I hear this question more often than I would like to admit. What, exactly is public relations or PR? I even hear this question from people who are in the industry or trying to get into the industry.

Public relations is an overarching discipline. A definition from The Public Relations Handbook:

Public relations is a distinctive management function which helps establish and maintain mutual lines of communications, understanding, acceptance, and cooperation between an organization and its publics; involve the management of problems or issues; helps management to keep informed on and responsive to public opinion; defines and emphasizes the responsibility of management to serve the public interest; helps management keep abreast of and effectively utilize change, serving as an early warning system to help anticipate trends; and uses research and ethical communication techniques as its principal tools.

So many people equate public relations with publicity (media relations) but there are many other activities. Here is a rough list:

• Internal communications (communicating with employees through in-house newsletters, intranet sites and suggestion boxes, etc.)
• Corporate PR (Communicating on behalf of whole organization with annual reports, ethical statements, conferences, etc.)
• Media Relations (Communicating with journalists with press releases, press events, briefings, and increasingly social media)
• Business to Business (Communicating with other organizations like suppliers and retailers at trade events, exhibitions and through newsletters and e-mail campaigns)
• Public Affairs (Communicating with opinion formers and politicians, monitoring the political environment)
• Community relations and Corporate Social Responsibility (Communicating with local community, elected representatives, creating exhibitions, presentations, letters, meetings, sports activities and other sponsorships)
• Investor Relations (Communicating with financial organizations through newsletters, briefings and events)
• Strategic Communication + Reputation Management (Identification and analysis of situation, problem and solutions through research, planning and executing a campaign to improve the ethical reputation of the organization)
• Issues Management (Monitoring Political, social, economic and tech environment )
• Crisis Management (Communicating clear messages in an emergency as the PR people at Toyota or BP needed to do to deal with the media in light of recent crises)
• Copywriting (Writing for different audiences to high standards of literacy, writing press releases, newsletters, web pages, annual reports, crafting copy for tweets)
• Publications Management (Overseeing print and media processes like leaflets, internal magazines, and websites)
• Events Management (Organizing conferences, press launches, trade shows)

Was that overwhelming? It shouldn’t be. It should help you focus in on what you want to do, what you do best or a potential focus area. Most firms and/or solo practitioners pick 2-3 focus areas to specialize. Larger agencies can afford to pick more. If you’re just starting out, try a few things and see what you like. You can probably tell whether or not you’re interested in, for example, investor relations or public affairs which require an interest and deep subject matter expertise in finance and politics respectively.

Thoughts?

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The other day I got a note from Devon, the Spring intern. She was telling me how her summer and fall were shaping up work-wise and thanking me for the opportunity to work with me and learn on the job. Devon has lined up internships with two PR firms and is on her way. I’m so excited for her. Devon composed a letter for our readers and I wanted to share it with you.

My Internship Experience at Mopwater and MLMG

How much do you really learn when you copy your notes off a powerpoint presentation?  A lot of students sit at their desks, staring at state-of-the-art projectors on the wall, without even attempting to grasp the concepts that their professors are trying to share with them.  There is only so much you can learn from inside a classroom.  Real, hands-on experience is the only way to learn the ropes of the industry and get a head start on your professional career.  This became apparent to me during my first public relations internship.

In the classroom, I had written countless press releases and public relations documents for fictitious companies.  In most cases, just writing the average inverted pyramid style news release was enough.  As a student, it was easy to write a press release without worrying about the outcome.  I mean, who was going to get hurt if I got a B instead of an A on that one assignment?  The company did not exist and therefore they suffered no economic loss or failure due to my inability to sell their product or service.

My internship with Miller Littlejohn Media Group opened my eyes to the real pressures of the industry.  I immediately panicked after I got my first assignment to write a press release for Amanda’s event in January, Twitch!: Public Relations in the Age of Social Media. This was no longer a press release that would be read only by a professor; instead it had to grab the attention of every journalist who glanced at it.  I remember the first draft I wrote was plain to put it nicely.  Amanda met with me after I sent her the first draft to explain the undeniable importance of an “angle”.  “If you want a journalist to read what you have to say, then you better be giving them something that is essential to the lives of their readers,” she told me.

