Ashqelynn Ayers

This is important for #communications pros and our subject matter experts to remember. An interview is a conversation not a rote question asked, prepared answer given. Using talking points rather than scripted answers is more effective for a SME and makes for a better interview. Unfortunately that path isn’t taken as often as it should be.

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Woohoo!!!! I've been working on this for more than a year and now the big day is almost here!!! For the last few years, I've wanted to write a book to help journalism students and those new to the profession. I realized that when MMJs and Reporters first start their careers, there rarely is anyone who will help them and give them the kind of feedback they really need. Most times they are left to figure it out, in what is an extremely complicated and pressure-filled job. They are literally out there on their own. It leaves them frustrated, overwhelmed and second-guessing their career. It also leaves stations open to broadcasting mistakes and even lawsuits. So I sat down to write a new age reporters' handbook. Something that may not solve any of these problems, but will at least help give new journalists a REAL WORLD foundation. I tried to incorporate all the things I've learned in more than 30 years into one easy-to-read book that deals with how to be a reporter and mmj. There's not a lot of theory here, but instead, tangible things people can do to excel at storytelling and get along at work. Everything from story meetings, coming up with ideas, gathering elements, interviewing, writing, improving live shots and stand-ups, covering breaking news, anchoring, whether you need an agent, how to get along with your boss and co-workers, and how to land that first job or get that next one with a deep emphasis on STORYTELLING!! If you know me or we've worked together, I could use your help when this book is officially released in a few weeks. Help me get the word out. I've made a lot of mistakes in my career so hopefully others won't have to. I'm proud of the pages within and know they will be a great help to those interested in becoming or those who already are broadcast journalists. We need you more than ever!!

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🗣️Calling all PR pros and ethics enthusiasts! The Florida Public Relations Association SWFL Chapter is hosting a webinar in April focused on one of the most critical topics in our industry: ethics in public relations. We’re looking for a dynamic speaker to share their expertise, spark meaningful conversations, and help us navigate the complex ethical landscape of modern PR. If you—or someone in your network—has the knowledge, experience, and passion to tackle this important topic, I’d love to connect. Let’s shine a spotlight on the ethical principles that uphold the integrity of our profession. 📩 Drop me a message or tag someone below who would be perfect for this opportunity! Let’s make this a conversation to remember. #PublicRelations #PRethics #FPRA #WebinarSpeaker

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Check out my next edition of ‘Becoming a Media Master’! This month is all about how U.S. elections influence people through both social media and traditional media 📺📲

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I'm suddenly reminded of my early career days when the “final” steps in the publishing process still involved red pens, proofreading marks, deciphering tiny, near-illegible scrawls in margins, resolving conflicting edits between departments and finally hyper-focusing to get the job done as deadline drew near. Sometimes the editorial process is messy and requires us to practice diplomacy (and at times, a little tough love). But association publishing is a team effort, and to this day, there still is no better feeling than getting a finished product out the door. #editing #writing #editorial #associations

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Please join this conversation Wednesday: Public Radio audiences are down in most places, deficits are mounting and staff are being cut, and the editorial heart of our news coverage is in question. As Programming leaders, the question of the moment is, “what now?” We can “admire the problem,” or we can act. On April 24 at 2p CT, Paragon and Listen Again Tomorrow want to start a conversation - ideas for "what now". What meaningful steps can the programming community take individually and together to respond to this new reality? If you’d like to join this first conversation, email listenagaintomorrow at gmail with the subject line “what’s next,” and a topline response (2-3 sentences) to this question. How might we (as stations, NPR and other content providers, and as leaders shaping the culture of our organizations) earn back 50% of the audience most stations have lost in the past few years? This is NOT - a sales thing for Paragon and Listen Again. We’re interested in ideas about action, not pitching work. We will also not be directly discussing the Berliner thing and the aftermath. Thanks - Mike Henry and Izzi Smith

