Tiffany Carpenter started her career in the public relations agency world and went on to manage communications for the athletics department at the University of Tennessee, including managing the reins of Mike Hamilton, Joan Cronin, Pat Summitt, Phillip Fulmer, Buzz Peterson, Bruce Pearl the infamous Lane Kiffin and Derek Dooley. She went from there to the University of Tennessee Foundation as Assistant Vice President for Communications and Marketing and she managed communication with 355,000...

In this episode of MsInterPReted, we’re talking about tourism in Tennessee. Tennessee tourism generated $29 billion in direct visitor spending and saw 141 million visitors to the state in 2022, Tennessee ranks 11th in the nation for travel spending, the highest rank ever for our state.   Tennessee has approximately 13, 372 restaurants in the state, which is roughly one restaurant per every 500 people if you look at our population numbers and over 1600 hotels.   Sarah Beth is the CEO and...

On this episode of MsInterPReted, Fletcher’s director of media relations, Allison Lester, talks about travel writing, pitching and hosting media tours. We welcome two travel writers to talk about their experiences in travel writing. They provide advice and talk about the trends in the travel journalism industry. Susan Barnes has more than 20 years of journalism experience and writes for multiple outlets including USA Today, Food and Wine, Garden and Gun, Travel + Leisure - just to name a few....

Sara Davenport is an award-winning journalist who followed her dreams and became an anchor in a top-10 market. But after winning all the awards, and covering all the stories, she need a plan B - something that gave her not just a fantastic lifestyle, but also a life. She has created a life as a media mentor working with others looking to break the breaking news cycle. She wanted to work from home or just work from phone/wifi She wanted to travel and vacation for more than 8 weeks/year She...

As we head into 2024, Fletcher Marketing PR Vice President, Sarah Merrell and Director of Media Relations, Allison Lester discuss the PR obstacles we foresee clients and firms facing in the year ahead and tactics to overcome these hurdles. Obstacles include:AI - The rise of artificial intelligence raises ethical concerns and requires us helping our clients to understand the benefits and limitations of new technologies.GA4 - With Google Analytics launching its new analytics platform in 2023,...

In this episode of MsInterPReted, Fletcher Marketing PR Vice President, Sarah Merrell, and Director of Media Relations, Allison Lester discuss PR trends that we want to leave in the dust.As 2023 winds down, we are looking ahead to the new year and new strategies. These are some of the common strategies and trends that are outdated or unnecessary. We discuss: Overuse of buzzwords/industry jargon An overemphasis on media placement quotas without attention to the quality of placements Overly...

On this episode of MsinterPReted, we discuss hyperlocal journalism. This form of journalism focuses on reporting news and information at a very local level, typically targeting specific neighborhoods and communities. It emphasizes coverage of local events, issues, and stories that directly impact the immediate vicinity, including topics like local government, community events, business updates, neighborhood developments, and other hyper-specific news that may not receive attention from larger...

Fletcher Marketing PR Senior Strategist, Mary Beth West commissioned new worldwide ethics code research through her work on the PRCA Global Ethics Council. The new London-based Institute of Business Ethics (IBE) research was released in the white paper entitled “The State of Ethics Codes in the Public Relations Industry: A Global Analysis” (available for free download). It documents that among 24 PR industry ethics codes in nearly as many nations worldwide, there is little unified consensus...

Casey Mank is co-founder of Bold Type and is a Center for Plain Language Board member. She also teaches English at Georgetown University and Virginia Commonwealth University. Casey and her company conduct workshops on writing skills, workplace communication and email etiquette. In our digital world of communications, it is imperative that we think more strategically and holistically about how we communicate internally and externally with our business partners. Casey shares that, “no matter...

Today, all of us feel the impact of stress and burnout in one way or another. It could be we feel a little extra jittery at the start of the week, or maybe it even prevents us from doing what we need to in our professional and personal lives. Regardless, we need to always try and actively combat and healthfully balance our stressors.  In Booth Andrew's career, she experienced her own burnout for years but it reached its peak when she went from a successful CEO of a $5 million non-profit, mom...

Eric Olsen has been Senior Advisor and Communication Director for Congressman John Garamendi of California's eighth district in northern California since 2017. Previously, he managed congressional campaigns and consulted on several presidential campaigns. His work as a senior PR communication staffer on Capitol Hill and for political campaigns has given him unique insight into the relationship between government and public relations.  He has deployed a broad array of communication tactics...

Artificial Intelligence is no longer a futuristic idea, it is here. And now programs like ChatGPT are introducing AI to the world of writing, content creation and public relations, bringing with it a myriad of benefits, questions and ethical concerns. Matthew Pittman is an assistant professor of Advertising and Public Relations at the Tombras School at the University of Tennessee. He has a Ph.D. in Communications and also serves as a consultant. He talks with Sarah Merrell, Fletcher Marketing...

