Courtney Sanders, Manager of Communications and Events at Child Study Center

Courtney Sanders, Manager of Communications and Events at Child Study Center

By: Diana Truss

Image taken from http://www.cscfw.org/

Courtney Sanders found her passion for corporate communications at the University of Texas at Austin. After graduating from college in 2006 with a degree in Corporate Communications, Sanders has worked in public relations for four years. Immediately after college, Sanders went to work in politics. She worked as a Legislative Correspondent and was in charge of all constituent Correspondence for a United States Congressman. Following her position as a Legislative Correspondent, Sanders worked as the Grassroots Director and Communications Manager for Texas State Official, Susan Combs. Sanders worked as the liaison between the media and the Comptroller. After her career in politics, Sanders currently holds the position as the Manager of Communications and Events at the Child Study Center in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Child Study Center is a non-profit organization that offers a wide range of services to children who have developmental disabilities and related behavioral problems. As manager of communication and events, Sanders coordinates numerous events to raise awareness of the Child Study Center’s mission and vision with the public.

In order to work in public relations, Sanders says you must constantly be networking with other professionals. It is important to get to know all outlets of communication and be “in the know” of everything that is going on in the world of public relations. Sanders says it is also important to understand how to direct questions to the particular person you are interviewing or corresponding with, whether it be with your client target public.

Sanders offered some advice for future public relations professionals. “My main advice is to stay in touch with the people that you meet throughout your career. It is very important to network and get to know others in your field,” Sanders said. She also explained that it is valuable to follow current events that are happening not only in the United States, but also all over the world.

Making it big in Media

Making it big in Media
By:Lauren Hale


The more I browse the wide variety of public relations related professions, the more I realize that developing skills for success in this field is like a connect the dots picture. The more skill and experience you can offer, the bigger your picture gets. I currently intern with a woman who has made a career out of public relations. Sarah Burris is the Director of New Media for the Askins for Governor campaign in Oklahoma City as well as the Managing Editor for the popular online blog, Future Majority. Since graduating from the University of Kansas as an English Major, she has spent the past seven years working in various fields of PR. Her work in politics stems from her solidified beliefs and passion for policy and social justice. Burris has worked for Rock the Vote, Emily's List, Politicorps and Skyline Publics Works. Currently she is a writer for Future Majority, which is a blog dedicated to increasing involvement of America's youth in progressive politics, something that Burris is very passionate about. She is also a partner in a Kansas based media company, Mixed Media, where she serves as a consultant for many companies and campaigns on social media and networking. Burris believes that a top public relations professional much possess excellent writing skills, impeccable organization, the ability to quickly develop influential relationships and honest relationships with media.

These relationships include but not limited to reporters, bloggers, media outlets." Burris said, " you can't forget the catch all skills: good event planning skills, ability to quickly adapt, ability to quickly learn new media skills as they are developed relating to technology."

Burris is an advocate for hard work and dedication to professions. She believes that loving what you do makes you better suited to execute anything thrown your way. When I asked her what her advice for future public relations professionals was, her straightforward and non-flowery answer matches her work ethic.

"Don't ever assume that your education will get you a job. No one cares about where you went to school, how well you did, whether you volunteered, what clubs you were in, or what your GPA is. Did you intern? Where did you intern? What did you learn? What skills did you develop? Do they set you apart from your main competition for the job? What relationships do you have that can give you a better edge over your job competition? These are the only criteria on which I base a hire - that and their ability to work really hard and have the knowledge I outlined above."