This was just one of the many invaluable lessons I learned while working for Miller Littlejohn Media Group.  Sure, I had been told this in the classroom, but I never saw the consequences.  The business world was no longer an image of my imagination, rather I was part of it and Amanda and her company were depending on me to complete certain tasks and to complete them well.

While working alongside Amanda, I gained knowledge of the skills necessary for the job, as well as how to find and keep a job in public relations.  Most importantly, she taught me the importance of being able to sell “me”.  While selling a product is extremely important, you must first prove that you are a valuable asset to a given company or firm if you want to survive and thrive in the PR industry.

Personally, I never learned these lessons from sitting in a classroom.  The knowledge I have gained from working for a real company is the reason for my current success. I know that my education and my career would not be where they are today if I didn’t have this internship.  I am grateful for the opportunities Amanda gave me and the lessons she passed on.  If I could give any advice to other students out there, it would be to dive in head first and learn the industry from someone who has mastered it.

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Looking for a PR Internship? I am  looking for a few resourceful, mature, hard-working, social media savvy interns in various locales. Email info (at) millerlittlejohnmedia (dot) com for more information.

Sometimes when launching a PR consultancy you’re forced to adopt the strategy of “taking what you can get” in order to make ends meet. Whether you love the project or client, you learn to love it whether you’re passionate about the topic or not. But after a few years of consulting one must ask themselves a critical question:

Does the Work I’m Doing Reflect My  Brand?

I personally asked myself this question, and my own answers required some changes be made. So I recently made the decision to retire a longtime client because the bulk of the work I am paid to do for this client doesn’t match what I want to be known in the industry for. I’d been with this client for over two years and the scope of my services had evolved over that time but due to the nature of the organization, we weren’t able to always tweak the contract to reflect how my suite of services had changed.

As other clients came on board and I launched the Twitch! series, and began doing more speaking engagements, social media trainings, etc. through Mopwater, I began to realize how much of a time drain this client was becoming on my business and creative energy. What if I could focus those hours each month on developing my social media trainings, or planning for events in other cities, or finding other clients who need and want what I offer?

I bounced the idea around to a number of people. Some said don’t throw away a guaranteed retainer that doesn’t require a ton of mental energy or work for the unknown. Others said simply “go for it”.

Free from the obligation of this great relationship that was amazingly nurturing and wonderful, but ultimately inconsistent with my brand, I have been able to focus on what I want the rest of this year to look like for me in terms of my business and clients. I already knew that I would be focusing on expanding my event series, making more time for speaking and writing opportunities and doing social media trainings. However I discovered that I want to spend more time pubbing what I love, so I’ve decided  to focus more on the systematic pursuit of clients in the arts and cultural sectors as well as creative women business owners. This strategy has already yielded two new projects that are absolutely in line with my brand. I am more focused, and excited than ever before.

From What I Can Get to What I Want. Here are the steps:

DEFINE YOUR BRAND. Decide what you want to be known for. Fashion PR, Beauty PR, Small Education, Non-Profit, Business Marketing, etc.

Conduct a BRAND ALIGNMENT AUDIT. What services are you currently offering and to what organizations? Are you doing what you want to be known for or not? How can you get closer to doing more of what you love?

CREATE A TIMELINE to phase out the projects that aren’t in line with your brand and bring on projects that are. This may take one month, three months, six months or even a year.

IMPLEMENT. Just do it.

At the end of the day, in life and in business, there is a finite amount of time. Do you really want to spend your day working on projects that you don’t particularly love? If you are a public relations professional it may be time to make the transition from projects you can get, to projects you want. You totally deserve to love what you do.

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So often, awards for career accomplishments are delayed into the latter stages of our careers, which can be discouraging for those of us who like the glory in addition to the hard work. But luckily, one professional organization has created a designation that allows professional PR women the chance to be recognized for career accomplishments.

The Washington Women in PR (famous for their PR Woman of the Year Award) are looking to honor the area’s up and coming public relations professionals this spring with a new distinction: the Emerging Leaders Award.This new award is a special designation for those women who have already made a significant impact on the industry and highlights their potential to contribute to the industry for many years to come, making them truly emerging leaders. WWPR will honor three outstanding young women, ages 21-35, in the Washington, D.C. metro area who have excelled in public relations and related fields.

The application deadline is April 30.

