Welcome to Fuller Communication

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I work in PR at an ad agency.  It's the third area of "communications" in which I've held a position.  A job in communications can take many forms, and for me those forms have included stints as a television news anchor and a press secretary for U.S. congressman, before moving into a couple more traditional marketing and PR jobs.

It amazes me how similar the jobs of television journalist, political apologist, and marketing strategist have become in the year 2010.  To be sure, they have always had similar threads in their fabric. Each entails crafting messages to be digested by a mass audience, if nothing else.  The elements of sound communication are nearly universal in theory, even if they are not universal in practice.

Not everyone in a communications role feels that way.  Many journalists view marketing and PR (and often, political spokesmanship) as the second-tier step-children of the communications family, mostly because of their inherent appeal to emotion.  Journalism, it has long been held, is a communications purist's preferred method of disseminating information that is purely factual, without relying on the frills of emotional appeals. (Indeed, many journos who leave the industry for PR jobs are gibed by former colleagues as having crossed into the "dark side.")  And yet, the "news" product of the current day seems much more evocative than informative. Anyone who has seen a promo for a sweeps series knows that today's television news outlets are very much aware that people not only buy and vote based on emotion, they also tune in based on it.

Today more than ever, the entire communications world reflects, integrates with, and responds to itself.  So this blog will feature commentary on everything from advertising campaigns, to great speeches, to a particularly well-produced news block. These are the areas in which I have experience, and they'll be covered in this blog with an eye toward providing basic insights and inviting discussion on the commonality found in all forms of communication.  (Note: The content on this site may not necessarily reflect the opinions of my employer or my clients.  To get more of a feel for that kind of thing, here's a link to my posts for my employer's blog.)

Welcome to Fuller Communication.