On Wednesday, March 22, PRSA-NY hosted it’s very first event of 2022: BIPOC Womxn in PR, Media & Communications. The candid and honest discussion, moderated by PRSA-NY Senior Director of DE&I Rashidah Timothy, included guest speakers Moon Kim (Executive Vice President, M Booth; PRSA-NY’s Associate Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion), Imani Moise (Financial Correspondent, The Financial Times), Macollvie Neel (Author, The Haitian Times and Business Insider) and Tolu Onafowokan (Strategic Communications Officer, Ford Foundation).

In a post-COVID world, we see changes to our workplaces (virtually and as we begin to return to the office) that allow BIPOC and BIPOC women to be vulnerable with their coworkers in ways like never before. “In today’s world of work, we have less barriers between our home and work lives which can bring a new set of challenges but also opportunities. One clear opportunity I personally see is the ability to bring our full selves to the workplace,” said Moon Kim. “In the past, I may have separated my home and work selves but after two years of mostly working from home, I have fused them together. As a result, I have found myself opening up to my colleagues about my background, culture and family traditions— including how I celebrate Lunar New Year, as an example.”

This sharing of culture benefits all who are involved in the conversation and at the table. “This is a net positive as we are fostering greater belonging and empathy in the workplace – both of which lead to greater job engagement and more meaning in life,” added Moon.

Additionally, the speakers highlighted the importance of having not just a mentor, but a sponsor—someone who advocates for you when you’re not in the room and actively includes you in their professional network.

“I’m so thankful to the women of color who have mentored me and been examples of what it means to lead in the workplace. It’s important to have strong peer support networks, in addition to your mentors and sponsors,” said Tolu Onafowokan. “You shouldn’t see your colleagues as competition; you can learn from, amplify, and champion your peers too and those connections last a lifetime.”

In practice, DEI builds a culture that supports and raises the voices of BIPOC, but there is always room for growth and improvement. "In a lot of ways, it may be too soon to say how companies are falling short in the push for DEI,” said Imani Moise. “A receipt is more than a dollar total - it's metrics and results. Is the racial wealth gap closed? Is it getting better?"

PRSA-NY thanks Moon, Imani, Macollvie and Tulu for their time and for sharing their thoughts, experiences and advise on this month’s panel. “It's refreshing to be a part of a trailblazing organization that gives seasoned women of color in PR and Media the platform to share experiences, offer tips/advice and allow junior professionals to finally see how they can grow in their careers,” said Rashidah Timothy. “The conversation was powerful and dynamic. I'm so inspired and will always root for Christina, Moon, Tulu, Imani and Macollvie. More of these programs are needed to build an even stronger foundation.”

“After the panel, I couldn’t stop smiling,” said Christina Stokes, PRSA-NY VP of Programs. “I logged off feeling inspired and newly motivated to continue putting in the work towards the change we all want to see in this industry! It was an incredible event. In the coming months, PRSA-NY will focus on programming and content that touches mental-health and wellbeing, DEIB, skills workshops, networking and more.”

Be sure to tune into other upcoming PRSA-NY events, including the 2^nd Annual DEI Summit coming up this summer, which will celebrate and elevate many more leaders and voices.

About PRSA-NY
For 75 years, the New York Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America is one of the oldest, largest, and most prominent public relations Chapters in the country. Located in the media capital of the world, it offers top-level professional development, networking, mentoring, and awards. PRSA-NY serves communications professionals in agencies, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and government, as well as independent practitioners. For more information about PRSA-NY’s  upcoming events , mentorship program , jobs boards , volunteer opportunities , and membership details , go to prsany.org .

Diffusion last year earned two Big Apple Awards, and Ryan was named to the Chapter’s 15 Under 35 list. She spoke about what the recognition has done for her teams.

Andrew Graham: The deadline for the 2019 Big Apple Awards is coming up. Your team earned wins in several categories last year. What has it done for you all?

