Review
"Perhaps the chief virtue of the book centers on the fact that chapters seven through 20 cover many of the forms PR writing can take. With undergraduates, I like to have a single textbook from which I can teach. Assigning multiple books to a class does not work well with college sophomores and juniors. The breadth of this book allows me to teach from one text."
"I have looked over other texts and am not satisfied with them as alternates."
General organization of material: "The authors philosophy of PR writing, their evidence of practical and academic background/knowledge, plus, their writing style (they practice what they preach - - simple, straight forward writing). I am very satisfied with the text."
"The text also does a very nice job of including basic computer tools, such as grammar check and PowerPoint presentations."
"A good chapter on ethics. The portion of the chapter on refusing assignments or asking for reassignment is excellent. Students need to know that they do not have to do the organizations bidding if it involves unethical practices."
About the Author
Doug Newsom, a professor of journalism at Texas Christian University, is the senior coauthor of THIS IS PR AND PUBLIC RELATIONS WRITING, 8E. She also is the coauthor of three other books and the author of two more. She serves as a member of the Commission on Public Relations Education, is a former chair of PRSA's College of Fellows, and is a past chair of the Accrediting Committee for the Accrediting Council on Education for Journalism and Mass Communications. She has been president of the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, Southwest Education Council for Journalism and Mass Communication, Texas Public Relations Association, and the Dallas and Fort Worth chapters of PRSA. Dr. Newsom has been national faculty advisor to PRSSA. She has been head of the PR Division of AEJMC and served as chair of its former PR division heads. Awards include the Institute for Public Relations' Pathfinder, PRSA Outstanding Educator, Public Relations Foundation of Texas's Educator of the Year Award, Texas Public Relations Association's Golden Spur, and Association of Women in Communications Headliner. She has served Fulbrights in India and Singapore; presented workshops in South Africa, Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, and Vanuatu; and taught in Latvia and England. She has been chair of the Fulbright discipline committee, served 18 years on a gas research institute's advisory council, and was one of the first women elected to the board of a publicly held company where she served 24 years until reaching mandatory retirement age.
Jim Haynes is Director of Research, Senior Consultant and a member of the Board of Directors of QuickSilver Interactive Group, Inc. of Dallas, Texas. Accredited in Public Relations (APR) he is a member of Public Relations Society of America's College of Fellows and is a Certified Records Manager. He served on the Universal Accreditation Board, which is responsible for accreditation for PRSA and eight participating organizations. Former Assistant Dean in the College of Communication at The University of Texas at Austin (UT) he taught public relations at Texas State University-San Marcos, UT, Southern Methodist University and Texas Christian University. He also has spoken at professional conferences and led seminars and workshops throughout the USA, Canada, England and Norway. Co-founder of the Public Relations Foundation of Texas, he served as chairman of that organization as well as president of Texas Public Relations Association (TPRA) and the North Texas (now Dallas) Chapter of PRSA. He has received numerous national, state and local awards from public relations organizations, including lifetime membership in TPRA. Through his consultancy, Jim Haynes Consulting, he provides consulting services to clients that have included major corporations throughout the United States, as well as associations, municipalities, state agencies and non-profit organizations in the USA, Canada, Norway and Sweden. He worked with the Norwegian Institute of Journalism for 20 years, coordinating a two-week short course for Norwegian newspaper editors at The University of Texas at Austin.