The Essential Non-Essential

The Essential Non-Essential

By Chelsea Klinglesmith

When trying to decide what I wanted to spend my free blog topic on, I scanned through my memory over the most important messages I have received throughout my time in college as a PR major. From the get go, in my first PR class at OU, a seed was planted in my brain that would be continuously nurtured throughout the rest of my strategic communication studies. “Public Relations is NOT publicity work; It’s not press agentry; It’s not glamorous event planning like you see on Sex and the City; It’s not what everyone thinks it is.” This is what a class of young of Intro. to PR students were told in the fall of my sophomore year, myself among them. I recall leaning over in class to one of my friends saying, “Uh oh. It’s not? I think I need to change my major.”

What I figured out over the next three years is that my first public relations professor was right. In fact, she wouldn’t even refer to the industry as “PR,” because of the negative connotation she believed it carried. Public relations isn’t JUST the things the general public commonly perceives it to be; It’s sometimes aspects of those things, but as a whole, so much more. Really, I think as PR majors we’re lucky if people have any perception at all of what our job is. I’ve lost track of how many people scrunch up their faces and as what PR is when I tell them my major. Now that I’ve actually figured out what PR is myself, I hate that it’s not more commonly appreciated outside of its immediate arena, because in all truth, it’s an important service that all kinds of professional industries NEED.

When you move away from the general public who has a foggy idea, at best, of what PR work is, and in to various professional fields with PR staff, I think the reality gets even more disappointing. Sure, all kinds of companies from big-time corporations to small non-profits recognize the existence of public relations and perhaps even their need for it. However, to say PR professionals are underappreciated would be highly understating the situation. To even be recognized as a legitimate communication-related career, PR has to jump through hoops larger than many of its closely related fields. Take advertising for example. What Fortune 500 Company would take short cuts with its advertising staff? No way. People understand how much they need someone to brand their products or services and expose it to the outside world. When it comes to specifying exactly what parts of that outside world need to be reached and how best to inform them about said product or service, that’s where the shortcuts are made.

The truth is that despite the merits of PR or the absolute necessity of it, depending on what field we want to work in, the professionals we serve may or may not recognize it. We will have to work harder to demonstrate how our job contributes to the bottom line and offers an irreplaceable service. Too many companies view PR as an optional addition to their staff or a non-essential contribution to outreach efforts. I don’t know how our profession should overcome this roadblock, but I do know that PR professionals recognize the existence of this “prejudice” and are working towards legitimizing our field, even as I type this entry. The longer it takes to gain recognition won’t be at our expense, but rather the companies we could’ve been building relationships for.

Photo courtesy of Chelsea Klinglesmith

Don't Let Your Passion for Public Relations be Led Astray

Don’t let your passion for public relations be led astray

Public relations professional, Pamela Gutel, APR, has been in the business for more than 15 years. With a wide array of strategic communications experiences that grace her resume, Gutel also teaches as an adjunct professor at the University of Oklahoma in the Public Relations department. Her love of PR is also evident in the list of activities she enjoys outside the work place. Former president of the Oklahoma chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Oklahoma City chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, Gutel’s passion for establishing relationships between whatever organization she happens to be working with and its publics is obvious.

When asked what she thinks the top skills of a public relations professional should be, Gutel said: “Be a good writer, take initiative, think strategically and have a good attitude.” She also said being naturally organized and detail oriented pays off in the profession.

Currently, Gutel serves as the Director of Public Affairs for the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Oklahoma City Branch. She developed her strategic communications talents over the years by working in various public relations director capacities at companies like Cox Communications and Logix Communications. Before entering the workforce, Gutel earned a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in Journalism/Public Relations from the University of Oklahoma.

In honor of her professional success, Gutel has received numerous civic and professional awards. In 2007, she was named one of the Journal Record’s “Achievers Under 40,” and one of OKCBusiness’ “Forty Under 40.” She has served in volunteer capacities for local organizations such as United Way of Central Oklahoma, Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation and Special Olympics.

Some valuable advice from a PR guru who has worked in the industry for more than a decade – “It is easy in public relations to get distracted by other careers…sales, meeting planning, graphics, HR, etc., because our degrees are so versatile and marketable. Plus, many people don’t understand that public relations is a lot more than working with people. If you really have a passion for public relations, then stay on course,” Gutel said. “The profession needs men and women who believe in what public relations can do for an organization and its many publics.”

It was refreshing having the opportunity to interview a professional who is the product of the same institution I am currently earning a degree from. The success she has enjoyed and the talent she exhibits in her professional and personal endeavors is illustrative of the growing need for sharp public relations professionals in this area. What a treat to have an established master of the trade so close at hand.

Photo courtesy of Facebook

Media Training 101: A Guide to Meeting the Press

by: Simone Fraid

For my ethics study, I selected the book Media Training 101: A Guide to Meeting the Press by Sally Stewart.  

Stewart founded SA Stewart Communications, an organization that helps businesses formulate strategic actions for marketing, communication, and media relations.  She also was a reporter for USA Today, and therefore understands public relations from the perspective of the media.

In the book, she gives a wide range of advice, from dealing with crisis to creating a media kit.  Through it all, she weaves each topic together with its relationship to the media.  

And though she was a member of the media, she provides a very objective view of the media.  She concedes that they have a great deal of power, but that they also harbor resentment against public relations and so they must be dealt with carefully.

Pretty much all of Stewart's advice stems from the same idea: public relations needs to be about facts.  She says reporters are resentful of fluff and non-facts.

She also advises the reader to how to be a strategic communicator and get noticed in the press. Stewart tells businesses to use creativity and interesting angles to get their point across, but always while sticking to the truth.  She tells also them to be tough and have a thick skin when the media doesn't act in their favor.  

The entire book is a manual full of tips and steps to improve a business' positioning in the media.  As Stewart says, it's not a substitute for having leadership and good experts to guide a business' media dealings, but it does give solid instruction that would be useful to anyone dealing with the media on a regular basis.

The Moment of Truth: My Real Job Interview

The Moment of Truth: My Real Job Interview
by Chelsea Moore

I just recently landed a job in the College of Architecture at the University of Oklahoma. From the moment I went into the interview, I was thinking of how I was going to convey to them that I would be the best person for the job. I wanted to make the right impression, but I wasn't even sure what they needed.

I realized how much my classes prepared me for the interview. As I got ready for the interview, I happened to come across my portfolio from my publications class. This class was, by far, my favorite public relations class. I've always had fun doing creative graphic publications. So, I took a revised version of my resume and my portfolio to the interview.

When I got there, the first thing they asked me is if I had samples of my work. I didn't realize the importance of the portfolio would be. I handed it to them and they sat me down at a table with three other people. One woman flipped through my portfolio as one guy asked me questions and the other guy took notes-- definitely nerve racking! This was way more involved than I had expected. I found myself pulling information out of my brain from classes from years previous.

Then it clicked. I am a graduating senior. And that interview, though it was intimidating, wasn't so bad. I knew all the answers to their questions. I had no idea that I was adequately prepared for the workforce.

At the end of the interview, he asked me to write a strategic plan for the college's public relations. I applied the 10-step matrix that Dr. C had been explaining that week in class.
A few days later, I received an email explaining their satisfaction with my plan. After a second interview and a little bit of waiting, I got the job.

It showed me why I am going through the stress of college. It may be tough at times, but my rounded knowledge of the public relations industry that enables me to land a good job will make it all worth it. Today, College of Architecture--tomorrow, the White House?


Image Source: BioJobBlog.com