This is... Miguel Gonzalez

by Matthew Burris

Summer.

Most people spend it on vacation or in front of the TV. Not me. I spent the whole summer in Washington, D.C. performing intern duties (filing, collating, sifting through data, etc.) for the National Education Association. For all the pain of walking 30 minutes to work in Mid-Atlantic summer heat, I got to work with some great people. Miguel Gonzalez definitely fits into that category.

On top of having earned his Master's in Public Policy from American University, Miguel has also been working in the PR field for 15 years. He has worked in areas ranging from non-profit to government, and now he excels as a spokesperson and Senior Press Officer, Public Relations for the National Education Association. He leads the Association’s national communications efforts on major advocacy and public engagement campaigns such as the re-authorization of the No Child Left Behind Act, the 2008 presidential campaign, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Miguel says he enjoys his job because it combines his three passions, "policy, politics, and public relations."

This kind of experience means that Miguel has a lot of knowledge to pass on to the next generation of PR professionals.

Some people want to deny the slow death that the print media is suffering through, but those people are probably going to be left behind. Miguel is not one of them. He realizes that it is time for PR professionals to embrace the new technology or perish.

"As the media landscape changes (more and more newspapers are shutting down, others are curtailing coverage beats, etc.,) public relations professionals in the 21st century have to be flexible and adaptable and look for creative ways to contribute to the mission of the organization and to the bottom line," he says.

"A public relations professional in the 21^st century needs to have a solid mastery of basic skills like writing, proofing, editing; coupled with the strategic vision to look around the corner and assess emerging issues; and understand how to utilize social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, and others to do your job well."

As for career advice, Miguel reminds us all that we should never settle.

"Diversify—work in politics, campaigns, Capitol Hill, private sector, understand how other disciplines work. This will enhance your experience and bring value-added to the organization."

True words of wisdom.

A Woman of Many Talents!

By Rachel Forsyth

Keli Pirtle Tarp is a woman of many talents! Keli currently works as a public affairs coordinator for the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In this position, Keli coordinates all of the programs and policies of NOAA and the five NOAA organizations in Norman: National Severe Storms Laboratory, Storm Prediction Center, NWS Norman Forecast Office, Radar Operations Center and Warning Decision Training Branch.

Keli has been in the public relations industry for 22 years and has her professional designation in the public relations field (APR). She graduated with her Bachelors in Journalism with an emphasis in public relations from Baylor University. Keli graduated with honors and minored in marketing and management. After graduating, this Baylor Bear worked at the director of adult marking and public information writer for the Navarro Community College in Corsicana, Tex. From there, Keli publicized and coordinated community relations for 10 grocery stores in Tyler, Tex. Her life then led her to Oklahoma to an organization she still stays actively involved with, the Norman Chamber of Commerce. In 1999, she became the NOAA public affairs coordinator. Keli is currently working towards her Master of Arts in Communication at the University of Oklahoma.

Keli feels that when working in the public relations field that “writing ability is very important.” A “pr professional should be able to write a variety of styles: straight news, features or broadcast, and should be familiar with Associated Press (AP) Style.

Advice Keli gives for public relations professionals is “they should be aware of emerging trends such as social media.” Keli adds that her “advice would be to get as much practical experience you can through internships and projects.” Keli’s job descriptions have changed throughout the years, as she has had to learn how to write video scripts for the first time. “It’s been fun and rewarding to have the opportunity to challenge myself to do something new,” Keli says. A woman of many talents, Keli’s had lots of job titles within the field of public relations. Thus, she feels that it’s important to “know yourself, figure out what you’re good at and what you’re not, and focus on those things.”

Keli Pirtle Tarp is a member of the board of directors for both the Oklahoma chapter of the Arthritis Foundation and the Norman chapter of the Children's Arts Network. Some of Keli’s events include the annual National Weather Festival and the upcoming May 3 Anniversary Event.

