Member PRofile: Lindsay Hudock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is your title and company name?

I’m an instructor in the advertising and public relations program in the Nicholson School of Communication at UCF. I am also a principal in Well Said Public Relations, a PR consulting company I formed with a partner back in 2007.

Give a brief explanation of your job.

At UCF I teach several public relations courses and oversee all the Ad/PR internships. I am currently working to add a course that will serve as a prep course for the UAB’s certificate in principles of public relations exam. This will allow our majors to leave school with a degree, up to two years of professional experience via internships AND a certification from the UAB.

I also serve as the faculty adviser for Quotes, the PR club at UCF as well as Zeta Phi Eta, the professional communication fraternity on campus. I love this part of my job because it lets me focus on what I think is the most important thing I can do for these students: help them develop a sense of professionalism.

Through my company, Well Said Public Relations, my partner and I assist clients with employee relations, public relations and marketing, team-building seminars and simulations, leadership development, strategic communication and event planning.

How long have you been a part of FPRA? Why did you join?

I first joined FPRA as a student at UCF. I’ve continued as a member because I like the sense of community and the opportunity to be connect with so many wonderful people in my industry. But what I appreciate most is the opportunity to continue to learn. I think I enjoy teaching so much because I truly, genuinely loved being a student. FPRA gives me the opportunity to slip back into that student role every now and then and learn from my peers and the mentors FPRA gives me access to. I’m constantly learning through FPRA and I can take those things back to the classroom as well as my clients.

What was your favorite FPRA event?

My favorite FPRA event is Annual conference. At heart, I’m a big nerd. The idea of taking notes and soaking up new information for three straight days is so exciting I’ll hardly be able to sleep come August.

What position will you hold on our board next year?

I am currently the VP of student outreach and hope to continue in that position for as long as I’m able to be helpful in connecting the chapter with students and vice versa.

Tell us about an exciting achievement (personal or professional).

When I was a student at UCF, Dr. Tom Morgan taught in the PR program. His intro to PR class is what made me fall in love with the field. I can remember sitting in his class and thinking that if I could be him when I grew up, I know I would be happy.  He has this legendary professional history and so much wisdom and experience. One of the proudest moment of my professional career was when he wrote the letter of recommendation suggesting that UCF hire me to replace him when he retired.

What was your first job?

My first job ever was making snow cones at a snow cone hut.

Tell us something people may not know about you.

I get to do some really cool things through Well Said PR. My favorite is SIMSOC, short for Simulated Society. It’s an interactive, group leadership and team building exercise where participants create a mock community, encountering real-world challenges and opportunities that occur when governing a society. It’s essentially a role-playing game where participants grapple with issues like diversity, trust, communication, leadership and strategic thinking as they work to build their own version of a community. My partner and I are some of only a handful of people in the nation who are trained to facilitate this exercise so we get to travel all over the country to work with corporate groups, community groups and even youth groups. The simulation is entirely open to the interpretation and creativity of each group who tackles it, which means no two days are alike for me. It’s thrilling and a lot of fun and I know when we’re done each group of participants will be a little better prepared to communicate effectively, think strategically and assume a leadership role in their jobs or communities.

Contact Info:

Lindsay.Hudock@UCF.edu
Cell: 407-823-2829

 

Call for Nominations: 2015 Chapter Awards

The FPRA Orlando Area Chapter is now accepting nominations for its two annual awards. The Member of the Year Award recognizes one member who has made a significant contribution to the Association through leadership, enthusiasm, involvement and support.

The Bob Davis Award is named in honor of the late Dr. Bob Davis, Ph.D., ABC, APR, CPRC, retired professor from the University of Central Florida who gave tirelessly to our chapter and FPRA for over three decades. This award honors an individual who has worked behind the scenes in the past year to support FPRA.

Candidates must be nominated by someone in the profession. Please include a brief narrative of no more than 500 words detailing why the person should be recognized, the accomplishments/contributions that illustrate why the candidate warrants consideration, and the inclusion of committee work and/or other FPRA involvement. Nominees must be active FPRA members in good standing. Individuals may not endorse more than one candidate per award.

Nominations for members of our Board of Directors are appropriate.

Nominations should be sent to Orlando Area Chapter President Kerry Martin, APR at klgmartin@gmail.com no later than Monday, Aug. 3.

