Eric Starkman, president and founder of STARKMAN, a public relations agency based in New York, will give a talk titled “Think Public Relations is About Schmoozing and Spinning?” on Thursday, Feb. 2 at 6:30 p.m. in the Hogan Campus Center Suites B & C at the College of the Holy Cross. It is open to the campus community.
According to Starkman, public relations is widely perceived and portrayed as an industry dominated by well coiffed men and women who spend their day lying, spinning, and schmoozing reporters. “While there are no shortages of practitioners who fit this mold, those who are most successful at PR are highly creative and analytical thinkers who adhere to the highest standards of ethics and integrity,” he says.
Starkman, a former journalist, will talk candidly about the challenges and rewards a career in public relations can offer, as well as the blurring lines between journalism and public relations.
Since 2004, STARKMAN has hosted a Holy Cross intern every summer, and three recent Holy Cross graduates currently work at STARKMAN (Erin Carpenter '11, Lauren Olney '10, and Amanda Tamburino '10). “Without exception, every Holy Cross graduate we've worked with has been incredibly bright, disciplined, and imbued with impressive humility,” exclaims Starkman. “We've learned from experience that there is an inverse correlation between humility and talent, and we've come to appreciate that you can't graduate from Holy Cross without considerable hard work and dedication. At STARKMAN, a Holy Cross degree isn't regarded as just a piece of paper, but as an acknowledgement of a meaningful accomplishment.”
Starkman worked more than 15 years as a reporter and editor at major newspapers in the U.S. and Canada, including the Wall Street Journal, The Toronto Star, The Montreal Gazette, The Detroit News, as well as American Banker. Prior to launching STARKMAN, he oversaw the corporate communications practices at established agencies in the New York area, including Morgen-Walke Associates. He had worked earlier as a copywriter at W.B. Doner & Co., a Michigan-based advertising agency.
Bloomberg BusinessWeek writer Diane Brady credits him for giving her the idea to write Fraternity (Spiegel & Grau, Jan. 3, 2012), her recently published book about the story of the Rev. John E. Brooks, S.J., '49, the longest-serving president of Holy Cross, who recruited and mentored a group of African American men who came to Holy Cross during the racially tense times of the late 1960s. More information on Fraternity
The event is co-sponsored by the Summer Internship Program, Career Planning, The Agency and the Prebusiness Program.
Related Information:
PR Executive and Former Journalist to Debunk Industry Myths
Read Time
2 Minutes