Kate Ryan: “Winning a Big Apple award has many benefits – it’s an incredible motivation boost for our team who love to see our work honored among the best and brightest in NYC. And, it’s a wonderful testament for clients and prospects to the type of work we typically deliver.”

AG: I believe that industry awards should be difficult to win because that's the best way to make them truly meaningful. What elements of communications campaigns do you think separate good campaigns from award-winning ones? Is it massively exceeding goals? Is it using more efficient methods to get things done? Is it capturing the trust of a client or a group of peers? All of that? Something else?

KR: “Award-winning campaigns first and foremost are about meeting the original business goals – not the media pitching goals or event attendance goals or anything like that. The core, bottom line business goals. The campaign has to move the business forward in some way. Capturing a client’s trust, exceeding expectations and doing things more efficiently or creatively are all typically byproducts of meeting that goal.”

AG: In your opinion, can a Big Apple Award win be a springboard to new strategic communications activity? Does having the industry recognition create new opportunities that would not have existed otherwise?

KR: “Both team members and clients alike want to work with an award-winning agency, so the Big Apple awards really provide that credibility and excitement. And a front lobby full of shiny, Big Apple awards certainly doesn’t hurt for everyone’s motivation!”

AG: Do you feel, moving forward, communications professionals on the agency side will have greater opportunity and latitude to act not just as press contacts or content creators/managers, but also as true public advocates for their clients? That would certainly affect how both agencies and client-side teams approach case study-based awards, including the Big Apples.

KR: “In many ways I think we are already public advocates for our clients. Big Apple awards, like the ones Diffusion has won, are often used and referenced as examples of the kind of work both current and prospective clients can aspire to see from us. They’re the icing on the cake for the client we win together with, and the exclamation point for someone considering working with us or doing a project as unique as the campaigns we’ve won for.”

To enter the 2019 Big Apple Awards, go here.

By David Graubard

PRSANY members converged at NBC Universal Studios in midtown for a two-part behind the scenes event, centered on Today In New York this Wednesday. First-up was a guided studio tour where the show is filmed, then a lunch and Q&A with the talent.

The group was graciously hosted by Emmy-winning journalist Michael Gargiulo.

"Michael took us on a behind the scenes tour of NBC, giving history of Rockefeller Center and showing us the SNL, 4 New York, Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, and NBC News with Lester Holt studios, among other locations," said one participant.

During the advice and Q&A session Michael brought in Tiffany Zeno, who produces the station’s 11am ET broadcast. The two shared stories and best practices to earned media on the show. For instance, “include a human element that appeals to me and my audience in a complete package in your pitch,” Mr. Gargiulo said.

(Note: Read our full Q&A with Michael here.)

The event over-delivered, attendees shared. “Meet the Media is the type of event I have to make time for,” said one PRSANY Member. “I have to invest in myself; if not, who else will?” 

In advance of our exclusive “Meet the Media” event with NBC New York’s Michael Gargiulo on Jan. 23, PRSA-NY’s senior director of marketing Lisa Marzullo spoke with Michael about his job, his life outside the newsroom, and his advice for communications professionals.

A transcript of that conversation, lightly edited, is below.

Lisa Marzullo: As a native New Yorker, what type of local stories spark the most interest for you?

Michael Gargiulo: Like any news reporter, we look for interesting, local stories. That could be anything from the new hotel at JFK airport to a story about a medical breakthrough. It can be a story about a new business practice or what a company is doing to help people in need. It is really a pretty wide range.

LM: I see that mentoring is very important to you. What advice would you give to those with an interest in news, and how should someone go about finding a mentor of their own?

MG: This is something that I do a lot of. Right now, I work with at least a dozen people ranging from high school and college students to people starting out in their careers. I mentor one man in his 40s, who was an intern when I was a Washington correspondent back in the 1990s.

I like to work with people throughout the whole realm of their career. The toughest thing right now is that the business is changing so much. When I started in 1984, it was just television, radio and print. If you worked in television like I did, you started off in a small TV market and then moved to a bigger TV market until you got to New York, Chicago or LA, or possibly a network. And that was it.