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A story pitch is the internal sales pitch for your story. It should be brief, provide key details, and show how and why you should do it. We just finished a 20-minute-long training session on pitching stories. I emphasized that reporters should take the process seriously. When reporters do more advance work, their stories usually come through and are almost always more interesting. When you've done more advance work, you often have more time to develop characters and get more creative. We discussed how to find, frame, and pitch story ideas. We file pitches in News Desk, a companywide online system that's used for planning, newscasts, and other purposes. When our reporters file their pitches, they can also upload documents, photos, and video that helps us have a better understanding of the story and the best ways to cover it. There are a series of basic questions journalists should ask to determine if they have a good story. Why should we care, and why do the story today? A timely story may have happened within the last 24 hours, will unfold that day, or perhaps there's a new exclusive angle to an ongoing story. Who is impacted? How many, where are they, how much are they impacted? How can you show that impact and who will talk about it? What will we see? Sometimes, you don't know until you get there. But often you have an idea of the key elements of a story and how you may be able to use them when you pitch the story. If you do brief pre-interviews, you'll have a better idea of what you'll see and how you can use that to tell your story. What's the story? Don't get lost in data, reports and official soundbites. Yes, those are needed sometimes, but hearing from 'real people' and having them show us how something impacted them is always an important part of a story. Interesting characters, emotion and action - interactions between people, people and their surroundings, etc., - are all important elements of a good tv story and will help sell your story. Our station is also focused on advocacy and solutions, so we always look for those angles, too. This wasn't a training session about storytelling. We're emphasizing that, too. But one of the challenges facing many reporters is figuring out how to get out the door with the best possible head start on good stories. In many cases, that depends on how much time and effort was invested in the pitch.

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My former small team’s very important work exposing system failures seen during Hurricane Ian’s evacuation won best medium market Investigation at the Florida Association of Broadcast Journalists awards. Weeks after also being honored as part of one of journalism’s most prestigious awards, as an IRE finalist, I’m going to once again use our entry’s description to individualy recognize the important team work: After 72 people died in Lee Co., FL following Hurricane Ian, the WFTX investigative unit went searching for answers. Based on reconstructing a series of records requests, what would end up being a 7 mo. investigation showed how Lee Co. leaders didn’t follow their own emergency management plan & procedures. This resulted in delays in evacuation orders being issued, leaving people an inadequate amount of time to make an informed decision. Less than 2 weeks after the investigation aired the Lee Co. manager announced his retirement. Assistant News Director Matthew Simon functioned as the project’s executive producer overseeing and partnering with Specialty Producer Molly A. to report out the story’s initial research and records requests. Matthew Simon and Molly A. also worked with the legal team compelling the county to produce records after months of delays, showing how county leaders were communicating during the critical time between FL’s State of Emergency being issued Fri. & Lee Co.'s evacuation orders being issued Tues. Matthew Simon & Molly A. then worked with Meteorologists Katie Walls & Andrew Shipotofsky who analyzed weather data, including Katie Walls confirming storm surge data showing, under the county’s plan, the evacuation should've been issued as early at 11 p.m. Sun. Once Molly A. & Matthew Simon assembled all the data, Anchor Nadeen Yanes was brought into be the project’s investigative reporter, securing interviews with survivors; a county manager accountability interview & a county commissioner solutions-based interview. Nadeen Yanes’ reporting exposed how survivors felt the county's less urgent messaging, tone & timeline, compared to previous storms, made it more difficult to make an evacuation decision. Nadeen Yanes also showed how the county manager had difficulty explaining his answer, the timing was 'really very good,' when storm surge was reported about 15 hours after all evacuations. Nadeen Yanes also worked with Katie Walls & Andrew Shipotofsky to secure weather expert interviews who said evacuations should've been called sooner. Nadeen Yanes, Molly A. & Matthew Simon worked in tandem to draft the story’s copy & work with the legal team on approval. While also working with Senior Editors Mason Hawk, Austin Schargorodski & Chief Photojournalist Andy Cunningham, who also shot much of the piece’s video, on editing the pieces as parts and eventually bringing them together to form the full story. Photojournalist Karan Deardorff also shot the survivor portion of the story on Ft. Myers Beach.

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Excited to share the new redesigned http://www.pbs.org! Check it out! Launched this morning, this new version of PBS.org features an updated look with dynamic visuals and a full-width video player. The redesign aims to increase audience reach by creating an immersive browsing experience with seamless integrated video previews to help users discover new content.  Additional redesign highlights are:    New “My Station” page highlighting local Live TV streams, most-watched shows in your region, and more from your local PBS station.  New genre categories navigation allowing users to browse featured and recommended content on topics like Drama, Documentaries, Home & How-To, Food, The Best of Passport, and many more.  New tabbed layout on show and video pages to more easily explore Episodes, Clips & Previews, and Collections.  New main/utility navigation with highlighted Donate button.  New badging for video thumbnails: New, Now Playing, and Up Next. 