PAST RECIPIENTS

2014
Member of the Year – Alayna Curry
Bob Davis Award – Nicole Huie

2013
Member of the Year – Sara Channing
Bob Davis Award – Laura Kern, APR

2012
Members of the Year – Cassie Roach and Brian Craven
Bob Davis Award – Susan Ennis, APR, CPRC

2011
Member of the Year – Stefanie Macfarlane, APR
Bob Davis Award – Jennifer Gammage

2010
Member of the Year – Doreen Overstreet, APR
Bob Davis Award – Rachael Gmerek

2009
Member of the Year – Jamie Floer, APR
Bob Davis Award – Tami Karaba

2008
Member of the Year – Keith Salwoski
Bob Davis Award – Amanda Forbes, APR

2007
Member of the Year – Chris Gent, APR, CPRC
Bob Davis Award – Cynthia Lambert, APR

2006
Member of the Year – Bob O’Malley, APR
Bob Davis Award – Rachel Kingston

2005
Member of the Year – Bonnie McGuire
Bob Davis Award – Sheridan Becht, APR, CPRC

2004
Member of the Year – Brie Turek
Bob Davis Award – Chris Gent, APR, CPRC

2003
Member of the Year – Jeni Hatter
Bob Davis Award – Trent Flood, APR

2002
Member of the Year – Bill Randolph
Bob Davis Award – Doreen Perez

Quotes Corner

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Student’s Perspective of PR – Media Relationships
Interview with UCF Alumna Emilee Jackson

By: Jacqueline Kooser
Quotes President

After attending Media Mashup last month, I got to thinking about all of the insight I gained by listening to each panel. As I took notes throughout the day, I wondered if journalism students were being educated on the potential relationships they will have with PR professionals. Are the textbooks dedicating a chapter to this important relationship? Most communications students are educated on the legalities that come with different fields working together, but what about the actual networking process and the ethics that come along with it?

I reached out to a UCF alumna, Emilee Jackson, who graduated from the university with a degree in journalism and two minors, one in entrepreneurship and another in digital media. Taking on internships teaches students the real world necessities to build and maintain these professional relationships, but what is going on in the classroom?

The first question I had for Emilee pertained to the biggest takeaway from her journalism courses. “As a journalism graduate, I learned that mutual respect will get you very far,” she explained, and then elaborated on her knowledge of PR – media relationships. “Building a professional relationship with those in the public relations industry will help you learn about stories or learn details that others who are further away from the source may not learn.” I had never considered this until listening to the different speakers from local publications here in Orlando. I also asked Emilee about her personal plans to maintain relationships with those who work in other fields of communication. She explained how she is going to aim to have strong, credible relationships with those working in public relations so that she can fulfill her duty as a journalist to get impactful community news out as soon as possible.

Being a writing and rhetoric major at UCF has its perks when entering the field of communications. We get the chance to take courses that are geared towards specific types of writing in the field. The journalism program prepares its students to work not only in that particular field, but to also succeed when it comes to teaming up with other fields. “Being required to write articles on tight deadlines for my classes gave me no choice but to figure out how to receive the information I needed in a timely manner, which I think is essential to successfully interacting with PR professionals” says Emilee.

Learning more about these necessary networks has really inspired me to never slack off on putting myself out there as a young professional. Presenting yourself properly will make a long lasting first impression that will continue to renew each time teamwork takes place.

Thanks to FPRA Orlando for putting on such an informative Media Mashup, and another thanks to Emilee Jackson for the insight on the student perspective.

Media Mashup Panelist Questionnaire

Each of the panelists at this year’s Media Mashup event took the time to answer a few questions about themselves.

Eric Wright

1. Title: Managing Director/Editor
2. Media Outlet: i4 Business & SpaceCoast Business magazines
3. Preferred contact:
   Email: eric@scbmarking.com
   Phone: 321 622 5986
   Social media profiles:
4. What is your role? Determining the editorial focus of each issue in order to tell the key business and entrepreneurial stories and trends in the region.
5. What’s trending in your world? Orlando’s transition to an entrepreneurial/tech hub, the evolution of the urban core, the resurgence of Kennedy Space Ctn. and Port Canaveral becoming a cargo center.
6. What is your biggest PR pet peeve?  Not understanding the dynamics of content marketing.
7. How and when do you prefer to be contacted by PR professionals?  By email, explaining purpose or intent

