CC: How did you get into charity press work?
Before getting into charity PR I trained in journalism and worked at the BBC for seven years in both radio news and wildlife and natural history programmes. I found I really enjoyed the subject matter of the latter which was the impetus for doing voluntary work with animal charities. It reached the point where I wanted to do more volunteering with the charities than working as a journalist and so I left my full-time BBC job to volunteer full time.
The first PR role I had was through volunteering for various animal sanctuaries – where I was often doing all of their marketing and PR, from designing their websites to writing about them. Many of them had no PR facilities.
Now I have two paid PR positions and work two days per week with The Gorilla Organization and two days per week for Hearing Dogs for Deaf People. This gives me fantastic variety and I’m getting to work on issues I feel passionate about.
CC: How long have you worked at your current organisation for?
I started both positions at roughly the same time – about three months ago.
CC: What do you actually do on a daily basis?
I can be doing anything from writing press releases and phoning journalists to setting up media interviews, writing magazine articles, selling ideas for features and providing resources, such as video clips and pictures, to journalists. I also have to liaise with staff in other countries to set up interviews with UK journalists. The BBC recently filmed one of the Gorilla Organization’s projects (Stoves for Survival) in the Congo. This project has been shortlisted for an award in the World Challenge 09 global competition.
CC: What are the most challenging aspects of your current role?
When I tell journalists which charities I work for, many don’t take it seriously because they feel they are “just animal charities”. However, both organisations are very much concerned with helping people, communities and society as a whole. I find it a challenge to persuade the media to get to know more about the organisations I work for as they may see them as soft news options. At Hearing Dogs for Deaf People a really good strategy has been to interest the media in case studies, so it’s all about real deaf people whose lives have been changed when they are partnered with a hearing dog, and the journalists always warm to those true-life tales from the heart.
CC: What’s been your biggest achievement in this role so far?
Still working on it....At the moment I’m pretty busy trying to work towards one of the biggest events that the Gorilla Organization has ever attempted - The Great Gorilla Run - where people dressed in gorilla costumes will be running in September to raise money and awareness for the organisation. So if you ask me this question in a few weeks I’m hoping to be able to say this is my biggest achievement.
CC: What do you enjoy/not enjoy about your job?
I feel incredibly lucky to be able to work for both organisations in this area, and I love the variety in what I do. I feel very passionately about the issues and both jobs bring together all of my experience and training – from journalism to studying primates.
The thing that’s quite difficult about PR is that you can spend a lot of time and effort and not see a direct result. It can be difficult to explain the value of PR to senior management, particularly if they don’t have a comms background. And it can be very disappointing when you fail to get stories placed.
CC: What kind of personality is best suited to working in a job like yours?
You have to have a good grounding in communications and be able to organise yourself well. A thick skin is important so you don’t take it too personally when the media aren’t interested in your story or your charity. You have to be good at building relationships and establishing rapport with journalists. You also have to be able to tune in to what people need from you – in particular the media - who need to be hooked in the first minute of talking to you, or the first paragraph of your press release – you’ll only do this by giving them what they need for a good story.
CC: Any top tips for people wanting to follow in your footsteps?
If you have an interest in communications in the charity sector - get out there and do some voluntary work. It shows enthusiasm and willingness to muck in as well as giving you valuable experience and contacts. It’s also good to have experience and qualifications in communications, as being able to write well and get a story across is crucial in this role.
