Former graduates speak at Oz Media Summit

Mary Godnick and Stephanie Meyering are former SUNY Oswego graduates who provided students with insights to their public relations careers at the Oz Media Summit this year.

Mary Godnick is a senior brand strategist for Terakeet and joined the company after realizing her passion for digital public relations. She explained the challenges her company faces.

“Everyone is publishing,” she said. “People are starting blogs and social media accounts to get paid. Everyone is in it for the money, so our challenge is providing value to publications now.”

Meyering, who practices public relations for companies like the Juice Products Association and the Toy Industry Association, nodded after Godnick’s comment and explained her reasoning.

“Articles that used to be fact-checked closely aren’t as closely checked anymore,” she said. “Now we have to be careful of what we read and put out there.”

Meyering explained that her company tries its best to show consumers progression and success throughout the course of their mission.

“We do this by letting companies know how many viewers they have on websites and highlighting good commentary,” she said.

Meyering and Godnick agreed that the rise in digital media has improved public relations.

“When someone reads the paper, you can’t tell what they’re thinking as opposed to [what you get from] websites where you can see [feedback],” Meyering said.

Nicole Willoughby, a broadcasting major who attended the session, expressed her newfound interest in public relations.

“I became interested in it through an intro to public relations class,” she said. “Digital media excites me so I’m thinking about going into that field.”

Meyering mentioned that her day-to-day schedule varies. However, her mornings are usually the same. Her day begins with her assistant tracking the news.

“For example, with our pasta case study, she would track the news on pasta from the past 24 hours,” she said. “If there is more bad news than good, we’ll reach out to reporters and editors. After that, my day is completely different depending on what the client wants.”

According to Godnick, her days are just as unpredictable as Meyering’s, but they still consist of the same responsibilities.

“We’re a bit of an internet troll,” Godnick said, with a smile.

However, unlike Meyering, she works with a team of five people to support an individual client instead of companies.

Meyering also mentioned the amount of money and effort her company puts into photography for certain case studies.

“We spend $20,000 a year on photography,” she said. “It makes me want to be a photographer.”

Toward the end of the session, Godnick provided students with advice for their careers.

“You need to know how to write and speak well,” she said. “We look for people who know how to present themselves, and who can lead and work in groups.”

Communicating with people is just as important as being able to analyze data, according to Godnick.

Tweets from the event can be seen here: