Describe your job.
I cover the public relations, advertising and marketing communities of Metro Atlanta. My goal is to write about the trends and news of this community from a business perspective. One thing I'd like to note is that the newspaper, in the past, has covered this beat with more emphasis on new accounts or new hires than I am doing currently. The only time I will do anything on movements or new accounts is when I can put them into a larger context, one that reflects how the industry is doing as a whole. The stories I look for generally are more universal in nature than personal.

What time/day is best to call?
I usually get in around 10 a.m. so the best time to get me is around 10:30 a.m. (I'm giving myself an extra 30 minutes just in case I get caught in traffic).

How do you like to be contacted?
I like email and phone calls. (see contact information below)

Which topics are hot right now? Which are not?
That's what I'd like you to tell me. As I've said, I am looking for trends or stories about new business that reflects where the industry is going.

What's your most memorable experience with a PR person?
Getting a call at home the morning that T.J. Solomon opened fire at Heritage High School in Rockdale County. It was one of those frantic "Get over here quick!" calls.

Anything else you'd like Atlanta's Public Relations/Marketing industry to know?
As I have made the rounds, I'm learning that everyone is under the impression that I am new here. Actually, I've been here for more than five years (which almost makes me an old-timer considering how much journalists move around). I covered education in Rockdale for about two years before becoming an editor in our DeKalb, Rockdale and City Life bureaus. But I have to say, what I'm doing now is more fun than anything I've done at the paper combined.

Thank you to this month's Guest Columnist:
Leon Stafford
Business Reporter
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
(404) 526-5366
lstafford@ajc.com