Like everyone else, journalists are using social media to multitask, carry on multiple conversations and be in more place at one time. Of course this ends up meaning they are able to communicate with more potential sources than ever before. The limitations of communication are (almost) removed, creating a hyper-journalism. Kinda like journalism on steroids.

PR pros consider these limitless pathways to communication in a pitching context of course, but it’s nice to know that journalists think of it that way as well. Thanks goes to DC Social Media Examiner Mary Fletcher Jones for capturing this great footage at Twitch! Public Relations in the Age of Social Media, the panel hosted by Mopwater on Thursday evening.  In the clip, Washington Business Journal reporter Jennifer Nycz-Conner discusses how reporting, aided by social media, is akin to cooking on a restaurant range as opposed to on your standard kitchen stove.

[Other #TwitchDC panelists included Jim Long of NBC (@newmediajim), McLean Robbins of Washingtonian Magazine (@deacondoesdc), Jamila Bey of NPR (@jbey), Arthur Delaney of Huffington Post (arthurdelaneyhp) Lindsey Mastis of WUSA9 (lindseymastis)]

Ryan Grim, Senior Congressional Correspondent for the Huffington Post and author of the 2009 Wiley release “This is Your Country on Drugs” was billed as one of 6 speakers for Mopwater PR + Media Notes’ first PR. 2.0 panel  Twitch! Public Relations in the Age of Social Media on Thursday night in Washington, but ended up canceling last minute due to an emergency.

A journalistic emergency?

Not quite. Turns out, it was Grim’s third wedding anniversary, which he obviously could not skip.

Grim sent fellow Huffington Post reporter Arthur Delaney in his stead, and to avoid becoming an official Twitch Ditch, he also sent these responses via email to my questions about his use of social media during his reporting and sourcing.

Mopwater: How has social media changed how you do your job?
RG: The biggest shift I’ve seen is toward IM [instant message], both on Facebook, blackberries, gchat or plain old AIM. People seem more relaxed on IM. So build an IM relationship with a reporter.

Mopwater: How do you use social media to find sources for your stories?

RG: LinkedIn has been an enormous help and is a great way to find people online, as is Facebook. If you want reporters to be able to reach you, make those accounts as public as possible and have a phone number easy to find.

Here’s my broad point: The PR people who are successful for me are the ones who can get through. Getting through is a function of staying ahead of the stream of communication that rushes our way. Once, emailing a reporter was the way to do that, but the inbox now is so stuffed it’ll just get buried. There will continuously be new ways to stay ahead, though. Facebook chatting is a good and underused way now. Some reporters might get annoyed at getting a FB ping from a PR flak, but whatever. It’s not your job to make us happy, just to get our attention. A direct Twitter message would get through, too, as would a tweet with my handle in it. Reporters are always out there looking to see what people are tweeting or writing about their work, so you can trap us that way.

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You haven’t heard from me in a while because I have been working day and night putting together the very first Mopwater PR + Media Notes Panel, and it promises to be amazing. If you’re in the Washington, DC area, you won’t want to miss it. If you’re not, hopefully we can do some sort of recap for those of you who could not attend.

If you manage the public’s perception of your company or are concerned with increasing your organization’s media exposure in 2010, you will want to attend Twitch! Public Relations in the Age of Social Media. If you are like 80% of PR professionals who participated in the VOCUS fall survey on PR planning for 2010, you will be focusing more on social media this year. And if you are working in the nonprofit world, you probably can relate to the 85% of nonprofit executives polled by Weber Shandwick who say social media will be demanding a larger share of nonprofit spending dollars in 2010. But how do you harness the power of social media to get traditional media coverage? How do you embark upon, what I like to call, “social media relations?”

Find out how at Twitch! This event will feature a panel of working journalists who use social media daily to interact with PR professionals, communicators and the public. Think of this event as a “How to Pitch 2.0 Workshop.” Come with your questions about how to effectively use social media to land traditional media coverage. Learn how journalists are accepting pitches and twitches via twitter and Facebook, what they like and what they hate. Do some networking and  workshop the idea of social media relations.

Twitch! Public Relations in the Age of Social Media
Thursday, Jan 14, 2010
Busboys and Poets Langston Room
2021 14th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009
Cost: $20
Note: Space is limited. We can’t accept payment on-site. You must register online through Eventbrite.

