Silver Anniversary

Tomorrow, I will begin my 25th year of teaching public relations at the University of Washington. That makes me a "Millennial" of sorts. My teaching career has been influenced by the changes that have come to our society and lifestyle in the 1990's and 2000's. No more faxing in late assignments or having trouble with the IBM Selectric.

Now, I look at my phone more often  than my watch. I send announcements and updates from my phone or laptop.Staying on the cutting edge is a full time job and the students don't give you much leeway. Snapchat, Periscope, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook are not just words in my vocabulary.  I have accounts and I post  on them regularly.

There are six courses in the year-long Public Relations curriculum and I've taught them all, more than once, in my tenure at UW.  Thank goodness you do still need to be able to write in order to succeed in this business and there is always something to learn about writing.

Six program administrators have come and gone during my 25 years and they've ranged in temperament and approach from Mr. Chips to Principal Vernon in the Breakfast Club and even Cameron Diaz in Bad Teacher. Somehow the program has survived and been very successful.  We've turned out over 700 graduates during my time here and they have ended up in many far flung places in some very interesting jobs. The two key communications people from FEMA during the OSO Landslide, both were in the program. Some of the media types who have come over to have a look at this side of the communications business have stayed...while some have gone back (scared them, I'm sure).

I'm still teaching two of the courses, one in the fall and one in the winter. The fall course is about the news media and it gives me a chance to bring out the wonderful examples that "West Wing" showed us on the small screen. The trials, tribulations and successes of a public relations person have never been more clearly portrayed. Aaron Sorkin is a masterful writer and a hero of mine. He was at his best on WW. The program concluded its run in 2006 but the situations, examples and wisdom of building relationships with the media are even more true today than they were back then.

One of the actors from the show recently said he had just bingewatched (that's a word now, according to Webster) House of Cards. He made the comparison by saying that West Wing, which was based on the Clinton White House, made many young people want to go into government work.  House of Cards, rooted in the Bush years and today's congressional turmoil, is making the up-and-comers want to avoid government or political work at all costs.

Regardless, these classes are very practical.  We bring in people who are working in the jobs we're talking about. We use real world cases and we bring the business of effective communications to life. When I was asked to be on the advisory board to develop the curriculum, I had no thought of teaching. When the progsram was completed and UW said they would need someone to teach these courses, I decided to give it a try. Now 25 years later, when the first hint of fall hits the air, I get a rush thinking about going back to school. Teaching is a great outlet for me. Education is a gift that keeps on giving. It's exciting to think that I and the students can keep on learning together for years to come.

Media Relations

The most important aspect of media relations is the relations, It's not just who you know. It's how you can build valuable relationships with mutual trust and respect in the meda.

I've been teaching that to students in the UW PR Certificate program for almost a quarter of a century. Even in today's lightning fast news media landscape, building those relationships is still the key.

When I saw Ed White from KING-TV at his retirement party recently, we realized that our relationship virtually spanned his entire career. For 32 years, Ed has been sitting in the middle of police and emergency scanners and ringing telephones while he made decisions about which stories would be covered that day and who would cover them. Suffice it to say that is not an easy task...but Ed made it all work.

There is no one better at running a broadcast newsdesk than Ed White. His skills and work ethic are legendary. When word got out that he was stepping down from his role, it wasn't just KING-TV that took notice. It was the entire broadcast community. Every anchor, every reporter, every news producer and camera person in town came out to congratulate Ed.

When you;re good, very good, at your job, people notice. And when that job is planning manager (read Chief Assignment Editor), not only those on the news side of the game but those of us who are sources for news know when we've found a competent ally, as well. Every PR person around has spoken with Ed at some time or other. We're used to receiving curt "No Way!" responses and to suddenly only hearing a dial tone on the other end of our media calls.  But Ed White could make you feel good about the "no" because he;'d tell you why. He would even take the few minutes he had to try to help you make it a better story. That has a very special meaning to a PR person.

Because of his exceptional skills, I've regularly asked Ed to speak to my UW Class on a panel of broadcast news professionals. No matter what was going on, he would always find a way to show up...and, usually with a stack of really poorly written or misdirected news releases in hand to wave in our faces as he chided us. It was no holds barred for Ed. He'd give the students the straight answers whether they wanted to hear them or not. He's come to my class for so long, I think he could teach it. I do not look forward to replacing him on the panel..those are.tough shoes to fill. One of our friends joked, "Who could ever replace Ed White...Ed Black?"

I've been building relationships with the media my entire career. Since my college friend Jane Pauley went to work in local television, I've known the value of those connections. The relationships I've nurtured make me better at my job. I'm constantly learning about what makes news today and what doesn't. It's an art not a science.

Ed White has brought one of the most important jobs in the newsroom to a new level. Because of Ed, the bar is very high now. No matter what is said about the relationship between journalists and PR people, Ed White made it work. And made it work well. I'm actually going to miss those midnight calls when only the two of us knew that the other one would still be at the desk working. I consider it a great privilege to have worked with him and to call him my friend. Now, go have some fun, Ed.  You deserve it.