Entertainment Public Relations Enthralls and Entices PRSSA Students [National Conference]

Photo by Emily Nicoline

Editor’s Note: The PRSSA 2013 National Conference was in Philadelphia from October 25-29. All National Conference posts can be found here.

Tammy Golihew, senior vice president, publicity, and Jeff Tobler, director, worldwide TV publicity from Warner Bros, and Damian Holbrook, senior writer from TV Guide Magazine did an amazing job reaching out to PRSSA students and making them feel valued during their National Conference session. After the session, all of the presenters took the time to talk to students, give out cupcakes from Philly Cupcake, air a TV pilot and connect with students via social media.

PRSSA students were asked to join their Facebook page to stay connected with them via Twitter. Here are quotes, advice, interview tips and recommended media from Golihew and Holbrook.

Quotes from Tammy Golihew (@TeeVeeGal)

  • “I thrive on the variety in my work; my job is never the same and it’s never boring.”
  • “With your social media, if you question whether or not you should send your tweets out, save your tweets and review them later.”
  • “One, we do not trash talk our competitors; it is the rule of thumb. Think of Thumper’s motto from “Bambi.” Two, we are fans of TV in general. We like to talk about other TV shows we like.”
  • “Pick your boss, not your job. If you really have someone that you respect, you’ll learn more.”
  • “Be relentless but not annoying. ‘No’ is the starting point of a negotiation.”
  • “Never let anyone else tell your boss something about something you said.”

Quotes from Damian Holbrook (@TVGMDamian)

  • “Sitting in this room, I was like, wow — these people are not messing around. These are smart sharks in training! You guys are on the ball! I spoke at a college journalism event in New York in the spring; they didn’t have any questions.”
  • “The fact that you guys are here at the PRSSA National Conference trying to learn about PR, finding out from real people how the trade is done — that’s important experience.”
  • “If I could receive a pitch that was 140 characters, it’d be amazing! The headline has to sing, it needs to be something funny, clever and informative.”
  • “I’ve regretted my tweets many times. Sometimes I’ve made mistakes because my accounts are connected between my personal and TV Guide. Sometimes my world bleeds together and my mouth gets ahead of my sensor.”
  • “Do internships. School can’t teach you to really understand what it’s like to be on set for eight hours on show. You need to understand that this is about relationships and learning how to deal with personalities on a set.”
  • “Play nice and play fair.”

Some Questions Tammy Golihew Asks During Interviews:

  • What do you read?
  • What are the top three websites you go to most?
  • What do you do in your spare time? 

Qualities Tammy Golihew wants in job candidates:

  • Likes television.
  • Loves pop culture.
  • Savvy about the entertainment business.
  • Diversity.
  • Offers a different point of view.
  • Enjoys technology and applications.
  • Must be on social media, Twitter and Instagram at a minimum.

Websites they suggest for Entertainment News

What goals can you set to make yourself more applicable for the entertainment public relations industry?

Emily Nicoline is a member of the Utah Valley University PRSSA Chapter. She has worked in social media, business/government relations and broadcast media. Follow her @EmilyNicoline or connect with her on LinkedIn. 

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