Register Online

Panel

Moderator:
Jim Long, NBC Universal / Verge New Media, LLC (@newmediajim)

Panelists:
Jennifer Nycz-Conner, Washington Business Journal (@jenconner)

Lindsey Mastis, WUSA News Channel 9 (@lindseymastis)

Ryan Grim, Huffington Post / Author of “This Is Your Country on Drugs.” (@ryangrim)

Jamila Bey, National Public Radio and WAMU (@jbey)

McLean Robbins, Washingtonian and DC Modern Luxury Magazines (@deacondoesdc)

Organizer:
Amanda Miller Littlejohn, Miller Littlejohn Media Group / Mopwater PR + Media Notes / Author of “The Mopwater PR + Media Notes Manual for a Stellar PR Career” (@amandamogul)

Other fun stuff:

RSVP on LinkedIn

RSVP on Facebook

Join the Mopwater Facebook Fan Page

When referencing the event, before during and after, please use the #TwitchDC hashtag on Twitter.

Last night I attended a public relations seminar at the WUSA Channel 9 Station in Washington,DC. The topic du jour was digital media and making the transition, but as it was a roomful of PR pros in a televison statio, questions naturally came up about pitching television producers in a digital world.

It’s no secret that newsrooms are shrinking. In December the Washington Post reported on WUSA9′s new approach to multimedia journalism; deploying anchors equipped with digital cameras, camcorders, and video editing equipment. This approach has been met with praise and criticism; but it still begs a question: how can PR pros successfully function in this new multimedia environment?

I found the comments of Khalim Piankhi, Vice President of Community Relations for WUSA9 to be extraordinarily spot-on. To sum up Piankhi’s thoughts, don’t pitch producers.

This may seem counterintuitive to public relations professionals, but the media industry is changing, which absolutely affects the way we work with media organizations. How do they liked to be approached? What are their preferences?

Piankhi says news organizations like his don’t particularly care about your client. They care about their audience. He suggests that instead of thinking of how you can get yourself or your client in the news, think how you can help a news organization meet its objectives. At the end of the day, news organizations need the most relevant content to keep their audience, and if a big story breaks they will be searching for content to pump out to their consumers.

So instead of thinking a pitch, think relationships, he went on to say.  Frame yourself as a resource to a news organization. Check in from time to time. Send background materials. Keep your issue on the back burner-close enough that when that major story breaks bringing your issue to the fore, the producer will reach for the phone and call you.

I had the pleasure of meeting today’s TDMJ PR Pro a few weeks ago, and was so compelled by her story that I knew you would be, too. In addition to being a new wife and mother like myself, Mrs. Lara is a tenacious public relations professional who started out in the world of academia and leveraged a thirst for knowledge and willingness to work hard to create her own  opportunities. For Lara, this has translated into a pretty impressive career track only a few years out of college-not bad for someone who didn’t study communications in college! Already a senior account exec with several  agency positions under her belt and a consulting practice in the works, Mrs. Lara is one to watch.

Name: Jacqueline Lara
Age: 26
Current City: Silver Spring, MD
Job Title: Senior Account Executive, Lyons Public Relations
Owner, Mpact Communications
Length of Time in this Role: 18 months

Web Site |LinkedIn|Twitter

Mopwater: Describe your path to PR. How did you wind up in this field?

JL: My path to PR was nontraditional, but I wouldn’t change it for the world because each step has molded my experience. I received my B.A. in Sociology and a business certificate from the College Park Scholars program at the University of Maryland.  While I enjoyed my major and loved analyzing groups of people and their behaviors, as well as organizations and the key factors influencing their effectiveness, I often wondered what profession I’d pursue after college.  I felt pigeon-holed between working in HR and becoming a social worker.  Neither of these options appealed to me, so I took a few communications courses and was intrigued by the power of words and the way media pundits ‘spun’ messages to advance their platforms. Read the full story

DSM Client Calvin Pace

Name: Eddie Rhodman, Jr
Age: 30
Current City:Atlanta, GA
Job Title: Personal Management-Publicist for Athletes
Company Name: Destined for Success Management, LLC
Length of Time in this Role: 7 years
Twitter Handle: @d4sm

Mopwater: Describe your path to PR. How did you wind up in this field?

