Being adventurous, curious, and seeking out new experiences and opportunities to help the community has served David W. Brown well.
Brown is an associate professor and the assistant dean for community and communication at the Klein College of Media and Communication at Temple University, and a keynote speaker at the 2024 ASJA conference Sept. 24-26.
The Philadelphia resident also advises Temple’s Black Public Relations Society student chapter, and is a frequent columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer and other local newspapers.
But those roles don’t begin to touch on the full scope of Brown’s career as a writer, communicator, and advocate. Nor do they explain why ASJA’s conference planners were thrilled when he accepted an invitation to speak at the upcoming virtual conference. Among Brown’s many other accomplishments:
- He’s owned or managed five advertising and public relations firms over a more than 30-year career. He has the distinction of being the only person to have served as both the president of PRSA’s Philadelphia chapter and the Philadelphia Advertising Club.
- He’s a published author and served as general manager for Pennsylvania’s only African American-owned talk radio station.
- He’s the managing director of CommonSoul Communication, a consultancy that works with mission-focused organizations.
- He serves as co-chair of Resolve Philly as it pursues its ongoing work around solution-based, community centered journalism.
- He’s led recent efforts to help the Inquirer pursue its goal of becoming a more anti-racist media institution.
- The Obama administration named him a “Champion of Change” for his communications work to empower nonprofits to make a difference in the communities they serve.
- Among his many awards and accolades, he’s the only living African American to be inducted into the Philadelphia Public Relations Association Hall of Fame.
In addition, Brown is an ordained deacon in the United Methodist Church and serves as a part-time member of the ministry staff at First United Methodist Church in Media, Pennsylvania.
Brown’s experience and varied career have helped him cultivate fresh perspectives on working as a professional writer and communicator in changing times, and about how current trends are affecting the media business. That makes him a good fit to address writers attending the ASJA 2024 conference, many of whom also wear multiple hats and frequently reposition their business to meet shifting market demand or follow a new passion.
In advance of his keynote address at the conference on Thursday, Sept. 26, we caught up with Brown to hear more media industry trends, what he’ll speak about at the conference, and more. His answers have been lightly edited for clarity.
What trends are affecting writers?
For me, the biggest threat – and opportunity – facing writers is the fear that artificial intelligence will replace the work that they do. I understand the threat, but I also see the opportunity for AI to enhance our craft in some really meaningful ways.
It can provide us with tools that we hadn’t had previously that can amplify our respective voices.
But it remains up to us as the humans to maintain our authenticity with the writing we do and the audiences seeking our work.
What’s an aspect of the craft or business of writing you feel writers should pay more attention to?
Writers need to develop a deeper and more diverse knowledge of subjects we care about. It’s very easy to fall into a pattern of predictability in the topics we tackle. It’s what has “sold” or has been published before and we often look to replicate that or add a little twist without straying too far from our comfortable core.
Venturing out – even if it’s not for a paid assignment – could provide us with fresh eyes and different perspectives in the work that defines our identities as writers.
What can writers expect to take away from your keynote?
I hope folks will take away from my keynote those lessons that have helped me to develop an adventurous spirit and curiosity that fuels the work I do. I also hope that I convey how I’ve developed a lens that has helped me determine what makes for a meaningful path to pursue, in my writing and in my life.
What’s one of your current favorite books or podcasts on writing, and why?
As a writer, I really don’t have one favorite book or podcast that I consume to help me with my writing. Instead, I read books and ingest content that tells powerful, compelling stories that influence me in a variety of different ways. They help increase my knowledge, inspire my work, or touch my soul – all of which makes me better able to make an impact in the writing I do.
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Hear more of Brown’s insights at the ASJA 2024 conference. The event takes place Sept. 24-26. ASJA’s signature client networking event, Client Connections 2024 – A Virtual Event!, takes place Sept. 26-27. Both are online and are open to members and nonmembers. Early bird registration runs through Sept. 3 and is $249 for members, and $299 for members. Find out more about the conference and register here.
ASJA is offering 12 scholarships to freelance writers and nonfiction book writers from historically underrepresented populations. Applications are due by Sept. 5 and recipients will be notified by Sept. 13. Apply for a scholarship here.