Members of our Linhart PR team were treated recently to insights from a multi-decade journey through top newsrooms, corporate communications leadership roles and higher education, thanks to a lunchtime visit from Ron Iori, currently an adjunct instructor in communications at the University of Colorado – Boulder.
Ron’s communications odyssey began with newspapers in his hometown of Cincinnati, then on to The Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times. He parlayed his journalism experience and connections to achieve corporate PR spots at Allied Signal, Ford Motor Co., H&R Block and education services leader Kaplan, before becoming chief marketing and communications officer for Chicago Public Schools, one of the nation’s largest school districts.
We peppered Ron with questions about learnings from his experiences. Here’s a distillation:
- Choose your battles. When you disagree with a client or colleague, pick the fights that matter and let the others go.
- Be “pleasantly persistent.” You won’t always get to ‘yes’ on the first try, or the second or third.
- Learn newsroom ways. Even if you haven’t worked in one, you still can – and should – learn how reporters think, how they assemble stories and how to be a valuable source.
- Know your client. If you’re offering PR counsel, it’s imperative that you understand the client’s business; be ready to invest time in learning it.
- Avoid lame metrics. Don’t BS your client with media impressions numbers unless you can connect them with an over-arching desired outcome that moves audiences to action.
