1. Public Relations and Philanthropy: An Autoethnography
Tommy Morgan, Dr. Lisa Baker-Webster
School of Communication, Radford University, Radford, Virginia 24142
Introduction
The partnership between Phi Sigma Pi and Project
Discovery began in April 2015. At this time, I began a series
of observations to see if public relations tactics and
communication could have a positive impact on the
success of the philanthropic endeavor.
Working with the two organizations, I immediately saw a
difference in the socioeconomic levels between the
members of each of the organizations. The predominantly
Caucasian, middle-class members of Phi Sigma Pi and
predominantly African American, poverty-stricken members
of Project Discovery worked together without any issues.
I also witnessed members of Phi Sigma Pi teaching the
Project Discovery members how to utilize public relations
tactics to promote the partnership at our fundraising event.
Many of the members were not versed in communication,
which supports the Narrative Paradigm of communication
by inferring that communication is vital in every discipline.
Research Methods and Theory
Observations Conclusion
Results References
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Autoethnography is an approach to research and
writing that seeks to describe and systematically analyze
personal experience in order to understand cultural
experience (Ellis, Adams, & Bochner, 2010). A researcher
uses theories of autobiography and ethnography to
complete an autoethnography. This method is both a
process and a product that challenges established ways
of doing research.
This autoethnography is a reflexive ethnography and
is a result of doing fieldwork between two organizations,
Phi Sigma Pi and its philanthropy organization, Project
Discovery. I served as the coordinator between the two
organizations to set up the partnership. As the
coordinator, I utilized public relations strategies and
tactics to make the partnership successful. By studying
the work done between the two organizations, along with
analyzing communication theory, my autoethnography
was born.
Clair, R. P., Carlo, S., Lam, C., Nussman, J., Phillips, C.,
Sánchez, V., & ... Yakova, L. (2014). Narrative Theory and
Criticism: An Overview Toward Clusters and Empathy.
Review Of Communication, 14(1), 1-18.
doi:10.1080/15358593.2014.925960
Ellis, Carolyn; Adams, Tony E. & Bochner, Arthur P. (2010).
Autoethnography: An Overview [40 paragraphs]. Forum
Qualitative Sozialforschung / Forum: Qualitative Social
Research, 12(1), Art. 10, http://nbn-
resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs1101108.
Reflexive Ethnography
Reflexive ethnographies document ways a researcher
changes and learns as a result of doing fieldwork. These
exist on a continuum ranging from starting research using
the researcher’s biography, to studying the
ethnographer’s life alongside the cultural members’ lives.
They may also include ethnographic memoirs where the
ethnographer’s real-life endeavors become the focus of
the research (Ellis, Adams, & Bochner, 2010).
Narrative Paradigm of Communication
Published in the 1985 edition of the Journal of
Communication, Walter Fisher proposed that “narration
could be considered the foundation of human
communication” (Clair, et al., 2014).
Public relations and communication tactics had a positive
impact on the partnership during my time of observation.
The use of Facebook expanded our reach into the
Radford University campus, the New River Valley,
Roanoke Valley, and surrounding locations. We achieved
a reach of 662 people within that geographic area for our
fundraising event This expanded the Project Discovery
reach into the target demographic of people ages 18-25.
The use of word of mouth (WOM) raised awareness to the
attendees of the fundraising event at Radford University
for each of the organizations. WOM also served as a tool
for members of each organization to learn how to utilize
public relations tactics to further the mission of the
philanthropic partnership.
The use of the Narrative Paradigm communication theory
and public relations tactics improved the philanthropy
efforts between Phi Sigma Pi and Project Discovery. The
amount of people who donated at the fundraising event
increased, as well as, awareness for the partnership
increased.
My position as an ethnographer allowed me to witness a
partnership between two organizations comprised of
varying socioeconomic classes. These organizations
were able to learn and utilize public relations tactics to
have a positive impact on the philanthropic effort. I
learned that varying socioeconomic classes may not
affect public relations.
Overall, my experience working with these two
organizations allowed me to prove that public relations is
a vital asset to a philanthropic effort. Without public
relations, any charitable or philanthropic event would be
much less successful. Also, without communication, any
discipline would struggle to succeed.