MSU faculty member writes book on diversity in communication

In 2022, Mississippi State University Associate Professor Melody Fisher published a book to provide a discussion on marginalized groups in the field of public relations.

Fisher said she was concerned by the lack of diversity and representation that she saw in textbooks used in communication departments — particularly in chapters covering the history of the field. She intended for her book, “The Untold Power: Underrepresented Groups in Public Relations,” to be used as an introductory text for those interested in public relations. Her book is organized into three parts: past, present and future.

The idea for her book formed in 2018 after she presented research on the representation of ethnic minorities in textbooks.

Fisher's research showed that, in the previous 20 years, few advancements had been made in the areas of representation, diversity and equity for these texts.

Fisher spent the next three years conducting library research, speaking with practitioners of public relations and profiling scholars virtually during the COVID-19 pandemic. With her research, Fisher gathered the content necessary to write a book responding to the lack of diversity she saw in communication and public relations texts.

“The purpose of my book is to fill that void that those chapters or even books about the history of public relations leave,” Fisher said.