Indiana University School of Journalism

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Photo by Anne Kibbler

MRH public relations firm owner Mary Henderson said a love of writing led her to several communications careers. She talked to J200 students Wednesday.

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Public relations firm owner, former news anchor and magazine editor Mary Roberts Henderson said she always knew she was a writer, and she’s applied that skill in a variety of communications professions.

She shared advice about how to adapt a love of writing into a career with students in adjunct lecturer Anne Kibbler’s J200 Reporting, Writing and Editing I class Monday.

Owner of MRH Public Relations in Bloomington, Henderson said students looking to enter media relations careers must have good writing skills, a portfolio of clips and internship experience. Beyond that, breaking into the field sometimes means using your non-journalism skills and interests to get a foot in the door.

“You have to find your niche,” she said. “Even if it’s something silly like horseback riding, have one thing that sets you apart from the rest.”

Still, success can boil down to a person-to-person exchange.

“You get 15 seconds when you’re in PR to state your case,” Henderson said. “When I’m talking to someone, I don’t like awkward silences. You’re hip and have be friendly, extroverted and in-the-know.”

But at its core, any professional PR job is about the writing. Her first paid internship was at a hospital, where she learned how to create press releases for different audiences and to use different kinds of sources for her communications work. Later, she worked for a public relations firm in Cleveland, Ohio.

“One of our clients was this aerospace company that was trying to build the largest indoor Ferris wheel in the convention center,” she said. “It was like a Barnum and Bailey show. Even Good Morning America was interested.”

Eventually, she worked in health care public relations in Chicago. There, she used her research skills to write about surgical heart procedures, learning everything she could from documents and medical professionals in order to communicate the message to her audience.

Photo by Anne Kibbler

Henderson said people skills are important in cultivating a PR career. "You become a good PR person when you know what is going on in the world."

Now working in her own company, Henderson advised students to maintain “people-to-people connections.” She credited the Internet social networking Web sites like Facebook for revolutionizing how people obtain information. PR professionals can use these to keep up with topics and attitudes.

Precision and accuracy establish credibility, and that’s what PR professionals must have to cultivate a client base, she said.

“You become a good PR person when you know what is going on in the world,” she said. “Know what reporters are writing in mainstream media.”