Michelle Snow

1. Title: Owner/Editor/Writer
2. Media Outlet: CitySurfingOrlando.com, Zengrrl.com, plus others
3. Preferred contact:
   Email: snow@citysurfingorlando.com for Orlando/Central Florida stories; snow@mrshmedia.com for everything else
   Phone: 407-412-7796
   Social media profiles:  facebook.com/citysurfingorlando & facebook.com/zengrrldotcom, @citysurforlando & @zengrrl, Instagram.com/zengrrl
4. What is your role/what do you cover? CitySurfing Orlando covers Orlando and Central Florida – attractions, dining, events, etc.   Zengrrl is my personal blog covering my life, travel, entertainment, body positivity, product reviews, and more.
5. What’s trending in your world? PR-wise? I’ve noticed I’ve been getting a lot of what I call scatter-shot campaigns, where it feels like the PR person has emailed everyone in hopes that someone will bite without bothering to consider if it’s really a good fit.  On the plus side, I have also been getting more email pitches with all the info I need to craft a story (details, images, links to more info), which makes it more likely that I’ll consider the pitch.
6. What is your biggest PR pet peeve? Getting invites or event information the day before the event. Also getting pitched for things that don’t fit my format – I get pitched at CitySurfing Orlando for events happening in Miami all the time.
7. How and when do you prefer to be contacted by PR professionals?  I prefer email.  For events give me at least a week, preferably a two-week window.

Christopher Boyd

1. Title: Freelance Journalist
2. Media Outlet:  Various, including Bloomberg News
3. Preferred contact: christopherboyd75@gmail.com
4. What is your role/what do you cover? Write on an array of topics, primarily financial.
5. What’s trending in your world? I’m always searching for local news with national interest.
6. What is your biggest PR pet peeve? Unfocused pitches that don’t consider the needs of news organizations. PR professionals should remember that reporters are drawn in many directions today and have very tight deadlines across multiple platforms. Consider how those platforms operate in only push story ideas that work well with them.
7. How and when do you prefer to be contacted by PR professionals? Please use email for all initial contacts.

Andi Perez

1. Title: Yelp’s Orlando Community Manager
2. Media Outlet: Yelp
3. Preferred contact:
   Email: andi@yelp.com
   Social media profiles: @yelporlando on Instagram and Twitter. Facebook: www.facebook.com/YelpOrlando
4. What is your role/what do you cover? My role with Yelp is to connect locals to great local businesses. I do this in a number of ways including (nut not limited to) hosting 3-4 over-the-top-amazing events/month with businesses, writing a weekly newsletter (The Weekly Yelp), acting as the local liaison to businesses for all things Yelp, and partnering on existing events as an in-kind media sponsor.
5. What’s trending in your world? Local, local, local! Orlandoans are now more than ever confident and expressive about the fact that amazing things are happening locally. They’re identifying more and more on a hyper-local level (think neighborhoods- Mills 50, College Park, Audubon Park, etc) and so should businesses. When a business can tie in the fact that they work with local makers, purveyors, farms, etc. it takes the experience to a new level. #LocalLove #OrlandoMade #OrlandoDoesntSuck
6. What is your biggest PR pet peeve? I love my PR partners! The only thing I would say is being territorial about allowing me to speak directly to their client (a manager/owner of the biz). When I’m planning events I like to make sure we’re all on the same page and that includes meeting with/speaking with the person in charge of the biz on the event day. I’ll never go around my PR contact, but always like to conference with them and their clients.
7. How and when do you prefer to be contacted by PR professionals? I prefer to receive emails from my fabulous PR partners that list a few upcoming events and how we could collaborate as well as listing current clients. This allows me to plan ahead, makes it less likely I’ll miss a press release, as well as keeping me informed in case I have a unique idea that might be of interest to another one of your clients.

Joe Kelley

1. Title: News Director and host of Orlando’s Morning News
2. Media Outlet: News 96.5 (WDBO)
3. Preferred contact:
   Email: joe@news965.com
   Social media profiles: @talkradiojoe
4. What is your role/what do you cover? I’m in charge of all news reporter assignments
5. What’s trending in your world? The 2016 presidential election is a thing
6. What is your biggest PR pet peeve? People who throw pitches at me without having the slightest idea of what my needs are
7. How and when do you prefer to be contacted by PR professionals? Email or social media

Paul Brinkmann

1. Title: Senior Business Reporter
2. Media Outlet: Orlando Sentinel
3. Preferred contact:
   Email: pbrinkmann@orlandosentinel.com
   Phone: 407-420-5660
   Social media profiles: @PaulBrinkmann,  facebook.com/PaulBrinkmannWriter
4. What is your role/what do you cover?   I cover general business news, jobs and economic news, and a lot of legal news. I write about interesting business people, breakings news, trends and economic development.
5. What’s trending in your world? Economy is doing great, but still hasn’t resulted in higher wages.
6. What is your biggest PR pet peeve?  People who don’t know what kind of story I’m looking for.
7. How and when do you prefer to be contacted by PR professionals?   Email first, phone call followup.

