PR Execs Offer Tips for Journalists Considering the Move

Writing and research skills will help any journalist make a change to public relations and communications roles, according to four professionals who made that transition. They spoke at a panel on Oct. 7 at the Club.

The panelists were Jared Allen, assistant vice president at FD Public Affairs, formerly a reporter for The Hill; Keith Blackman of Blackman Media Solutions, formerly White House producer for NBC News; and Mary O'Driscoll, director of the division of media relations for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, formerly editor and reporter at E&E Publishing and The Energy Daily. Rob Doherty, vice president of The Hatcher Group, former Washington bureau chief at Reuters, moderated.

The panelists discussed why they decided to leave journalism and - in some cases - the trepidation they felt about the move. Here are some of the issues they discussed and the questions they answered.

How did you get your PR job? In many cases it's a matter of staying in touch with contacts in the agency or corporate world that may have come to know you as a reporter. "Take your relationships with you; don't burn bridges," Blackman said. "Nurture those relationships you developed as a reporter."

Where did you look for your PR job? Are your skills transferable? Doherty recommended looking for places where reporter skills are valued. Writing, pitching ideas, doing research and developing sources are all capabilities that reporters have developed. O'Driscoll said she is most valuable in her current position when she thinks like a reporter; the critical and objective approach she takes to an issue is helpful to her supervisors. Blackman said clients need help getting familiar with new media and that reporters who have used those skills in their previous jobs are able to be helpful in that arena.

Do you regret the move? Most panelists cited the lifestyle benefits that came with the move. No more midnight phone calls to cover a story or travel in the White House pool. Doherty cited the ability to sit down and eat Thanksgiving dinner without having to worry about a surprise presidential trip to Iraq -- as he did when he was at Reuters.

Most panelists, when asked what they miss most about their reporting days, cited the excitement of working in a newsroom when a big story is breaking or the adrenaline rush that comes from meeting a deadline. "My whole first week at the new job, I could barely work because of how quiet it was," Allen said half-jokingly. He said another feature of the reporting life he misses is knowing exactly what's happening at any moment on his beat.

Some said they thought they might never work in journalism again, once they had moved away from it, but O'Driscoll and Allen said they have been through the "revolving door" from journalism to communications positions. Panelists agreed that it's probably more acceptable now to travel around that door than it was in the past.

-- Pat McMurray, [email protected]