ER: I didn’t take the typical route most publicists choose. I was an athlete in school and always knew that I wanted to continue my connection with sports, though. I was originally a biology, pre-med major at Morehouse College because I wanted to work on the business side of sports medicine and was told by a professor that [sports medicine] was the best way to go. After participating in various summer programs I realized medicine wasn’t my passion. Morehouse didn’t have any programs with a sports focus, and while there was no passion for medicine, the desire to be in the sports world remained. Consequently, I created my own plan of study, internships and work that would lead me to the business side of sports. At first I worked with kids whose coaches didn’t seem interested in helping them get to the next level (i.e., college). I helped scouts find undiscovered  talent and helped coaches identify diamonds in the rough- and I did it for free. In addition to doing it for the love of it, I was building a network. I eventually started researching ways I could help professional athletes, interviewing former pros about services they wished they’d had when they played, etc.

For two years I networked and approached various companies with my findings- in hopes of finding a position. Unfortunately, I found more rejection than anything (which was bad for my bank account), but in the process I’d assembled quite a rolodex and established important relationships. Eventually, at my parents’ suggestion, I realized the need to start my own business. It’s been a tough road, as any entrepreneurial endeavor is, but I continue to work hard and appreciate the support of loved ones. And of course, I keep God first- I’ve been blessed.

Mopwater: What aspects of the industry are you most excited about?
ER: I’m most excited about helping players expand their horizons beyond the field. It’s great when they’re known for what they do when the helmet is on, but it’s even more fulfilling when I’m a vehicle for their being able to help their communities and achieve their other dreams.

Mopwater: Describe a typical workday including your work hours. What do you do all day?
ER: Normally, I work out in the morning. Then I check emails, make pitch calls, research client opportunities and track placements. I may also have meetings to attend or conference calls to make. In the evening, I usually watch games for research purposes and what sports media are talking about. This way I can give clients input for interviews. During the off-season I book clients for events, red carpet appearances, photo shoots, etc. And then there’s networking, networking and more networking.

My days tend to vary, but I work 24-7. I get teased, and people call me the email King because I send business emails all times of day and night. Basically they’re always asking me “when do you sleep?”.

Mopwater: Describe your office setting and workplace.
ER: My office is small but pleasant. Most of my team works remotely, so it’s perfect for me. As far as my company culture- it’s kinda like a family. To quote Jay-Z “It’s a secret society, all we ask is trust”- and a serious grind. We keep it fun, though.

Mopwater: What are your favorite and least favorite PR tasks and why?
ER: I love phone and face time- I’m at my best when I’m pitching and networking. There’s something very rewarding about finding new opportunities and information for my clients. Press releases are another story… I HATE writing.

Mopwater: Who are some of your (or your organization’s) clients, and what kind of projects do you take on for these clients?
ER: My clients are athletes, organizations that do work in the community, businesses and entrepreneurs. My job is to get the word out about them- mostly via the media. That also includes planning events, scheduling appearances and creating strategic partnerships.

Mopwater: Describe a recent project where you produced results of which you’re really proud.
ER: A client’s foundation donated $25,000 to a single mother of four who was affected by Hurricane Katrina on the Montel Williams. Then he followed up to make sure she got a house, kids in school and still keeps in touch regularly.

Mopwater: What is your favorite thing about this job?
ER: Well there are two. First, there’s seeing the joy the clients and their loved ones experience when their exposure and brand awareness starts to grow. Then there’s the moment the client understands that it’s not just about the money for me and that I really do care about their welfare as a person in the short and long term.

Mopwater: Do you think you’ll be in this position in 5 years?
ER: God willing. If my work continues to speak for itself, more doors will open and my company will continue to grow.

Mopwater: If you could work on any PR or marketing project of your choosing, what would it be? ER: I’m already doing it. I’d be helping my clients’ foundations and community efforts to partner with major brands and in the process, bring more awareness to the plight of the less fortunate among us.

So…a few people have mentioned to me that they would be freelancer by now if they only knew how to make it happen. I’m here to tell you, there’s no magic formula: but talent and persistence will certainly get you far.

I was inspired to post this by one particular PR pro who I know is going to light the Midwest ablaze as soon as she figures out how awesome she is. If you’re looking for help getting started with a new business idea, or as a freelance copywriter or marketing/public relations professional, you may benefit from my experience. It’s certainly not a road map for everyone, but for those looking for a little direction, it may be a start.

