#MediaMonday – Laura Harris
It’s Monday, which means it’s time for a new #MediaMonday feature! For this feature, we are resharing from our Public Relations Global Network partner, Bianchi Public Relations in Detroit. Bianchi Public Relations recently featured Laura Harris in the agency’s Meet the Media series. Laura is a news anchor and automotive reporter for NEWSnet, a free-to-air television network and newscast production company.
Check out a snapshot below and meet Laura in the full post here!
How long have you been in journalism and how did you get started?
Growing up I wanted to become a mechanical engineer, but at 16 years old I took my first broadcasting class, and the rest is history. I always loved talking in front of large groups of people, and thought it was even more fun to tell stories to those groups. Back in high school I became my school’s weekly news anchor and in charge of special video segments. It was free range to cover whatever beat I wanted, and it was a blast. It was a clear choice to study journalism at The University of Missouri. I received my bachelors from Mizzou and my Masters in Journalism from Northwestern University. I’ve been in journalism for 12 years, with a large part of that being in broadcast and digital storytelling.
What elements or characteristics do you look for in a story, and why?
For every story I tell, I look at how it affects the consumer – what is that humanistic element? I also like asking all my subjects how they personally feel about the matter. As journalists we do the research, gather the facts and state the details, but digging deeper to get that human-to-human connection is where the magic happens. I want my subject’s personality to shine through, and I want to bring passion to my stories.
What advice do you have for PR people that want to pitch you?
As a journalist it is my job to find the Why people are interested in a story – why it affects them, why they would be interested, why they should watch or read, why this can help their lives, etc. But as a PR person, you need to tell me your Why first. Why is this a story I want to cover, not just a story for continued marketing purposes. Sell it to me as more than a product or event, rather something an audience deserves to know.