Now, is it better for someone to go work at a website with an online talk show as opposed to working in smaller media markets? I’m not sure! When starting out now, especially in news, it is about what's going to distinguish you – are you a former pilot, doctor, lawyer, businessman, NBA basketball player. What real-life experiences make you special?

LM: Given our current news cycle and how tumultuous it has been, how hard is it for you to predict what your day-to-day looks like?

MG: I look back to when I was working on September 11^th. I was a morning news anchor in Washington, DC. The top story that morning up until that point was that Michael Jordan was coming back to basketball.

I know this is an extreme example, but any day you can be at work and something could happen - the governor resigns, there's a fire or steam pipe explosion, there's an impeachment… it’s just the way it is. You can never plan. People who do what I do like the unpredictability.

LM: As a father and a husband, what tips can you share or things that you do that help you with regards to work life balance?

MG: Working crazy hours and getting up in the middle of the night allows you to be home earlier in the day for your family. I've been fortunate enough to be home in the evenings with my children. I get up 1:30 a.m. and I work with people who work overnights.

There's no easy answer. I'm a New York City kid. I grew up here, and it is the greatest city. But, it's one of the most expensive cities to have children. However I think making the sacrifices for what you want out of life is totally worth it.

LM: Do you accept PR pitches and if so, do you have any personal do's or don'ts?

MG: Yes, I get dozens of pitches a day, but in all honesty I would say I zip through about 90% of them. Our assignment and planning editors get pitched, but most of them are things I can't cover.

Really research the people that you're pitching, and what they do. A good example of a recent pitch is the auto show, as we worked with the PR firm directly since it is a private event. I would say it is definitely all about personal relationships and knowing someone’s likes and dislikes.

Personally, I'm interested in movies. I got a pitch recently for a company that is doing a new podcast about the story behind some iconic movies. Since I was immediately interested in it, I went to the assignment desk to pitch it. Unfortunately, I couldn’t book this particular story, but the publicist came back to me with a story on sports injuries, and as both of my kids were high school athletes, I was able to cover this and arrange interviews for the final piece.

LM: How does social media play into your role? How important is social media to you?

MG: It's something that's very important because people follow us and we are breaking news through social media. We also talk about ourselves through social media. But we keep people up to date on big stories and maintain audience relationships. I think we're all still learning how to use it in the most effective way.

LM: Any parting wisdom?

MG: Always be upfront. Always be honest.

New York, NY -- January 3, 2019 -- Colleagues, clients, and society depend on the work that we do. So let’s all get back at it.

The New York Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, PRSA-NY invites members and non-members to join its leadership at the Elsie Rooftop, located near Herald Square, on Thursday, Jan. 10 for the Chapter’s free 2019 Winter Mixer. Please RSVP with us on Facebook.

A historic, recently revamped Manhattan landmark, the Elsie Rooftop is named for Elsie de Wolfe, an American actress, interior decorator, and author, who created the first penthouse apartment in the 1920s and remained a prominent figure in New York, Paris, and London society thereafter.

PRSA-NY recently announced its priorities and personnel for 2019. Said Leslie Gottlieb, PRSA-NY president: “PRSA-NY is a major resource for  networking. I invite  members and non-members to join us at the winter mixer to build and grow professional relationships.”

The Elsie Rooftop is located at 1412 Broadway, New York, NY 10018, between 39th Street and 40th Street. There will be a cash bar.

Contact: Andrew Graham
Vice president of marketing, PRSA-NY
asg@agencyclear.com or +1 646 385 0189

About PRSA-NY

The New York Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America is one of the oldest, largest, and most prominent public relations Chapters in the country. Located in the media capital of the world, it offers top-level professional development, networking, mentoring, and awards. PRSA-NY serves communications professionals in agencies, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and government, as well as independent practitioners.