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Enjoying your daly dose of essential tips and resources from Vanguard Communications #DEI Bootcamp for Communicators? Don’t forget to sign up for the closing #webinar with top leaders in the DEI Communications space. #diversityequityandinclusion #communications #training #kelloggfoundation #nonprofit #government #foundation #association #publicrelations #womenempoweringwomen #media #socialchange

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Today we filled our last current newsroom opening, and these numbers show how every hire truly matters. It has taken a decade of intentional recruiting, hiring, training, development and retention efforts to build a newsroom that is more diverse and inclusive than ever. * Sometimes that means holding a job open longer then you’d like. * Sometimes it means spending fruitless hours at job fairs, speaking to glassy eyed students in classrooms and swallowing your introvertedness at networking events to connect with that one right person. * Sometimes it means giving challenging assignments to less experienced people so they can BECOME experienced. * Sometimes it means creating a new staffing tier to develop an internal leadership pipeline. * Sometimes it means promoting someone in-house who will need more support than an outside candidate would. * Sometimes it means examining your own biases, owning your missteps and adjusting your approach. * It definitely means that men, women and people of color are all needed at the decision-making table together. Special thank you to Nick Feely and Denise Ritter for their unwavering commitment to this.

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🚨 Lessons from the New Orleans Tragedy: How Newsrooms Can Respond to Breaking News New Orleans media, particularly WWL, led with comprehensive coverage early Wednesday of the terrorist attack on Bourbon Street. Understandably so. But big breaking news presents an opportunity for all newsrooms, even those outside the affected area, to create and curate content that keeps your audience informed and engaged. This was the story everyone was discussing New Year’s morning. 💡 Ask yourself: Did your website, app, or social platforms cover this story in a meaningful way? Or did you leave it entirely to national outlets? Every breaking news story has local connections if you look for them: 🌍 Someone from your community may have been there. 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Your audience likely has relatives or friends in the area. 🗣️ Your role as a local newsroom is to connect the dots. Speed + Strategy = Success 🔑 Speed is the key here -- but accuracy, care, and fairness are non-negotiable. WWL’s response was a masterclass in breaking news coverage: ✔️ A “main story” covering the who-what-when-where-why. ✔️ A “what we know” report about the perpetrator. ✔️ Impact-focused stories, like event postponements. ✔️ A profile of a victim, posted by mid-afternoon. ✔️ A comprehensive list of victims. ✔️ A report on removed security bollards before NYE. ✔️ Official reactions. ✔️ A “who to call if you’re looking for loved ones” guide. This was thoughtful, resourceful journalism at scale. 📰 👉 For newsrooms: Build a digital playbook for breaking news. Use it to guide your efforts when a major story unfolds -- whether it’s local or national. 👉 For comms/PR professionals: While you wouldn’t “newsjack” a tragic event, you can use a similar playbook approach to handle crises in a way that’s transparent, helpful, and empathetic. Breaking news is more than an opportunity -- it’s a responsibility.

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Waiting... 📹🎤 In the world of journalism, I'm not just waiting for a newscast to start - I'm waiting for opportunities that bridge traditional reporting and digital innovation. As viewing habits shift and technology transforms our industry, I'm committed to: • Maintaining journalistic integrity • Exploring digital storytelling strategies • Leveraging emerging tools responsibly • Connecting with professionals who value unbiased, fact-driven reporting My mission: Use my voice to tell authentic stories.

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I got to share some federal workforce perspective with Kadence’s Dan Bladen. To RTO over 1 million federal workers who currently have “remote work access” would be counter productive. Here’s more:

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Being a member of Public Relations Global Network is one of my favorite parts of REED Public Relations. Birthdays are always special but getting nice remarks from our friends all around the world yesterday was extra special. Plus, with the time differences, I essentially had a two-day birthday! From Malaysia to Brussels and everywhere in between, read more about the Faces and Markets of #PRGN. #PublicRelations #PR #Marketing

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Journalism plays a vital role in providing accurate, timely, and reliable information to the public. This is important especially on a day like Election Day. Learn about how Philly TV builds trust with viewers in my new book The Big Story. Order here: https://a.co/d/aG5Oabc

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Journalists are spilling the tea about what they like and don't like. Frank Strong of The Sword and the Script shared the results of a recent Cision survey. He pulled the stats that PR pros need to know about to improve their odds of success. 42% of reporters say credibility is the top challenge facing journalism. Tip: Avoid adjectives and hyperbole when you pitch. 67% of journalists use social media to source information. Tip: Keep your social feeds active and relevant. 55% of journalists want exclusives. Tip: Consider using them judiciously. #PR #publicrelationsagency #journalism

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