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INDIANAPOLIS (April 2, 2025) -- IT’S A PR THING has made FeedSpot’s list of the top PR podcasts “on the planet" to follow in 2025, with the Indy-based show coming in at the 39th spot among more than 1,500 in the PR category around the globe.
FeedSpot ranks thousands of podcasts globally based on categories, relevance, and freshness of content. For the PR programs, FeedSpot recognized the top 70.
IT’S A PR THING's mantra is “we help you build relationships that build business” and focuses on what host Stephanie McFarland calls “building relationship capital”.
Sean Dolan, principal of Dolan Communications located in the New York City area, is a fan of the podcast.
“As a seasoned communications professional, I always learn something interesting, new, and actionable after listening to IT'S A PR THING,” said Dolan. “Stephanie is a great storyteller, demonstrating how building relationships in communications is an essential element to building a successful business. She gets you thinking in an engaging and friendly manner."
McFarland says the podcast aims to teach listeners based on a proven professional body of knowledge, "which defines modern PR as the central relationship-building function of an organization, rather than the early 1900s model of a publicity-generating function that primarily develops content and news releases."
Aryca Peay Woodson, a veteran PR professional and business-communication lecturer at Purdue University, is a regular listener of the podcast. She encourages other communication professionals to listen as well.
"I met Stephanie when I began my master’s in public-relations management in 2008, and she taught me nearly everything I know about public relations as a strategic management function," said Woodson. “Her insights are always timely, relevant, and exactly what the industry needs."
Episodes of IT’S A PR THING provide micro-learning in approximately 15-minute spots each week sharing practical advice on how businesses can effectively identify, build and maintain business relationships. The podcast also shares practices on how to define and assess stakeholder relationships via data and dialogue, develop strategy, measure impact of PR practices, and explore case studies.
While IT’S A PR THING’s largest listenership is in the United States, it has attracted listeners in places such as Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, China, India, Japan, Kenya, Luxembourg, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom.
As the show host, McFarland brings more than 30 years of PR experience to the program. Along with being president of Indianapolis-based McFarland PR & Public Affairs, Inc., she is the author of 151 Quick Ideas to Improve Your People Skills (Red Wheel Publishing). For several years, McFarland developed and taught graduate-PR curriculum at Indiana University (Indianapolis) as an adjunct, and worked for nearly 20 years in PR roles inside some of Indiana’s most prominent entities like Eli Lilly, Sallie Mae and the State of Indiana.
For a number of years, she also voluntarily taught prep courses for the Accreditation in Public Relations exam for the Public Relations Society of America, helping Hoosier PRSA chapter members have one of the highest exam pass rates in the nation at the time.
McFarland has a long list of experience and credentials, including her Accreditation in Public Relations through PRSA, a master of science degree in communication management from Syracuse University, and public-dispute resolution training through Harvard University. She is also trained in all-hazards communication management via the Federal Emergency Management Agency and in aircraft incident communication via the National Transportation Safety Board.
IT’S A PR THING is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music, Podbean, iHeart Radio, Podchaser and Listen Notes.
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