PR professionals today have myriad resources for career advancement: the entire universe of news is a swipe away. Have an answer about AP style? You’ll find it in two keystrokes. The digital world has granted us access to an endless universe of knowledge.
Tapping that knowledge on behalf of clients is a constant pursuit, but our team applies it to finding insights to help with our own careers.
For me, my media of choice is podcasts.They’re the ultimate multitasking media. I can be doing mundane reporting while listening to a podcast that is recapping the industry news for the day, or I can be taking a walk after work while listening to a tech business report that will inspire a byline. The options are endless with podcasts and with so many amazing ones out there, here are just three that have made a difference in my life over the last five years.
Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing
Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing is exactly what it sounds like. Host, Mignon Fogarty begins each episode with a little bit of a history lesson -- sometimes the history of the grammar technique we are about to discuss or other times, the history of a word -- before diving into the grammar lesson for the day. Each episode is only 15-minutes long, and covers a variety of topics including how preposition use has changed over time, how long is too long for a sentence, what does ‘op-ed’ really mean and the perfect paragraph length just to name a few.
Mignon Fogarty has built an entire network around Grammar Girl, being a New York Times bestseller and winning Best Education Podcast in the Podcast Awards at the Podcast Awards five times. I love this podcast for a few reasons. Firstly, it’s woman-run and I love supporting strong women entrepreneurs. Secondly, it’s fast. PR moves fast, so I need everything else that I am doing that relates to PR to move just as fast. A 15-minute episode is the perfect length; it is easily digestible, gets right to the point, and holds the attention of the audience. Grammar Girl Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing is a fun and easy way to brush up on some grammar techniques while learning a thing or two about the history of the language.
Pitchin’ and Sippin’ with Lexie Smith
Another huge part of a PR professional's day in the life is media strategy. How are we going to get our clients the best results? As a young professional, this is an area of PR that both excites me and drives me. With so much happening in the world, what really is the best strategy? It is a question that is not easily answered but the challenge poses great opportunities.
Through behind-the-scenes interviews with the media to a look at inspiring brands and entrepreneurs that are rocking the world of PR, the Pitchin’ and Sippin’ Podcast talks tips, while taking sips, and openly discusses what makes those in the world of PR tick. Each episode, ranging from 35-minutes to 45-minutes, dives into what really goes into landing press and achieving true influence, impact and organic revenue with PR. Just a few topics have included how to develop an impactful global media strategy, creating an annual news cycle and lookbook for your brand, amplifying visibility and how to improve SEO.
Pitchin’ and Sippin’ features interviews with PR pros who are living this life every day. It feels like a more personal podcast when you are listening to it -- real people sharing real stories about real things they have done. It resonates with everyone at every level of PR, from the most junior staff to the CEO. The episodes are impactful, offer great tips and tricks for elevating your PR game and make you feel as though you are collaborating with each guest even though you most likely have never met them.
Sometimes, you just need a break from work -- and that’s okay. I love listening to music, any genre and any artist. 99 percent of the time you can find me with my headphones on and, if I am not listening to a podcast, I am listening to some kind of music. I saw on Twitter one day that there was a Netflix series called Song Exploder and one of the episodes featured Lin Manuel Miranda breaking down how he wrote “Wait for It” for his earth-shattering musical, Hamilton. Of course I had to check it out and fell in love with the series and instantly needed more than the four episodes that were available at that time. So I took back to the Internet and found the podcast that inspired the show, Song Exploder.
As briefly described above, Song Exploder, hosted by Hrishikesh Hirway, is a podcast where musicians take apart some of their most popular songs and piece by piece, explain how the song came to be. Episodes are only about 20-minutes long (I wish they were at least an hour) and have featured artists such as HAIM, Billie Eillish, Cheap Trick, Common, Jewel and PJ Morton.
As someone who works in a field that prioritizes creativity, nothing is better than listening to other creative people talk about their process. It is so special hearing how these songs that we bop to on the radio have come to live and breathe. Through each episode, we are able to see just how much goes into a 3 minute song and it really makes you appreciate this form of art.
Podcasts are a media on the rise as our world has increasingly become more interested in being multitaskers. Whether you are looking for a podcast to help with your career or just looking for something to listen to while taking your walk after work, there really is something out there for everyone.