Warner Bros Discovery: Bringing the Media Industry Into the 21st Century Through Public

Relations
By: Miriam Handel

Warner Bros Discovery is perhaps the most widely recognizable global media and entertainment
company. With a diverse portfolio of media available worldwide, WBD is a company that thrives on
brand recognition and a strong reputation built on decades of work. Following the 2022 merger between
WarnerMedia and Discovery, the newly formed WBD has made strides in its public relations strategy.

According to the Public Relations Society of America, public relations is “a strategic communication
process that builds mutually bene cial relationships between organizations and their publics.” When
taking an objective look at the Warner Brothers Discovery public relations strategy and communication
e orts, I see strong examples of corporate communication and the results of a solid public relations
plan. While there are some weak spots in WBD’s consumer facing public relations strategy, they are an
example of how to create a eshed out PR plan that implements important key elements.

Issues Management
Warner Bros Discovery has a weak point when it comes to issues
management and crisis communications. As a major media
conglomerate with so many diverse brands and products, there a
large amount of problems that can com up. Currently, with the Screen
Actors Guild and Writers Guild of America1 on strike against the
studios, WBD is in a position of needing to manage a crisis and
navigate tricky waters to help their reputation.
Warner Bros Discovery CEO David Zaslav
giving a commencement speech at Boston
University. When looking at the WBD newsroom, there is almost no mention of
any of the issues or crises going on in the industry or even ones that
are speci c to WBD. A google news search about Warner Bros Issues brings up results about the
strikes, issues with actors in criminal cases, nancial and economic struggle, and controversy
surrounding the CEO, David Zaslav himself. For a topic as important for public relations as issues
management, WBD does not seem to have a handle on crisis communications or dealing with issues
such as these, which results in a decline in reputation among audiences and consumers.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Warner Bros Discovery puts a lot of focus onto their diversity, equity, and inclusion e orts. When looking
at their corporate website, there are endless resources and pages to look at about their DEI and
attempts to integrate that into their image. According to the DEI page, WBD aims to “amplify the voices
of global storytellers to re ect audiences around the world.”

Lisa Collins, the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion VP was appointed to her position in July 2023 in an
attempt to boost WBD’s DEI programs and work. Her hiring was the start of WBD’s new attempts to
bring DEI to the forefront of all WBD actions and management. Focusing on the 6 initiatives of their DEI

1 As of September 24, 2023 a tentative agreement has been made between the WGA and the AMPTP. SAG is yet to
reach a deal.
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 plan is a strong way to get across WBD’s core values, and to show how they plan to out their DEI into
action.

• Global DEI Data Gathering

• DEI Learning
• Business Resource Groups
• WBD Inclusive Storytelling Guide
• Pipeline Programs
• Business and Creative Councils

Corporate Philanthropy
Another highlight of Warner Bros Discovery is their corporate philanthropy. WBD’s expansive work in this
area is one of their strongest methods of reputation management and is a driving factor of their
perception to consumers.

When looking at Warner Bros Discovery’s corporate philanthropy page, they make a point to give a
plethora of information about their donation policies, matching grant programs for employees, and their
partner nonpro ts. Their corporate philanthropy policy ties into WBD’s DEI mission, with goals of
creating a culture of equity and inclusion through the workforce. WBD utilizes this corporate philanthropy
to help its reputation through mutually bene cial partnerships and initiatives. WBD uses PR strategies to
promote these philanthropic goals and e orts, and as a result they have a strong grasp on this element
of the company.

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Sources
https://variety.com/2023/ lm/news/warner-bros-discovery-lisa-collins-diversity-equity-and-
inclusion-1235679739/

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/warner-bros-discovery-lisa-
collins-1235544743/

https://apnews.com/article/hollywood-actors-strike-ca3e3eddc910f1e52d618e5e3c394554

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/08/long-term-damage-bob-iger-ted-sarandos-and-david-
zaslavs-bad-pr-summer

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/08/business/media/discovery-warner-media.html

https://wbd.com/dei/

Bio

Miriam Handel is a new public relations professional in Denton, Texas. Miriam

is studying Journalism with a concentration in public relations at the
University of North Texas and is expected to graduate with a bachelor’s
degree in May 202
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