Peter King

1. Title: Correspondent
2. Media Outlet:  CBS Radio News
3. Preferred contact:
   Email: pki@cbsnews.com(preferred)
   Phone:407-823-8747
   Social media profiles: Twitter.com/PeterKingCBS
4. What is your role/what do you cover? Anything of possible national interest, from hurricanes to space to politics and more.
5. What’s trending in your world? It changes daily.
6. What is your biggest PR pet peeve? These are all tied for first place on my list; Emails from PR people I never heard of that start, “I hope you’re having a great day!”(you don’t care if I’m having a great day, you DO care that I will take your story pitch!) or “Following up on____” when they’re contacting me for the first time. People who don’t get that I am a national reporter and don’t work for an affiliate (look at the email address). Slow or no response when I call you. Press releases that say “Major Announcement” and provide no details(what’s major to you may not be major to me or our listeners). Press releases that come a day AFTER the fact.
7. How and when do you prefer to be contacted by PR professionals? Email is always best. If I like something, I will definitely respond quickly. If I know it’s NOT a robo-mass email, I may also respond just to say “thanks” and acknowledge that it’s been received.

Daffnee Michelle Cohen

1. Title: CEO/Founder Social Forza; Writer
2. Media Outlet: *Please note-I write/have written for multiple sites including my own site of course, DaffneeCohen.com, The Huffington Post, Elephant Journal, The Orlando Sentinel, Xerox Business Blog, and Glow.com.
3. Preferred contact:
   Email: Daffnee@outlook.com
   Phone: 413-344-5444
   Social media profiles:
   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DaffneeCohen?fref=ts
   Twitter: @Daffneemichelle
   Instagram: @Daffnee
   Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/daffneec/

Megan Ribbens

1. Title: Web producer
2. Media Outlet: Orlando Business Journal
3. Preferred contact:
   Email: mribbens@bizjournals.com
   Phone: (407) 241-2916
   Social media profiles: @MeganRibbensOBJ, @OBJUpdate
4. What is your role/what do you cover? I manage our website and social media platforms, as well as cover the local restaurant industry. I also write breaking news briefs for online.
5. What’s trending in your world? New construction (across all industries), new restaurants and video on social media
6. What is your biggest PR pet peeve? Pitching a story where the event has already happened or something your client won’t talk about. We’re a business-to-business publication, so our readers are looking for big deals and opportunities before the project is over. If your client won’t tell me if they’re expanding, if there are new opportunities to work with them, etc., it’s not a story for me.
7. How and when do you prefer to be contacted by PR professionals? Email or phone at anytime.

Brendan Bunting O’Connor

1. Title: Editor in Chief
2. Media Outlet: Bungalower.com
3. Preferred contact:
   Email: brendan@bungalower.com
   Social media profiles: @bkeepz
4. What is your role/what do you cover? Bungalower covers news in all of the downtown neighborhoods of Orlando. New buildings, restaurants, art projects and more.
5. What’s trending in your world? #putabirdonit (a public art project I’m doing with Mills 50 that involves putting ceramic birds on a retired traffic light)
6. What is your biggest PR pet peeve? People who think private messaging me on Facebook is better than a press release. Also, personal friend requests with no introduction (at least send me a PM) so they can invite me to all of their events.
7. How and when do you prefer to be contacted by PR professionals? By email.

Kayla Becker

1. Title: Orlando My Way reporter
2. Media Outlet: WESH 2 News, NBC affiliate
3. Preferred contact:
   Email: kcbecker@hearst.com
   Phone: 407.620.0620
   Social media profiles: @kaylabeckertv  for twitter and Instagram
4. What is your role/what do you cover? Entertainment and travel scene in Central Florida
5. What’s trending in your world? Theme parks, events, restaurant openings, vacations, resorts, celebrities, attractions
6. What is your biggest PR pet peeve? Too many emails pitching the same thing.
7. How and when do you prefer to be contacted by PR professionals? Email from 9-5 during the week.

