Training Tomorrow's Press Secretaries

The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that one of the fastest growing professions over the next decade will be public relations. The bureau projects a 22.5 percent growth in public relations practitioners over the next eight-ten years. While it does not have exact figures on how many of those communicators will be organizational spokesmen, it can be fairly well assumed that those filling the role of spokesman will be part of this significant growth. Even today, it is hard to find any for-profit or non-profit organization or entity that does not have someone on its staff serving in the capacity of spokesman or press secretary.

Where do these spokesman come from? At present, the answer is nowhere and everywhere. I am a perfect example of this. Even though for the majority of my 40 year career in communication part of my duties included filling the role of spokesman, at no time did I have any formal training. I did it because I was "the PR guy." I did it because no one around me wanted to. While I am not complaining and, in all modesty feel I did not do too bad of a job in that role, it is time those that do prepare prospective professional communicators step up and begin including in their curriculum formal education and training opportunities for men and women seeking careers as spokesmen.

Perhaps the most important element of the spokesman role is for that person to represent their client or organization in a positive manner, yet do so in a manner that does not alienate but, instead,  enhances ties with other publics. To be able to this at all and do it well requires training. This is where departments of communication at universities and colleges across the United States come in. They are in the best and most logical position to provide wanna-be press secretaries with the rounded education they need to fill a role that has become so vital to society. It is time for communication scholars to meet this challenge by designing programs of study focusing on spokesmanship.