Bill Sledzik on the Current and Future of Public Relations
Thursday, April 29th, 2010“Thought leader” is such an interesting term, particularly in the midst of the information age. Yet, even now — when anyone with Web access can “publish” — compelling voices rise above the din and establish themselves as true thought leaders. My Kent State colleague Bill Sledzik is such an example.
Consistently over years of professional experience and in the classroom, Bill stands as an innovator. He realized the power of Web-based communications early. Subsequently building ToughSledding into a “go-to” site for compelling information about topics central to the profession. As a result, Bill is the dean of PR educators on the Web. No one consistently or as powerfully delivers great content that mixes real-world insight with the perspective gained from teaching generations of young professionals, whether it is commenting on Millennial struggles with criticism or the “challenges” of mixing PR and marketing.
The wise editors at Bulldog Reporter recently interviewed Bill on the current and future state of public relations and the challenges the industry faces. I found the analysis of students’ current interests (TMZ v. WSJ) particularly interesting. We see this all the time as faculty members, but I think it might wake up Bulldog’s readers in the professional world. More people need to be talking about his problem, since students cannot understand issues that are newsworthy or what might make a story worthy to an editor if the only “news” they have ever read is from celebrity gossip sites.
Read the interview with Bill for more insight and observations. These issues matter!
