March For Our Lives (Part I): Brendan Duff on Its Founding, PR and Youth Activism

PR Future, the USC Center for Public Relations Podcast

On February 14, 2018, a gunman open-fired on Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in what became the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history. The tragedy gave birth to an influential movement, the student-led March for Our Lives, which transcended South Florida and sparked activism for gun control reform through national protests and school walkouts.

In this episode, March For Our Lives co-founder Brendan Duff recalls how the organization came together, and as the de facto media relations manager, how he used public relations tools early on to bring their messages to a global stage.

This discussion is part of our series reviewing the 2020 Global Communication Report on New Activism, which is available for free download at annenberg.usc.edu/gcr.

• Featuring: Brendan Duff (@Brendinid), Co-Founder of March For Our Lives and Elon University Strategic Communications Major
• Host: Fred Cook (@fredcook), Chairman of Golin, a global PR firm. Author of “Improvise - Unorthodox Career Advice from an Unlikely CEO” and Director of the USC Center for Public Relations
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• For more, visit our website: https://annenberg.usc.edu/research/center-public-relations

A production of the USC Annenberg Center for Public Relations at the University of Southern California.