Rafael Palacio

1. Title: Editor
2. Media Outlet:  El Sentinel Orlando
3. Preferred contact:
   Email: rpalacio@orlandosentinel.com
   Phone: 407-420-5058
   Social media profiles: facebook.com/elsentinel, Twitter @El_Sentinel,  Instagram @El_Sentinel
4. What is your role/what do you cover? As an editor, I oversee all the Spanish-Language products of Orlando Sentinel – print and online. However, I do like writing on new businesses and attractions uin Central Florida.
5. What’s trending in your world? How many incredible things are happening in Central Florida ! Every week we have a new attraction, business or official announcement, which means opportunities for all!
6. What is your biggest PR pet peeve?  I don’t have many, because I used to work for a PR firm, Burson-Marsteller, as well as for a Venezuelan official agency.  However, I must say that I don’t like when I email a PR executive letting him/her know that we run a story about his/her client, and they ask me to send a PDF ! Sorry, ain’t no have time for that!
7. How and when do you prefer to be contacted by PR professionals? By email, anytime — but Thursdays!

Cindy Barth

1. Title: Editor
2. Media Outlet: Orlando Business Journal
3. Preferred contact:
   Email: cbarth@bizjournals.com
   Phone: (407) 241-2889
   Social media profiles: @CindyBarthOBJ
4. What is your role/what do you cover? I oversee a staff of nine and deal with everything from newsroom management, coordination of events and editing to mentoring, and design and photo assignments.
5. What’s trending in your world? News coverage is getting faster and faster, which means that we must be present immediately on anything of major significance to the Central Florida business community. This, in turn, has allowed us to re-evaluate our approach not only to online and social media coverage, but how we present news in the weekly print edition.
6. What is your biggest PR pet peeve? Anyone who doesn’t bother to understand what we do and do not cover.
7. How and when do you prefer to be contacted by PR professionals? I’m typically in the office most of the day and can be contacted either by phone or email. I try to respond as quickly as possible to any inquiries and am happy to accept questions or inquiries about potential story pitches, if you’re not sure whether it’s something we’d be interested in.

Mark Baratelli

1. Title: Owner
2. Outlet: The Daily City
3. Contact:
   Email: mark@thedailycity.com
   Phone: (407) 308-1417
   Facebook: com/TheDailyCity
   Twitter: @thedailycity
   Instagram: @thedailycity
4. Role/Beat: Anything creative in Central Florida: fun new snacks, interesting new gifts, cool new brands, secret events, being in the know, little sweet reasons to visit a store/restaurant/business
5. Trending in your world: Orlando might be getting a cupcake ATM.
6. Biggest PR pet peeve: I don’t have one
7. How/when do you prefer to be contacted? Phone

Valerie Boey

1. Title: Reporter
2. Outlet: FOX 35 Orlando
3. Contact Info:
   Email: boey@foxtv.com
   Twitter: @vboey

Mila Ferrer

1. Title: Blogger/Social Media Specialist/Online Community Manager
2. Outlet: HuffPost Voces, Jaime, mi dulce guerrero, Familias con Diabetes , EsTuDiabetes.org
3. Contact:
   Email: mila@jaime-dulceguerrero.com
   Phone: (787) 507-3288
   Facebook: com/Jaimemidulceguerrero and facebook.com/familiascondiabetes
   Twitter: @dulce_guerrero and @FamiliaDiabetes
   Instagram: @jaimemidulceguerrero
4. Role/Beat: Diabetes advocate and Educator
5. Trending in your world: Diabetes Technology
6. Biggest PR pet peeve: Pitches for diabetes cures, and lack of awareness and proper use of diabetes terminology when presenting a diabetes story.
7. How/when do you prefer to be contacted? Through email

David Glass

1. Title: Publisher
2. Outlet: Florida Technology Journal
3. Contact:
   Email: dglass@floridatechnologyjournal.com
   Phone: (321) 800-5220
   Twitter: @davidcglass
4. Role/Beat: Technology, Digital Media, Events, Venture Capital
5. Trending in your world: Drones and robots
6. Biggest PR pet peeve: Sending a press release in PDF format. Press releases should alway be in the body of an e-mail.
7. How/when do you prefer to be contacted? E-mail

