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Alison Cox Back to Member Profiles main page The chapter treasurer is a public relations corporate specialist. She joined AAJA to support its mission of advocating for fair and accurate representation of Asian Americans. Texas chapter treasurer, Alison Cox, deftly contributes to the chapter by keeping the books squeaky clean and lending an unfailingly helpful hand organizing chapter events. As a public relations corporate affairs specialist for Edelman in Dallas, she is often asked what she gets out of being an active AAJA member. In this e-conversation, she explains. Please briefly describe your personal background. I was born in Dallas and grew up in the suburbs. When it came time to select a college, I already knew I was interested in a Liberal Arts degree. My father (an electrical engineer), however, was set on an engineering or computer science major. We finally settled on Texas A&M University, which let him continue to hope I’d suddenly change my mind and decide that I liked math. That never happened. I graduated with degrees in English Literature and Journalism. At the time I attended A&M, public relations was a specialty under the Journalism department. Please briefly describe your professional background. My first job was for a Dallas-based department store, as they were setting up their first Web site. In 1999, took a job with an Internet start-up that was going to be The Next Big Thing. It was an online-only retail site that sold seasonal holiday merchandise year-round. This was before the dot-com bubble burst and I figured it was my chance. The dot-com went under in early 2000 and, in hindsight, I was lucky to have been laid off before the bubble burst. Every agency in town was chasing dot-com business and I had actually worked at one! I landed at Ketchum about a month later – despite having told the Dallas director that I wasn't really sure if agency was for me. I spent six years with Ketchum, originally in the technology practice (focusing on pre-IPO clients), but eventually moving into the Consumer Brand practice, carving out a specialty in national brand launches and consumer technology. In 2006, I moved to Edelman, the largest independent PR firm in the world. As part of the Corporate Affairs practice, I have the opportunity to mix my brand-building experience with my interest in corporate communications. Why did you join AAJA and what does it do for you? My AAJA involvement began in 2002 when the AAJA annual convention was held in Dallas. There was a national board member in charge of public relations duties, but she was based in Seattle. In the months leading up to convention, I served as her local point person and provided local tactical support. I'm often asked why I am a member of AAJA what I get out of it. I take that opportunity to remind people that the AAJA mission is not just to advocate on behalf of journalists – one of the main missions of the organization is work for fair and accurate coverage of Asian Americans in the media. That is an issue that should concern all of us, journalist or otherwise. Market conditions are difficult for print and increasingly even TV journalists these days. Do you recommend public relations as a viable career option? When I meet people at AAJA events and conventions, this is always one of their first questions! It depends on how you define "viable." Can you make a living? Yes, absolutely. Is it a stable industry where you won't have to worry about layoffs and consolidations? Hardly. Early in my career, I was laid off twice in the span of two years. If you're on the corporate side, your job is only as stable as the company. A bankruptcy or industry-wide crisis can leave you out of work. Similarly, on the agency side, a budget cutback or loss of a client account leaves people vulnerable. Many journalists have the impression that "PR" is the same thing as "media relations" since that is all they see of PR. Media relations is just one aspect of PR and at this point in my career, it's the part I spend the least amount of time on. I am always happy to field questions from journalists who want to talk about the possibilities for moving into PR. For the most part, I would say that journalists moving to agency PR should seek out specialty support services and specialist positions – media pitching specialist, dedicated media trainer, audio/video production, editorial services, etc. Moving to the account services side is possible, but I wouldn't recommend it for most people. Unlike advertising, where the creative work is separated from the client interface, in PR, we do it all. In a large agency, you can expect to support two to six clients, sometimes in completely different industries. At the manager level, you're also expected to support the business of the agency. In addition to my three clients, I manage the intern/trainee program, advising a committee of junior staff members. Recently, I've taken on the development and administration of an internal staff awards program. I'm also responsible for new business lead development in a specific industry segment, but can be called in as part of a prospective client team for new business pitches in a variety of industries. Back to Member Profiles main page

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