A Job in Entertainment PR- Getting One Toe in the Door

A career in public relations is difficult.  PR by nature is a very competitive industry. As the industry grows however (Department of Labor description concerning growing industry) garnering an entry-level job in a PR firm, company or position has become increasingly more competitive as well. Add to this the desire to work in Entertainment PR and the goal is almost unattainable.  Well, ALMOST means there is still a chance, right?

The most important element for acquiring a job in entertainment PR is networking (who you know). Sad to say, but its true. I applied for numerous jobs in the PR division of magazines and—through an inside connect of my own—learned that the jobs went to people who did not even place an application, but rather, knew someone. You can’t get angry because it’s the nature of the game.

The second most important element is knowing your craft. Once you get your foot in the door you must know what your doing and be confident in your skill-set. I once watched of video of a prominent PR practitioner working at Ogilvy and she commented that ‘who you know will only help you get in but after a few months it becomes very obvious if your qualified or not.’  Entertainment PR is very busy and sometimes you are thrown into the mix without much direction. You have to know what you are doing and do it well to survive.

One day I will trudge through the heavy Manhattan traffic, skyscrapers dwarfing my body.  Before entering one of the tall structures myself, I will head to the coffee shop at the bottom of the Time-Warner building, a daily ritual of mine.  While eating my buttery croissant on the way, I enter the elevator and head to the 34^th floor.  I sit down behind my desk and clear a place for my hot chocolate; I never drink coffee.  I sigh, the media advisory and consumer research is due today but all I want to work on is my insider piece for Rolling Stone.  I guess that will just have to wait until after work.  I look over at the caller I.D. as the phone rings.  It’s my boss asking me to meet in her office for a new assignment on top of the ones I already have.  I take one last bite of my croissant before I head down the hall.  I’m going to be very busy today but instead of getting upset I smile.  This is what I’ve always wanted.  Welcome to the life of an entertainment publicist. 

My dream job as an entertainment publicist or entertainment PR practitioner takes determination and drive. I just need to get one foot, scratch that, one toe in the door and the rest will be up to me.

My Dream Job by Morgan Byram

My Dream Job

By:

Morgan Byram 

"Follow your dreams," is one of the most simple, but meaningful statements my parents could have said to me at a young age. I have always had a love for the fashion industry, and as a child I read articles in all of the top fashion magazines. I use to sit and research different designers and brands to stay on top of the industries' news. Being from Norman, Oklahoma can make it difficult to obtain my dream career of choice in the fashion. There are select few fashion corporations or businesses based out of Oklahoma. 

As I was finishing high school I realized just how difficult it could be to choose a major directly after graduating high school. High school can bring confusion when you are being thrown in multiple directions choosing classes and activities to be involved in as well as being told various things about college. After getting a degree in public relations and fashion merchandising, hopefully my dream job can be obtained. I have always wanted to do a combination of my two degree choices, but did not know if it was an actual job in the field of public relations. 

Living in New York City for a year and completing an internship with a fashion public relations agency, the HL Group, hopefully can put me closer to following my dreams. The internship taught me the importance of creating an identity for a brand. I learned the importance of getting your brand placed in the media and in various publications. The publication your product or service is placed in also needs to be geared towards your target audience/publics. As for the fashion industry, publicity is what can make or break your product into a high fashion item. Having a specific clothing item placed or worn by a celebrity in a fashion forward magazine can result in high sales and become a great public relations tool. Knowing how to incorporate public relations into your fashion business or another business you are doing public relations for can  create a successful end result. 

I dream to someday own my own fashion public relations firm and do work for top clothing designers. I want to live in New York City and be in charge of holding awareness events and placement photo shoots. I dream to be in direct contact with the designers and the continuing success of their business. 

Fashion Public Relations: http://www.fashionpublicrelations.com/fashion%20pr%20home.html

KMR Communications:

http://www.kmrcommunications.com/

The Fashion Rag:

http://www.piercemattiepublicrelations.com/fashionprdivision/