experiences of your audiences.
