Some years ago, a young graduate student contributed to a book for educational public relations specialists. It was a “how-to-do-it book, light on theory and without footnotes” that offered hundreds of tips and “ideas.”
Like that successful and widely used book, published in 1972, The Public Relations Practitioner’s Playbook for (all) Strategic Communicators is how-to and hands-on. The theory it contains is woven into thousands of proven techniques, tips, tactics, tools and strategies spread over more than 600 pages. Explanations, examples and anecdotes are in a language that should appeal to experienced practitioners, college students and organization volunteers who assist with public relations and publicity. It won’t do the work for the would-be publicity or PR practitioner or strategic counselor, but it will make his or her job much easier.
The Public Relations Practitioner’s Playbook for (all) Strategic Communicators – an anatomy of the public relations profession – relies on my experience as a reporter, editor, public relations counselor, and strategic advisor and evaluator. It demonstrates that successful writers practice their craft with poise and eloquence. It is an extension of my classroom, which many students call, “Litwin’s laboratory for practical knowledge.” As former KYW Newsradio (Philadelphia) colleague Kim Glovas observed, “Larry’s voice is the voice of this book.”
Among those considered mentors – and contributors to this book – are Nick George, former managing editor at ABC Radio News, ABC sportscaster Howard Cosell, KYW Newsradio anchor Bill Bransome, print journalist extraordinaire Everett S. Landers and legendary broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow. They spent countless hours helping me hone my skills and encouraging me to be an open, honest, thorough and valid (relevant) communicator. In addition to the tangible tools, they stressed such attributes as knowledge, loyalty, judgment, trust, credibility, ethics and integrity.
The Public Relations Practitioner’s Playbook for (all) Strategic Communicators serves a basic and supplemental text in introduction to public relations and graduate PR overview courses. It offers a refreshing, down-to-earth approach to which many students are just not accustomed. Rowan University students have been suggesting, for more than three decades, that my lectures be put into print in one easily accessible volume. Many have been asking for a text/handbook containing what they refer to as a “potpourri of proven public relations techniques.” The companion CD Rom contains among its many tactics, three PowerPoints® that summarize the 17 chapters.
M. Larry Litwin, APR, Fellow PRSA
August 2013
