Publicist Rockstars: “Imagine a world where people share positive stories they’ve heard on the news cycle this morning” with Michelle Tennant Nicholson of Wasabi Publicity

We believe conversations change everything. The stories we consume consume us. Right now, our entire marketing industry is based on fear and stimulating the need to fix ourselves. It fuels our consumerism. We believe we can elevate this conversation and tell stories for the good of humankind. Imagine a world where people share positive stories they’ve heard on the news cycle this morning. What if our stories stimulated our sense of security and safety? According to the latest brain science research, that contributes to optimal life experience. That’s why I get out of bed each morning. How about you?

As a part of my series about the things you need to know to excel in the modern PR industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Michelle Tennant Nicholson, an international publicist who also calls herself a “storyteller-to-the-media.” Michelle is the co-founder of Wasabi Publicity, Inc. They believe the way to change the world is to change what people are talking about and the quickest way to do that is to change what the media is talking about.

Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Well, I’ve literally seen PR transition from typewriters to Twitter. Thirty years ago, I worked myself through undergraduate school as a publicist. I was getting my B.F.A. degree at the Goodman School of Drama at DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois. After my classes, I learned PR from a former WGN radio producer who worked from her Lake Shore Drive condo. In 1990 (before working at home was a thing), I plunked out cover letters from her living room coffee table and faxed newspaper editors from her bedroom…