Interview with a PR practitioner!

In my PR class with Barbara Nixon, we were asked to do an interview with a PR practitioner… To get a glance into the real world of PR and get the stories told by a person who’s been in the battlefield for a while and knows the pros and cons of the PR world 🙂

I signed up on this website and asked for help from a PR practitioner….within a few hours a friendly soul already responded, offering to draw on her experiences. I emailed her the same afternoon after which she quickly responded.

Her name is Tamika Morrison. About 31/2 years ago she started her own PR firm after having been a freelance writer for several different culture magazines. She has always had a passion for writing; in that way she felt it as a natural transition to go into PR. Today the full-service boutique agency firm has a two headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia. Tamika is working in the Atlanta firm which employees seven people and has a team of three interns, among others college students.

She said it was very hard to say how a typical work for her looks like, because no day is the same! She is primarily dealing with press releases, preparing media lists, client updates and meetings and communication with the media directly and indirectly, and she states clearly that a every day in her working life is unpredictable….in a good way of course…. this only contributes with excitement!

Tamika did a lot of projects – all of which she is very proud! For instance did they have have clients that garnered attention from Oprah, Dr. Phil and The Tyra Show. Also TV stations like CNN and local networks responded to some of their projects. However, what she is the most proud about are the projects that involve non-profits. The non-profit projects live up to what she wants her firm to stand for, as well as they are  the ones reaching back and touching their communities. “When I can secure media coverage for all to see their work, then it makes me very happy and very proud,” Tamika said.

Like in every other job Tamika has met a lot of challenges during her time working with very different communication people. What challenge her the most is the people who are not “media ready”, as she said. They are still determining their real competitive edge and haven’t had the professional guidance to get clear about it. That’s why, as a professional, Tamika has to admit that in some cases, they had to jump the gun with this client and inevitably had to let the relationship go.

Furthermore, I asked what the strangest thing that has ever happened to her. To that she responded that everyday is a strange day in PR and unpredictable no matter how well they always try to plan. The media don’t take their time schedule into account – they call whenever it’s convenient for them and then Tamika and her staff just have to make sure, they’re ready or at least return that call ASAP!

I was curious what she would say, when I asked how important written skills and communication are in her role/day. The answer was unmistakable: “It’s everything! It’s the basis for what we do. Period.”

Tamika is involved with the Charlotte Area Associate of Black Journalists (CAABJ).

Conclusively, she emphasized that she had one important piece of advice to everyone who wants to work with PR: “Own your passion for it, and don’t let ‘not interested’ deter you. You will hear it often; it’s the nature of the beast, but trust your self that you have a talent, that shouldn’t be wasted!”

With these words I finished my interview….a lot wiser on the world of a PR practitioner and with a little bit more confidence, that it isn’t impossible to reach your goal as long as you are passionate about the things you do!

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