2021 PRSA Tampa Bay Professional Development Day: DEI & Crisis Communications
Posted on Sep. 9, 2021 / Diversity & Inclusion / Subscribe 0
Day Two Recap by Meghan Christopher, University of Tampa PRSSA President
The second day of the 2021 PRSA Tampa Bay Professional Development Day consisted of two sessions. In the firs, Danielle Bayard Jackson, founder of TELL Public Relations, and Tracy Lynn Freedman, APR+M, discussed the importance of understanding that diversity is more than a buzzword in the session “Shaping the Narrative: The Communicator’s Role in DEI.”
Regardless of working on the agency side of public relations like Danielle or working in-house communications like Tracy, both said that all public relations professionals are responsible for promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in every story they share. The speakers emphasized that language is always changing and words have different connotations now. It is imperative to be “plugged-in” to the latest discussions surrounding certain words and connotations . Public relations professionals also need to consider that while the world is constantly evolving, the audience for each media outlet is evolving and changing as well.
Danielle and Tracy provided the following resources to help professionals stay in the know regarding all things DEI.
- PRSA 2021 D&I Toolkit includes things like conscious style guides and sample D&I statements, https://www.prsa.org/about/diversity-inclusion (in English and Spanish)
- Diverse Dialogues series—https://www.prsa.org/diverse-dialogues
- Observe Diversity & Inclusion Month in October and celebrate #PRDiversity with the PRSA National Diversity & Inclusion Committee. Connect with @PRSADiversity to join the conversation.
- PRSA Tampa Bay is hosting a program on Oct. 6 called "Let's Be Civil" about the concept of professional civility and inclusion society of human resource management.
In the final session of the day, Lisa M. Wolf-Chason from the Port of Tampa Bay, Stephanie Rodriguez from Visit Tampa Bay, and Sandra Morrison from Zoo Tampa at Lowry Park discussed the challenges and lessons learned during the pandemic in the final session, “Adapting to the “New Normal” of Crisis Communication During COVID-19.”
The entire cruise industry shut down, tourism in Florida came to a halt, and zoos were closed due to the the COVID-19 pandemic. The speakers were forced to adapt to new ways of working as public relations professionals during this time of crisis. Each speaker discussed the importance of communicating not only with the external community but also with the employees. Lisa, Stephanie, and Sandra used billboards, newsletters, hotlines, social media, and many more tactics to maintain constant communication with the community and internal staff.
The duration of the COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized that the absence of new information during an ongoing crisis could produce a sense of panic among members of the community. Public relations professionals should try to provide updates and a constant flow of information regarding a crisis in order to reduce anxiety. Each speaker stressed the need for frequent mental health checks when dealing with a crisis. It can be challenging to help an organization get through a problem if the public relations professionals are experiencing burnout.
The 2021 PRSA Tampa Bay Professional Development Day gave professionals from various organizations the opportunity to shed light on topics that are pertinent to the evolving world of public relations
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