The ability to create a sound strategy to promote an event, person, product or cause lies at the core of our profession. That means making judgment calls about what medium or combination of media to use when crafting a good pitch. Increasingly, spreading the word and generating buzz requires a multitiered, multifaceted and multimedia approach. In addition to the original channels of media, we must continue to push the envelope and learn creative ways to attract attention and engender the compassion of our target audience-whether they are reporters at the Wall Street Journal or consumers.

This video for Share Our Strength is a great and inspiring example of this outside-of-the-box thinking. Created by the genius creative minds at Washington, DC-based iStrategyLabs, the video is beautifully scripted and animated. And what’s more, it’s scored with original music. Can you imagine sending this thing to a journalist as your pitch?

Name: Marc Silverstein
Current City: Washington, DC and environs
Job Title: President and CEO
Company: On The Marc Media
Length of Time in this Role: 5 Years
Twitter: @onthemarcmedia
Mopwater: Describe your path to PR. How did you wind up in this field?
MS: I was a crusty but lovable TV news reporter for close to 20 years, so skepticism of all spokespeople, PR folks and spinmeisters was in my DNA. Over time, I came to appreciate the few who “got it.” They knew how to successfully spar with reporters, leak stories, get out their message—and when they had to—take one for the team (usually a critical story) without too much whining.

Then I left news and hosted a long-running show about restaurants on Food Network called The Best Of. Many of the places we profiled had publicists, some of whom were incredibly helpful, and succeeded in making good stories better. But far too often, we had to deal with what I nicknamed Philadelphia-type PR, based on a company in Philly whose reps were so inept that we stopped covering their clients. They got in the way, raised tension levels with the crew and consistently made the process so difficult that even eating the free food offered by the chefs became a chore. That takes some doing.

From both the news and entertainment experiences, I saw there was an opportunity—to offer the kind of PR that provides a more effective bridge between clients and the media.  Clients need public relations people who know how to:
•    Understand reporters, their pressures and their personalities—and make their lives easier. (Like providing “one –stop-shopping,” and not calling to pitch stories when reporters are under deadline).
•    Speak the language of news reporters (Forget the elevator speech; you’re lucky if you get to ride one floor while you’re pitching them).
•    Identify what their client does that’s newsworthy, and figure out every way we can to get it in front of an audience.
•    Write short, dynamic news releases that don’t waste anyone’s time.
•    Use a lot of bullet points.

After Food Network, I hosted a show on Discovery Channel. After shooting the episodes, I was under contract and couldn’t work elsewhere in TV for several months. Much to my disdain, my wife wouldn’t let me sit home in semi-retirement. That’s when On The Marc Media actively started going after PR clients—and since then, we’ve been successfully getting them on TV, in print and on the Internet, in addition to providing a vast array of other marketing services. Read the full story

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you had  a great holiday season and are gearing up for a great 2009. As promised, Mopwater is back in full effect today, and as such, I’m launching the much-anticipated “How to Pitch” column.  HTP is going to give you the inside track on how to get yourself or your client covered in print, broadcast and web-based media.

Reporters and editors-are you looking to get more exposure for your work in 2009? Ready to put down the pen (okay, keyboard) for a moment and get on-screen?  Maybe you’ve recently seen your reporter colleagues featured as experts on television news programs, so you’re wondering how you could get on television,too.

To help you get your first television interview, I’ve interviewed  Ferman Patterson, Producer of Reporter’s Roundtable, a public affairs program that airs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at noon on Channel 16 in the District of Columbia. Frequent guests include D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and Washington Post Reporter Hamil Harris. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the program, here’s a brief synopsis from the DC Office of Cable Television:

Hosted by Denise Rolark Barnes of The Washington Informer, the show tackles the top news items affecting District residents. Viewers will hear issues addressed from every perspective by panelists like Hamil Harris of The Washington Post and Deborah Simmons of The Washington Times. The show takes you beyond the local headlines as these journalists debate what’s in the news and how it will impact DC residents.

I’ve often wondered how reporters/experts get booked on this program as it seems like the guests are pretty much the same whenever I tune in.  According to Patterson, it really depends.

“Sometimes we get leads from reporters or we see a reporter on air and [invite them on],” he says. “Who we choose is based on topic or subject matter.” Recently archived episodes include the same-sex marriage debate, the green revolution and Wall Street vs. Main Street. Read the full story