Barry Glenn

1. Title: Editor
2. Outlet: Orlando magazine
3. Contact:
   Email: glenn@orlandomagazine.com
   Phone: (407) 318-7250
   Facebook: facebook.com/orlandomagazine
   Twitter: @orlandomag
   Instagram: @orlandomag
   Pinterest: pinterest.com/orlandomagazine
4. Role/Beat: The editing staff consists of me and a managing editor putting out Orlando magazine monthly and Orlando Home+Garden So I do everything—assigning stories and photos, writing stories and columns, editing, writing headlines and photo captions, coverage of social galas, attending community events, Facebook postings, technical issues such as dealing with broken down computer servers, you name it. As far as what we cover — personality profiles (they can range from the 50 Most Powerful people to a boat tour guide to a photo gallery entrepreneur); dining; the arts; travel; health and beauty; fashion. We have a lot of reader interaction through various polls, including Dining Awards and Best of Orlando.
5. Trending in your world: The continuing emergence of downtown, with the opening of the performing arts center. Orlando City Soccer Club’s popularity is still a big story. Also the city’s increasing prominence on the tech startup scene.
6. Biggest PR pet peeve: Phone messages from PR professionals asking me to get back to them as soon as possible. I barely have time to respond via email, much less return a phone call. Also, sending pitches without having looked at our magazine. The majority of story ideas I receive just don’t fit our mission or demographic (for instance the head of a corporation is stopping in town and I get a request to interview him or her).
7. How/when do you prefer to be contacted? Email; any time.

David Hall

1. Title: TV News Anchor
2. Outlet: WKMG
3. Phone: (757) 582-9577
4. Role/Beat: With the help of my team I tell stories and give you the news here, nationwide and worldwide.
5. How/when do you prefer to be contacted? Contacting me by phone is best.

Paula Machado

1. Title: Reporter
2. Outlet: InfoMás
3. Contact:
   Email: machado@infomas.tv
   Phone: (407) 620-4366
   Facebook: com/PaulaMachadotv
   Twitter: @PaulaMachadoTV
   Instagram: @PaulaMachadoTV
4. Role/Beat: I cover news and entertainment in Orlando and Tampa. I also anchor a weekly show.
5. Biggest PR pet peeve: Phone calls to make sure I received an email or to pitch. Just text me. Most of the time, I’m out on the road doing a story and someone calls me to recite a whole press release on the phone. I know it’s terrible, but I personally don’t have time to be on the phone. Sorry!! Oh and second pet peeve: know who you’re pitching to. If you do not have a Spanish spokesperson, I most likely will not attend. Make sure you have one for Hispanic media. It makes it so much easier and more likely we will cover.
6. How/when do you prefer to be contacted? Through email and text

Iza Montalvo

1. Title: Editor in Chief
2. Outlet: La Prensa Orlando
3. Contact:
   Email: montalvo@laprensaorlando.com
   Twitter: @prensafl
   Facebook: facebook.com/laprensafl

Bob Moser

1. Title: Business Reporter
2. Outlet: GrowthSpotter.com
3. Contact:
   Email: bmoser@growthspotter.com
   Phone: (407) 420-5685
   Twitter: @bobmoser333
   LinkedIn: com/in/bobmoser333
4. Role/Beat: I cover property acquisition, early-stage development and business growth in Osceola County and Southwest Orange County, with a key focus on the I-Drive tourism corridor. I am also covering the Brazilian business community and Brazilian investment in Grea
5. Trending in your world: An ever-greater shift from free news content to premium paid content, with more subscription paywalls on news sites. There are few products in our economy that are given away for free. High-quality news reporting takes a lot of time and resources each day from professional journalists, and consumers have to be reconditioned to understand the value of that news, and that there will be a price involved in accessing it.
6. Biggest PR pet peeve: I asked around to my GrowthSpotter colleagues, and shared pet peeves were PR agents who don’t provide their business cell phone, or don’t respond to calls/emails as soon as possible during business hours. You know we’re working on a daily news cycle with high pressure, and we will be more responsive in the future to PR agents who prove easy to get in touch with. Also, PR agents who push too hard to control the message of their company and its executives. We’ve seen PR agents interrupt executives during conference calls to “adjust” the message, or demand to see story text before publishing. That doesn’t foster a good relationship between the company and news reporter.
7. How/when do you prefer to be contacted? I’m often very busy during the day and not at my desk, so e-mailed press releases are the best way to make first contact. I read every e-mail within 24 hours, but if I don’t respond to a release it is because I did not find it a good fit for GrowthSpotter’s coverage focus.

