New book showcases Page Center research on narratives in public communication
June 22, 2023 • Jonathan McVerry
The Page Center’s call for research on narratives fittingly has a unique story. Launched a year before the COVID-19 pandemic stalled everything, the call’s senior research fellows and scholars persevered to publish the first book on narratives research in public and corporate communication. The book will be available in July.
Research shows that storytelling done well can be more effective at gaining an audience’s attention than facts or statistics alone. It’s important that this area is examined so practitioners can use narratives in an effective and ethical way. Senior research fellows Fuyuan Shen and Heidi Hatfield Edwards recognized this need, which inspired the 2019 call.
The result is “Narratives in Public Communication,” a special volume of research published by Routledge that explores narratives and storytelling in corporate, health, political, science and other forms of communications.
“We have book chapters written by a diverse group of scholars from all over the world,” said Shen, professor of advertising/public relations at Penn State. “These scholars conducted research on various topics, including chapters on social movement, corporate communication, and political advertising, which are topics you don’t see in other venues.”
Edwards, professor of communication at Florida Institute of Technology, said the book “illustrates the impact of narrative communication in so many aspects of life.” That is why addressing the topics from many perspectives and research angles is important.
“Narratives are powerful forms of communication,” Edwards said. “Our stories express cultural values and shape how we think about the world.”
She added that interest is not limited to communicators, and that individuals in other disciplines and professions can read this book to learn about engaging the public and helping audiences understand complex ideas.
The Page Center announced the call for proposals in 2018. Studies were selected in April of 2019 with the expectation that the projects would be completed by the summer of 2020. That deadline was, of course, hindered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It was a challenge, because it took longer than planned and everyone was juggling so many things over that time” Shen said. “We're excited that we were able to complete the book despite the pandemic. The scholars worked hard to make that happen.”
Edwards also credited the book’s success to the scholars’ resilience and willingness to adapt to the situation. And, despite the ups and downs of the process, she is grateful the story has a happy ending.
“The scholars started their narrative research in a pre-pandemic world, and followed their own hero’s journey,” she said. “They overcame obstacles to find their way to completing their story arcs within these chapters.”
The narratives call and the compilation of research are a part of the Page Center’s Page/Johnson Legacy Scholar grant program. The annual grants represent the core mission of the Center, which is to enhance and promote ethics and responsibility in all forms of public communication. Since 2004, the Center has funded more than 350 scholars with more than $1 million in research funding.