Tanisha Fitzgerald Baker is the manager of DEI for Knoxville Utilities Board, where she works on creating a diverse and inclusive work environment with equitable opportunities for all. She supports areas that impact the employee and customer experience through the lens of DEI. Tanisha is a native of Knoxville, Tennessee and she's a graduate, valedictorian, and Ms. Austin East from the Austin East High School class of 1988. She continued her education, graduating from both Florida A&M and...

Google Analytics is transitioning to GA4 this year. Experts Greg Jarboe and Katie Paine talk with Fletcher Marketing PR's Director of Media Relations, Allison Lester, about the transition and the important things that everyone needs to know.

The past few years have been tumultuous in the journalism industry. From shrinking newsrooms, fragmentation, audience mistrust, COVID and other global crisis. Muckrack conducted a survey of more than 1,000 journalists to assess the state of journalism in 2022. Greg Gallant is the co-founder and CEO of Muckrack and speaks on the company's annual report on journalism. He is a frequent speaker and a writer on topics related to social media, marketing, PR entrepreneurship, remote work, and...

A recent study revealed more than 60% of Americans would prefer to spend their money on travel over traditional wrapped presents for gifts. More Americans are minimizing their "stuff" and gravitating toward more experiences. Melanie White, executive vice president of Virgin Experience Gifts, shares insights from the experiential gifting field about where the market is headed and how Virgin experience gifts is leading the way in the U.S. market. Melanie has had an impressive career, including...

Allison Lester -- Fletcher Marketing PR's director of media relations (and a former news director in broadcast media) -- joins Kelly Fletcher and Mary Beth West on this episode, discussing best-practices in developing media relationships and forging positive, fair, informative coverage for clients. Allison is a dynamic leader and communication specialist with 13 years of experience in newsrooms across the country. Most recently, she served as the assistant news director at WBIR-TV –...

As brand-generated content, "owned" / in-house digital media, and thought leadership continue to drive reputational building blocks, Kelly Fletcher and Mary Beth West welcome Chris Hill of HumblePod -- the production lead for the "Ms. InterPReted" podcast -- to discuss podcasting best-practices and trends that help achieve measurable business objectives.

Many recent public relations industry reports and prognostications have painted rosy pictures about the state of the PR industry. As #MsInterPReted Co-Hosts Kelly Fletcher and Mary Beth West close out the Year 2021 and Season 4 of their podcast with PR Predictions for 2022, both women reflect on the challenges and travails of 2020-21 -- including at very personal levels -- and the hurdles most seriously facing the industry in the year ahead: *Continued pandemic-driven economic...

What should a brand's management team do in-the-moment when a crisis erupts... seemingly out of nowhere? Being fast on one's feet -- but avoiding knee-jerk-reaction errors or rookie mistakes (like "kill the messenger" or stifling of truthful information) -- can spell the difference between a winning response to a sudden crisis event ... or failure with long-term consequences to brand reputation. On this episode of "Ms. InterPReted," Kelly Fletcher and Mary Beth West point out data and...

On this special compilation episode of #MsInterPReted, Kelly Fletcher and Mary Beth West look back at past interviews on the podcast with guests who shared personal stories of resilience, inspiration, hope and care, as listeners enter the Holiday Season 2022. Join Kelly and Mary Beth as they spotlight podcast moments perfect for delivering a spirit of holiday hope, from their interviews over the past two years with Marshall Ramsey (Pulitzer-nominated editorial cartoonist and Editor-at-Large...

Nearly 20 months after first hosting Attorney Chad Hatmaker of law firm Woolf McClane on the subject of pandemic-related employment law and legal implications for employers, Kelly Fletcher and Mary Beth West welcome back Chad to the #MsInterPReted PR Podcast, to explore what's changed since the COVID-19 tsunami permanently altered the global workplace landscape. Hear Chad's insights on dynamics he's observed, amid the stresses and strains on business owners and employees alike . . . and what...

"Ms. InterPReted" welcomes a corporate communications veteran and PR trailblazer, Travis Parman -- chief communications officer of AppHarvest, an applied technology company building some of the world’s largest indoor farms in Appalachia. With some two prior decades of experience in the automotive industry -- most recently as vice president for Nissan Americas and president of the Nissan Foundation -- Travis recently took on the CCO post with AppHarvest, as part of a personal calling to...

"Ms. InterPReted" Co-Host Mary Beth West welcomes one of her long-time colleagues -- Susan Hart -- to discuss what's been a culmination of ethics issues witnessed and faced within the U.S.-based public relations trade association, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA). Susan Hart offers her viewpoints on PRSA's distant-prior years of organizational strengths, followed by a most precipitous descent in recent years of financial non-disclosures + discrepancies, lack of accountability,...