By Thomas J. Curtin
Chicago-based publisher Waveland Press has announced the publication of the sixth edition of “On Deadline: Managing Media Relations” by local author Carole Howard.
Called “a tangible blueprint for tomorrow’s communication leaders” by one reviewer, the new book covers planning and implementing a media relations program, building relationships with reporters, arranging news conferences and media events, integrating media relations into marketing communication strategy, spokesperson training, crisis management, global media relations, ethics and legal issues, measuring results and becoming a counselor to management.
Sales show that “On Deadline” is the foremost textbook on media relations in the academic, corporate, nonprofit and government sectors. As one reviewer remarked, this book is “like having a professional mentor and media consultant on speed dial.” Its practical advice draws on current case studies and Howard’s extensive media relations experiences in the U.S. and around the world.
Howard continues in the role of lead author of the text. Her new co-author for the sixth edition is Suzanne Horsley, assistant dean and associate professor of communication at The University of Alabama, with experience in the government, nonprofit and academic sectors. The name of Wilma Mathews, Howard’s co-author for the first five editions, remains on the cover, per publishing tradition.
Thomas J. Curtin, senior editor at Waveland, said it is unusual for audience demand to warrant a sixth edition of a textbook. “On Deadline” has achieved that distinction “because of its clear, fast-moving style and the extensive experience of its authors,” he said. As a reviewer wrote in the Public Relations Journal: “It would take years of painfully learning from your mistakes to develop the knowledge about working with the media that has been assembled in ‘On Deadline.’”
Howard is the retired vice president of public relations and communications policy for The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc. in New York with global responsibilities and staff in 15 countries. Previously she worked for AT&T in public relations positions in Seattle, New York and New Jersey. She has written more than 100 magazine articles on global PR, media relations, employee communication and integrated marketing and has contributed chapters to 11 other books. A frequent speaker to PR and business organizations and guest lecturer at universities around the world, her speeches have been published in three textbooks, including in Italy.
The first edition of “On Deadline” was published in 1985. The fourth edition also was published in Chinese. Over the decades the book has documented trends as the media relations profession has adapted and thrived, with globalization and communication innovations via the internet and social media transforming lives and working environments.
The sixth edition features new case studies documenting successful media relations programs and events from locations as diverse as Alabama, New York, San Francisco, Washington DC, London, England and Vancouver, Canada. In addition, several Pagosa Springs sources are highlighted, including case studies featuring the Pagosa Springs SUN, the Ruby Sisson Memorial Library and Thingamajig Theatre Company. The text also recognizes our local KWUF radio station and our community’s two online news sites, Pagosa Springs Journal and Pagosa Daily Post. Two other residents also are mentioned in Howard’s biography: ginger cats Lucy and Marmalade, who were adopted from the Pagosa Springs Humane Society.
Howard and her husband Bob moved to Pagosa Springs full-time in 1995. She writes the weekly Library News column for the Pagosa Springs SUN and Pagosa’s two local online news sites, as well as articles for Thingamajig Theatre Company. She is president and blogmaster of the local Pi Beta Phi sorority alumnae club. Previous volunteer activities in the community include serving on the Music in the Mountain steering committee and heading its publicity efforts, acting as secretary and publicity chair for the Pagosa Springs Women’s Golf Association, and president and newsletter editor for the Gray Wolf Ski Club.
The publisher has donated a copy of the sixth edition of “On Deadline: Managing Media Relations” to the Ruby Sisson Memorial Library. It also is available as a paperback and e-book on Amazon and on the publisher’s website at www.waveland.com, as well as in campus bookstores when it has been assigned for a class by a professor.
Thomas J. Curtin is a senior editor with Waveland Press.