Public Relations?

I did a TV interview today with 3TV about All Day Kindergarten in the Kyrene School District. This task came to me because I handle 'all things Kindergarten' at the district level. (Somebody said to me today, but I thought you handled Title I, and sex ed... yep... well... add Kindergarten to that mix!)

(If you'd like to see the interview, you can see it here... and you can catch both Colin and I in the video as it was shot in his Kindergarten classroom)

In the past year, I have been interviewed on television five times and have been interviewed countless times for the newspaper- all in ways that relate to my job. I don't mind doing this- and I have to admit that I still get a little thrill out of being on TV or being quoted in the paper. It's different than my regular work- and I usually get to speak about topics that I am really passionate about (no sex ed jokes here please!).

But, as I was coming back to the district office I started thinking about the media and how it relates to Kyrene- and then more globally about how it relates to our society. See, when I first started in Kyrene, I don't think we were 'covered' nearly as much in the media. Sure, every once in awhile there was a story- usually more print than television- and especially in the local papers- but it was every once in awhile. Now, it seems like our district is on TV all the time... just think if I've been interviewed 5 times this year and I only deal with a handful of programs... how many interviews have there been altogether?

Part of this is due to the public relations person that works in our district. She has strong ties to both the newspaper and the television stations- and she's out there asking for the stories. But I think part of it has to do with the incessant coverage of everything that is happening in our world today. Seems like the media is desparate for news to cover- and I don't know that it's always a good thing. Take the Swine Flu for example... that was one that got blown WAY out of proportion and I really think the media had a LOT to do with it.

So, here's the question... is the media coverage of our district good or bad? When I look at the story today- it's good. This was great coverage about All Day Kindergarten and all that it has to offer for kids. Hopefully it will expand a few individual's minds when they think about what Kindergarten is and isn't...

But what about when the story isn't good? When the story is slanted (like some of the recent coverage of the sex education curriculum) and not accurate? When the story is created simply to try to create some anxiety- to CREATE controversy? What then?

Seems to me that it's a bit like playing Russian Roulette... and I'm not quite sure I'm ready to play with that gun on a regular basis.

Guess that's why I chose *public* education and NOT *public* relations as my profession.