"If you don't tell your story, someone else will"

By:Alison Lambert

Brad Lambert, Senior Associate at Harris, DeVille & Associates, Inc., specializes in issues management and strategic communications planning. He is one of the media and communications trainers, having conducted more than 20 media training sessions for clients across the U.S. in 2007 alone. Further responsibilities include media and governmental relations, public opinion analysis, media and crisis communications training and litigation public relations. He does considerable writing about politics public issues, with expertise in environmental justice.
Brad is a 1991 cum laude graduate of Louisiana State University with a B.A. in Journalism, and in 1997, he earned a Master’s of Public Administration degree, also from LSU. He has also served as an adjunct instructor at LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication. Before joining HDA in 1992, Brad wrote about sports for Baton Rouge’s only daily newspaper, The Advocate. A normal day in the office for Brad involves reviewing news sites, blogs, and checking my Google News alerts to see if any clients are “in the news.” In giving graduating college advice, Brad says “learn how to write well and develop good personal and communications skills. Be flexible and open to opportunities. His perspective on getting a job in the real world today with the current economy is going to be difficult. “The struggles of major media companies and resulting layoffs complicate the situation for new graduates of communications programs,” said Lambert. In order to take on the public relations world, Brad suggests making several contacts in college. Also, try to get as much work experience that you can get, even if that means taking unpaid positions and/or internships. Learning how to write well and being informed of current events is something that companies always look for. Learning as much as you can about social media never hurts because some practitioners do not understand how to utilize the web sites and it will make you look valuable. Brad ended the interview with one of this favorite quotes he uses when training media clients.
"No matter how many outlets are out there, one of the basic principles of PR still applies: If you don't tell your story, someone else will."
Chris Ender, Senior VP of Communications, CBS

Politics and PR

Politics and PR

By Brittany Robinson

This past year has been a whirlwind for politics and the American People. From the election of the first African American president to the fall of our economy, public relations is as important now as it ever has been.

Throughout our public relations studies at Gaylord College, we have always been taught to respond in a timely manner. In the words of Mr. Mossman, OU's Media Relations Director,  "If you respond too quickly you might not have all the facts and say the wrong thing. If you wait too long, your going to look stupid and not prepared ." 

My example of how correct Mr. Mossman is in this statement goes hand in hand in crisis management and how public figures need to address issues quickly.

On March 24th, President Obama held a press conference addressing the war, his current budget proposal and other pressing issues such as the current economic situation. After giving his speech, President Obama opened the floor for reporters to ask questions. CNN Reporter Ed Henry asked the President why he waited several days to go public with his outrage over the AIG scandal. President Obama's response was, "I like to know what I'm talking about before I speak." Also, many found that there was a look or glare given to Mr. Henry after that statement. 

This particular example shows that the media will keep any person or company in check on the timeliness of their responses and actions. When I heard this my immediate thought was that this was exactly the type of thing we learn in public relations. This just happens to be a concrete example with a high power individual that demonstrates the importance of planning for a crisis or responding to an issue in a timely fashion.

Rick Buchanan, Oklahoma Legend

By: Angenene Kendrick

While attending the Oklahoma Republican Party Candidate School last year, I had the pleasure of meeting a practicing professional who has served in media relations from small town projects all the way to the governor’s office.

Rick Buchanan spent part of the afternoon explaining the difference between earned media (public relations) and paid media (advertising) attention. Although most of it was review to me, I sat with a group of students who were learning it for the first time.

Rick served as Governor Frank Keating’s press secretary from 1995 to 2001. Keating was very generous in his verbal style when he offered remarks about almost everything. He kept Buchanan very busy at times. When asked about the experience, Rick commented, “Gotta love Frank!”

Rick has worked in broadcast marketing at KWTV and is now with the Oklahoma County Commissioner’s office. Although he didn’t admit it to me, I understand that he does some ghost writing for a few organizations. I’m not going to reveal that source.

Because of his experience in Oklahoma politics, I asked him to explain how they work. He said, “You're dealing with egos and personalities and power. Power always gets in the way. It's a great study, however.”

Rick is an awesome resource. When I am working on a project and am unsure to whom in the Oklahoma City media market I should be targeting, Rick is very helpful in showing me direction. He seems to be very well connected. I appreciate his efforts.

