PR as a catalyst for quality, community-driven journalism
After eight years on the marketing team at Colorado Public Radio, I was hungry to make a professional change. I felt compelled to explore new opportunities and business challenges beyond the world of broadcast media, but wanted to stay connected to the mission-based, community-focused work I loved so much at CPR. What a thrill to get the offer to join the dovetail family! This company’s focus on public relations as a seed for community growth and strength is inspiring, and I’m excited to put my expertise to work for the awesome clients this company is so proud to represent.
As client services partner, I’m rolling up my sleeves to garner valuable publicity and media relations, with customized strategy for each client. My background as a marketing generalist will also help solve our clients’ business challenges when it comes to branding, content strategy and execution.
I’m not your average PR professional. My background working to elevate one of Colorado’s most respected media outlets has taught me the importance of purposeful, authentic and responsible storytelling as the backbone of any successful campaign or communications initiative. The Story is the intersection of news and publicity, of journalism and public relations. And it’s that intersection that I think has the greatest potential to benefit our community, particularly when PR practitioners can strike a balance in supporting journalists and delivering on client goals.
In another life, I would have made a pretty good reporter. I have strong intuition. I like asking questions, seeking answers and arriving at objective truth. I’m instinctively curious and inquisitive. And I have a deep-seated passion for unearthing The Story.
Instead, a series of crossroads on my path from academia to building a career led me to the other side of the journalist’s Story, working jobs in marketing, PR, branding and corporate communications. Still, I love that a big part of my job is backing the journalist – providing quality information, facts, expert opinion and teeing up a great story to build on.
Being a journalist today is tough. There’s a lot of misinformation out there; there’s never been a time when consumers had more options for news and information; there’s more news to cover than any other time in our history, at the same time media outlets are cutting reporting staff; a 2016 report estimates there are almost six PR pros to every reporter in the nation, and many of those PR pros aren’t taking the time to be a catalyst for quality journalism.
Landing at dovetail, I’m most excited to be a part of a team combatting, and not contributing, to those challenges reporters face. Over what I hope will be a long tenure here at dovetail, I look forward to creating thoughtful, intentional and community-driven PR that lends to quality journalism, which in turn will strengthen Colorado communities.