Throughout my time in working with BrandJRNY, I have had an endless amount of new experiences and opportunities. Currently serving as the public and media relations director, I have gained experience in working with the media, among other things. From creating a media advisory and pitching the story via phone, to being a liaison between media outlets at the event, it was something that I never expected that I would have the chance to do in my undergraduate career.
I have never had to contact media before in order to get them to cover an event. Sure, I’ve emailed newspapers about ads in some of my other internships but I’ve never had to pitch them a story and hope that they liked it enough to cover the event. I was responsible for the earned media coverage, and I was determined to get at least two news stations there to ensure that we would reach more people.
It was nerve wracking. I wasn’t sure if they would want to cover the event. What do I say? How do I answer any of the questions they will have? How do I make this event sound like it is something that they absolutely should cover? Will the reporters be nice? Am I bothering the people at the outlet? All of these thoughts, and more, would run through my mind as I dialed the phone number. In the end, all of my thoughts and fears were simply just that. The phone calls went better than I expected, and every single person that I talked to was extremely nice and willing to hear me out.
In the end, we got a considerable amount news coverage. Our media advisory was run in WVUToday, WVU’s news service, which then went out to state-wide media outlets. The Register-Herald and WVNS along with others, ended up coming to the event and interviewing Dr. Colistra, Mayor Mike Kodak, and Christy Laxton, the executive director of the Wyoming County Economic Development Authority. Thanks to WVNS, we ended up even getting a spot on the 10 and 11 o’clock news the very same night of the event!
Even though there were a few mishaps throughout the process, I believe it was much-needed experience. Learning from my mistakes this early on can only help me become a better public relations professional one day. Now I know what to expect, and I have more faith in myself than I did at the beginning of this project.
I will always be thankful for the professional opportunities that BrandJRNY has given me. It makes it even more special that I’ve gotten to learn and grow alongside Pineville community members during this process.
My name is Graeson Baker, and I am the PR and Media Relations Director for BrandJRNY’s Pineville Projet. I grew up in a town with one stoplight — and it wasn’t even necessary. Follow me through our journey — @graeson_brooke