When I asked him about advice, he said, “Politics are everywhere. Learn how to play with the big kids, and you can politic anywhere.”

Rick is full of insight and encouragement. Most of the people whom I’ve spoken with about him and his illustrious career have shared very positive stories about him.

Rick lives in Edmond and enjoys photography, golf and spending time with his two daughters.

Livin' the Dream in the Big Dub

My dream job in public relations is a little off the beaten path. I have in fact, been called a nerd because of my choice. I don’t dream about working in Hollywood as an agent or representing spoiled athletes or being an event coordinator to the stars. No, my dream job is working as the press secretary for the President of the United States. I was sixteen when I first discovered what I wanted to do when I graduated, and my enlightenment came from the TV show “The West Wing.” As an avid amateur politico that had been weaned on the Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, I was immediately drawn to the fast paced world of the President’s executive office. It was also quickly apparent to me that in the boy’s club of the show, I had found a role model in C. J. Cregg, played by Alison Janney. Cregg was smart, funny, and sarcastic, all things I wanted to be. And what a job! She was the gate-keeper to the American people. Later on in the show, they showed what Cregg had been doing before she went to work for the president. She apparently worked for one of the biggest public relations firms in Los Angeles as a promoter for movies. That’s when I knew that I should major in PR when I finally got to college.
In pursuit of my goal, I have tacked on a political science minor and have gotten involved in political campaigns. I am currently volunteering for Senator Andrew Rice in his bid for US Senator against incumbent Senator Imhoff, who once stated that global warming was the “biggest hoax perpetrated against the American people. I wish I was joking on that one, but it actually happened. I am also a member of the street team for Rock the Vote. I’m not sure if I’m on the right path to my dream job, and I know that I’m going to need a Democratic president to work for, but look out for me any way in a few years. I may just be getting mocked on Saturday Night Live, like my poor friend Dubbya.

Presidential Candidates Tap the Keg of Youth

-- Rachel Wright

MySpace and MTV announced their collaboration on a never-been-done series of Presidential Candidate Dialogues in Los Angeles and New York, today. The popular culture, youth branding giants will host 11 real-time dialogues with the Democratic and Republican front runners for the 2008 Presidential election across the country, mainly taking place on college campuses participating in the MTVU program.

Democrats Senator John Edwards, Senator Chris Dodd, Senator Hillary Clinton, Senator Barack Obama and Governor Bill Richardson as well as Republicans Senator Sam Brownback, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Representative Duncan Hunter, Senator John McCain, Representative Ron Paul and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney have confirmed they will participate in the hour-long dialogues taking place throughout September and December of this year.

Ian Rowe, MTV spokesman said, “Each one of these dialogues is an opportunity for young people both on a college campus – as well as millions watching via a live stream on MySpace and MTV.com – to have a one-on-one, direct, unfiltered conversation with each candidate.”

While announcing the series, spokespeople for MySpace and MTV publicized the first dialogue to be held Thursday, September 27th at noon ET on the University of New Hampshire campus. Democratic Senator John Edwards (who has his own MySpace profile for those of us who are just itching to join his Top 8) will be the first candidate to take questions from young voters and politicos who can instant message, email or text the senator during the events which will be available live on MTV.com and MySpaceTV.

An interesting aspect of these dialogues is the Flektor instant polling tool that makes its debut on the series.

“We’re providing America’s youth with unprecedented access to the top presidential candidates by empowering them to ask live questions and respond with real time polling tools,” said co-founder of MySpace, Chris Dewolfe. “The integration of Flektor will add a new dimension of rapid response and at-home engagement – we can’t wait to see it all happen live and unfiltered.”

Read more about the dialogues here:

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/08/23/news/myspace.php
http://news.monstersandcritics.com/usa/news/article_1347013.php/Presidential_candidates_to_face_MTV_MySpace_grilling
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/09-19-2007/0004666054&EDATE=

Learn more about Flektor here:

http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/05/15/myspace-to-acquire-flektor/