The ability to work well with other people. Certainly writing. So many people want to be in public relations and like working with people, but they don't know how to write a news release. That seem like a simple enough thing to do, but they really need to know how to do it. Good media contact is also important. You can tell them something over the phone, and they know you and believe you. It is also necessary to be able to plan and to follow through on your planning. At the same time you must be flexible to handle the day-to-day things that you don' expect, and there a lot of those. Every time the phone rings I think "What is it now?"
There's something peculiar that goes on in public relations. Say you have people who are good copywriters but are not necessarily good public relations people. You have good people who can put together to staff newspaper for you, but who are not good at walking out and answering questions in front of the TV camera. So, there's a point where if they want to be successful, they need to combine both of those skills. They must have the ability to write as well as to speak in a relaxed and confident manner.
There are all kinds of media relations that come into the process. You know every single person in the city, and you know every single person who ever receives your news release on an intimate basis. So you back up your release with personal contact, constant lunches, and wining and dining. There's a whole lot of human relations in there. You also make sure that if someone leaves, you know it, so that you're not sending releases to someone who isn't there. You know all the politics of the newspapers and the television stations. In other words, you have to know what is going on in the media community all the time in order to make those releases effective. You have to know who is going to use an exclusive. You have to know when the pages are pasted up in the entertainment sections, so that you get things to people before other deadlines but not too early with a release. A lot of people make the mistake of sending out releases too soon. A lot of my colleagues don't even know when the pages are pasted up. A lot of them don't know the editor. They have been in PR all their lives and have never found out some of the biggest secrets of publicity, which is to know the editors of the pages, not just the people who write the material.
Q - What do you like about public relations?
A - There is a certain sense of satisfaction that you get by actually seeing your work help a client's business, solve an internal problem, promote a certain image among the public, or spread good will for the company.
I enjoy the diversity of it. I enjoy having a job where I never know what I'm going to have when I come in and what might lie ahead. It's not a desk job.
The stress or the pressures inherent in the job are exhilarating. It seems like the more you have to do, the more you are able to accomplish.
Q - What gives you satisfaction in your work?
A - Today I had a centerfold in the entertainment section with a notice of the centerfold on the front cover. Size means a tremendous amount, as do frequency, size, and placement. Then the other, completely different face of PR is keeping stuff out of the paper, and I think that I've been able to be successful at that as well. If it's bad, it doesn't get in. We have had some internal struggles for some time, and there has only been one small column item that has appeared. I feel very good about that. You keep them out through press relations. Those are your friends. That's where the secret is. I have big personal goals that I consider to be very meaningful. For instance, I got a full-page in Town and Country, with photos. A full photo page was a big one for me. That's the first time I've done that in my entire career. I went to New York to set it up and worked on it for a year. I did the promotion that resulted in it, so that was a very big thing. In order to get clippings in the New York Times, you have to have an event. In electronic media, there are local shows that are very difficult to get. When I get those, I feel they are a big plus. For a demonstration of day-to-day effectiveness, ongoing public relations effectiveness, the clippings are really it.
Public relations is one of those fields where everybody says, "What do you really do? What is it really like?" There's a sort of mystique about it all. People say, "Public relations, you must work with people, right?" And I say, "Yes," and they change the subject, because they don't know what else to say. Public relations is very demanding, but it's very rewarding. When things fall in place and things come off the way you hoped they would, you have such a feeling of satisfaction. A: example was when we helped an out-of-town client open up a new facility. We went up two days in advance of the actual event to do thelast-minute leg work. It started in the morning with a press conference for which we had to have press kits prepared, photos taken, hotel room reserved, coffee and Danish ready for the press-all those little details We had an audio-visual presentation. We had the president of the company available. There was a VIP lunch for about sixty people, and w had to handle the protocol for that. Up until this last week, I don't think I ever worked so hard on a project in my life. When it came off almost flawlessly, it was one of the most rewarding things I have worked on. Everyone said what a magnificent job we had done.
