Institute for Public Relations
IPR is featuring some of the many Hispanic pioneers who positively influenced public relations in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.

Emma Tenayuca was a Mexican-American labor organizer and civil rights activist. Tenayuca was born into a large Catholic family in San Antonio on Dec. 21, 1916. 

In high school, Tenayuca decided to join a strike of female workers at the H.W. Finck Cigar Company. She watched the police beat up striking workers before she was arrested herself. After high school, she organized a coalition called the Workers Alliance and led protests for issues that particularly affected Mexican Americans. Tenayuca is best known for leading a labor strike against pecan shelling companies who were paying desperate workers just pennies for dirty, difficult work in 1938. It was the largest strike in San Antonio's history. Tenayuca continued her political activism into the 1940s.

Later in life, Tenayuca became a teacher. She was inducted into the San Antonio Women’s Hall of Fame in 1991 and died in 1999.
Michael Ziviani & Forrest Anderson, IPR Measurement Commission
This blog is provided by the IPR Measurement Commission.

Considering the impact of COVID-19 on communication, now is a good time to examine past research regarding the best practices of 20 leading international chief communications officers (CCOs) and revisit these findings in the context of the "new COVID-19 normal.” 

COVID-19’s impact on business has been well documented. One of the most significant outcomes we’ve seen is a more agile management style to deal with changing national and international market conditions. That new management style fits the study findings; it implies that internal alignment and cohesive planning are now fundamental to external agility.

We believe research and evaluation programs of an organization’s markets can and should play a significant role in supporting such a new approach. Public health communication during COVID-19 presents a case for the importance of agility in a fast-changing communication landscape. Vaccination debates have raged in the media, requiring communicators to address issues immediately and reframe them in the context of their organization or client’s specific position. There is a valuable role here for market research to align with communication evaluation.
Juan Meng, Ph.D. & Jeonghyun Janice Lee, University of Georgia
This blog is provided by the IPR Digital Media Research Center.

Digital acumen is essential for communication management in today’s technology-driven communication environment. However, not every communication professional is well equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in managing the digital aspects of their daily practice.

Although digital acumen is crucial for success in today's communication environment, research conducted by The Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations showed that data competency is one of the weakest key competencies for communicators. Findings show that 40% of those studied lack data competency.

How can we close the gaps in data competencies? In a recent study, we explored the integrated roles between technology and communication. By setting the study in the broader background of the fourth industrial revolution, or so-called "Industry 4.0," we investigate the skills and knowledge needed by communication professionals to develop digital competencies.
Violeta Díaz, Ph.D., Denada Ibrushi, Ph. D., & Jialin Zhao, Ph.D., St. Mary's University
Dr. Díaz and colleagues examined how Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) ratings impact investment and market performance.

Researchers used data from ESG research firm Sustainalytics to gather companies' percentile rankings for ESG practices.

Key findings include:
  • The COVID-19 pandemic moved ESG investing strategies into the spotlight.
  • Firms with high ESG scores outperformed the S&P 500 index.
  • Firms with low ESG scores underperformed the S&P 500 during COVID-19.
  • The social and environmental components of ESG made the most impact on the success of ESG programs overall.


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