My typical answer to the interview question “where do you see yourself in 10 years?”

I will absolutely be working in some facet of communications, hopefully PR, and gaining enough valuable experience to one day open a PR firm with my best friend @stina6001. 🙂

Cute, right?

Well, it’s more than likely that I am wrong. Here’s a better answer:

In ten years, I will most likely be serving as an advertising executive utilizing my background in PR to position pay-for-play advertising segments on TV as earned media.

Seems pay-for-play (see “in broadcasting”) is becoming an increasing threat to the PR profession. We pitch producers and some in turn don’t answer our calls or e-mails but point the ad rep our way. An advertisement is not news. Nor should our television segments be positioned as news if they are really half hour blocks of paid content disguised as news.

Where is the third party endorsement in pay-for-play? Where is the validity? Where is the variety? Where is the legitimacy? Sure a law firm can afford that ad space much easier than the self-service dog spa…so how does that dog spa owner get any valuable and cost-effective outreach? Public relations! Well…obviously an integrated campaign is most effective, but I’m certainly biased.

I understand very well that we all need paychecks and advertising is a large part of how news makes their money. But we need to be clearer about what is earned media and what is purchased ad space during a news show. The line is continuously blurring.

This post was written by Kate Ottavio a PR professional working in Manhattan. You can find her at twitter.com/kottavio.

My typical answer to the interview question “where do you see yourself in 10 years?”

I will absolutely be working in some facet of communications, hopefully PR, and gaining enough valuable experience to one day open a PR firm with my best friend @stina6001. 🙂

Cute, right?

Well, it’s more than likely that I am wrong. Here’s a better answer:

In ten years, I will most likely be serving as an advertising executive utilizing my background in PR to position pay-for-play advertising segments on TV as earned media.

Seems pay-for-play (see “in broadcasting”) is becoming an increasing threat to the PR profession. We pitch producers and some in turn don’t answer our calls or e-mails but point the ad rep our way. An advertisement is not news. Nor should our television segments be positioned as news if they are really half hour blocks of paid content disguised as news.

Where is the third party endorsement in pay-for-play? Where is the validity? Where is the variety? Where is the legitimacy? Sure a law firm can afford that ad space much easier than the self-service dog spa…so how does that dog spa owner get any valuable and cost-effective outreach? Public relations! Well…obviously an integrated campaign is most effective, but I’m certainly biased.

I understand very well that we all need paychecks and advertising is a large part of how news makes their money. But we need to be clearer about what is earned media and what is purchased ad space during a news show. The line is continuously blurring.

This post was written by Kate Ottavio a PR professional working in Manhattan. You can find her at twitter.com/kottavio.

My typical answer to the interview question “where do you see yourself in 10 years?”

I will absolutely be working in some facet of communications, hopefully PR, and gaining enough valuable experience to one day open a PR firm with my best friend @stina6001. 🙂

Cute, right?

Well, it’s more than likely that I am wrong. Here’s a better answer:

In ten years, I will most likely be serving as an advertising executive utilizing my background in PR to position pay-for-play advertising segments on TV as earned media.

Seems pay-for-play (see “in broadcasting”) is becoming an increasing threat to the PR profession. We pitch producers and some in turn don’t answer our calls or e-mails but point the ad rep our way. An advertisement is not news. Nor should our television segments be positioned as news if they are really half hour blocks of paid content disguised as news.

Where is the third party endorsement in pay-for-play? Where is the validity? Where is the variety? Where is the legitimacy? Sure a law firm can afford that ad space much easier than the self-service dog spa…so how does that dog spa owner get any valuable and cost-effective outreach? Public relations! Well…obviously an integrated campaign is most effective, but I’m certainly biased.

I understand very well that we all need paychecks and advertising is a large part of how news makes their money. But we need to be clearer about what is earned media and what is purchased ad space during a news show. The line is continuously blurring.

This post was written by Kate Ottavio a PR professional working in Manhattan. You can find her at twitter.com/kottavio.

My typical answer to the interview question “where do you see yourself in 10 years?”

I will absolutely be working in some facet of communications, hopefully PR, and gaining enough valuable experience to one day open a PR firm with my best friend @stina6001. 🙂

Cute, right?

Well, it’s more than likely that I am wrong. Here’s a better answer:

In ten years, I will most likely be serving as an advertising executive utilizing my background in PR to position pay-for-play advertising segments on TV as earned media.

Seems pay-for-play (see “in broadcasting”) is becoming an increasing threat to the PR profession. We pitch producers and some in turn don’t answer our calls or e-mails but point the ad rep our way. An advertisement is not news. Nor should our television segments be positioned as news if they are really half hour blocks of paid content disguised as news.

Where is the third party endorsement in pay-for-play? Where is the validity? Where is the variety? Where is the legitimacy? Sure a law firm can afford that ad space much easier than the self-service dog spa…so how does that dog spa owner get any valuable and cost-effective outreach? Public relations! Well…obviously an integrated campaign is most effective, but I’m certainly biased.

I understand very well that we all need paychecks and advertising is a large part of how news makes their money. But we need to be clearer about what is earned media and what is purchased ad space during a news show. The line is continuously blurring.

This post was written by Kate Ottavio a PR professional working in Manhattan. You can find her at twitter.com/kottavio.