Running PR for Gangplank is the easiest job in the world. The events, the people, everything about Gangplank attracts interest and therefore my role is more passive than active.
But that doesn’t mean I don’t have a thing or two to learn about my new role.
When I was pursuing my masters degree at the Cronkite School, a common debate was whether we should be taught public relations or press relations. Doesn’t seem like a big difference to those outside the profession, but it is. Public relations is proactive. You pursue press, pitch ideas and create messaging. Press relations is the exact opposite – it is a reactive relationship. The press is pursuing you and you are trying to maintain messaging.
As you may be able to tell based on the title of this blog, I was trained in one and not the other.
Up to this point, I’ve been very hands-off with the press. I arrange interviews, make sure they’ve got the contacts they need and return to my to-do list for the day. While that approach is important to establish trust with the interviewer and interviewee, it can lead to false information, miscommunication or too much coverage for a single entity. As a PIO, it’s my job to wrangle, a trait I’m unfamiliar with. I need to direct press to the subjects of interest, as opposed to letting them determine what is interesting. Messaging needs to be consistent.
In other words, I need to be proactively reactive – both PR master and PIO goddess. Oh boy.
I think you’re a great PIO.
I agree with keeping tabs on the press. You’ve been doing a great job. Keep up the great work!
you get a lot of shit for being a media darling, but you’re doing a hell of a job.