Jeffrey Rembert

1. Title: Associate Editor
2. Outlet: FORWARD Florida magazine
3. Contact:
   Email: jeffr@forwardflorida.com
   Phone: (407) 399-6870
   Twitter: @ForwardFla
   Facebook: facebook.com/ForwardFlorida
4. Role/Beat: My primary role is editing copy following page design and prior to going to press. I like the excitement of a looming deadline.  The general answer is we cover business development.  The get-the-discussion-going answer is we provide in-depth coverage of issues that can affect the Florida business community.  As such, we have seasoned journalists aboard.  Some of the issues are more subtle than one might guess.  So we’re not only a business magazine but also a news organization.  Our latest edition featuring Cuba is a great example.
5. Trending in your world: Cuba, energy, education, trail mix and space.
6. Biggest PR pet peeve: Haphazard writing. Unsubstantiated facts.
7. How/when do you prefer to be contacted? If by phone, PR professionals can contact me during traditional business hours, or 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM. If by text, PR professionals can venture into the evening hours though I might not respond until morning.  But I’ll have the evening to chew on an answer or the pitch.  If by email, PR professionals can write at any hour.  I might not be awake to respond but again I’ll have the evening to consider my response.  It’s OK to use multiple methods as my daily schedule – and where I’m at – determines what I’m liable to check first, voice mail, text message or email.

Jen Vargas

1. Title: Managing Editor
2. Outlet: Central Florida Top 5
3. Contact:
   Email: info@centralfloridatop5.com (blog); vargas@gmail.com (personal)
   Phone: (407) 222-7174
   Twitter: @CentralFLTop5, @jenvargas (I’m also @EnzianFilmSlam, @OrlandoStrides, @RelayHuntersCrk, @WIFTFL, @orlandotech)
4. Role/Beat: Central Florida Top 5 covers five broad topics: News & Events, Business & Tech, Culture & Charity, Food and Tourism. My previous role began in 2012, as a Multimedia Contributor, where I supplied photo, video and guest blogging coverage. My new role at Cen
5. Trending in your world: In the Central Florida Top 5 world, love of local is trending. For me personally, tech and travel opportunities seem to be the biggest trend!
6. Biggest PR pet peeve: My biggest PR pet peeve is not reciprocating. It’s a fantastic privilege to be invited to cover events and happenings in and outside of our community! However, with as much time as we/I spend crafting a great post (including time spent covering it), it’s mutually beneficial to have the PR folks share said piece. In the past, this has been a one-way street. As one of our area’s oldest and most trusted blogs, having that partnership only works when both parties share the love.
7. How/when do you prefer to be contacted? I am very fortunate to get to run into PR professionals quite a bit in my field(s) of work, so a certainly don’t mind a verbal invitation, but I do appreciate an e-mail follow up. With all the email I get (individual)ly as well everything we get for Central Florida Top 5, it is definitely a challenge to keep our editorial calendar open! Thankfully, with our new team in place (and a PR person to help divvy our admin stuff), we now have help trying to organize it all. Another pet peeve I have, and it falls more in line with this question, is timeliness. Some PR professionals in the area have a bad habit of sending out releases with only 1-2 days notice. While I realize some events come up last minute, others require more… logistical consideration. Especially on our end.

Sarah Wilson

1. Title: Associate Editor
2. Outlet: Turnstile Media Group – Community Media division, which publishes the Winter Park/Maitland Observer, Seminole Voice, Central Florida Senior, and Baldwin Park Living magazine.
3. Contact:
   Email: swilson@turnstilemediagroup.com
   Phone: (407) 563-7026
   LinkedIn: com/in/sarahwilson0711
4. Role/Beat: I write, photograph, edit and plan content for the Winter Park/Maitland Observer, Baldwin Park Living magazine, Seminole Voice and Central Florida Senior. I primarily cover anything and everything happening in the city of Maitland, and the community of Ba
5. Trending in your world: The redevelopment of downtown Maitland, historic preservation in Winter Park, and Oviedo on the Park opening.
6. Biggest PR pet peeve: Phone calls about pitches irrelevant to our coverage areas.
7. How/when do you prefer to be contacted? Email, with a follow-up phone call if necessary.