As communications methods and platforms have exploded in recent years, so have the job responsibilities of public information pros in city government.
There’s content to create — from podcasts to blogs to social media posts that will play across various channels. There’s media relations advice to offer to city departments — from parks and recreation to economic development. And there are events to plan — from news conferences to downtown festivals.
And on any given day, breaking news can disrupt the to-do list and send a PIO scrambling to find out the facts and get the accurate information out to the public.
In Myrtle Beach, Meredith Denari, the city’s director of communications and creative services, has a background as a TV news anchor and reporter. Her main responsibility is serving as the city’s spokesperson, which includes crafting messages to the public and media, answering questions, coordinating interviews and doing weekly radio segments. Her staff attends and broadcasts council meetings and presentations, and plans the city’s formal ceremonies for Memorial Day, September 11, Veterans Day, the Christmas tree lighting and ribbon cuttings and dedications.
Myrtle Beach Director of Communications and Creative Services Meredith Denari.
Photo: City of Myrtle Beach.
But a growing part of the job is creating content. And while she said the best part of her job is the people she works with each day, her favorite part of the position is the journalism aspect.
“Accurate journalism is very important in every community, and I get to play a role in that by telling Myrtle Beach stories first with an insider's look,” she said. “With 83,000 followers on Facebook, we have a great platform, in addition to our newly created YouTube channel, MyrtleBeachCityGov, and your usual social media platforms,” she said.
Denari was hired as the city’s assistant public information director in 2021 and took over the top job this year when long-serving public information director Mark Kruea retired. She said the support for storytelling from the city’s senior staff and council has allowed her to purchase quality videography equipment and create a new position of creative services manager.
“We have a team of multi-skilled specialists who are taking their talents to the next level and giving our content a more news-like twist, keeping the ‘Why do I care?’ mindset as they write in a focused, clear and ‘get-to-the-point’ way for our followers to easily understand what’s happening and why it’s important. All videos have a target to be a minute or less in length. Unless it’s a special video, 2 minutes is too long. “
She said her office’s goal is for residents, visitors and followers to visit the city’s Facebook page first for their news, and for reporters to see the city’s content and replicate it onto their platforms.
“The easier we can make the reporter’s job by laying out the story for them and communicating the good stories coming from the City of Myrtle Beach, the better,” she said.
As the public and community affairs director in Darlington, Hunter Thomas’ position is a mix of responsibilities.
In his marketing and public relations role, he creates content using video, photography and print collateral, along with writing news releases and speaking to the media on television. His job also has a community affairs aspect where he helps guide the beautification board in town, provides support for community organizations, and hosts events.
Darlington Public and Community Affairs Director Hunter Thomas. Photo: City of Darlington.
He started the job in April, but he’s not new to the profession or to Darlington, where he grew up.
“I went to college in Florence, graduate school in Hartsville. I’ve stayed in the Pee Dee region my entire life. To be able to come and serve my city and to see things come to fruition means a lot to me,” Thomas said.
One of Thomas’ past jobs in public relations was with an industry closely tied to Darlington – NASCAR and Darlington Motor Speedway. For the past 10 years he has been a licensed NASCAR journalist, and still continues that work on his motorsports news and opinion website, thefourthturn.com. That background helped both his skillset and his network as he settled into his job with the city.
“If you can take a picture of a 200 mile-an-hour racecar, you can take a picture of an event in town,” he said.
He already had many industry connections for the first event he hosted in his new role – the NASCAR Haulerfest, which brings to downtown Darlington the 18-wheelers that transport racecars.
His community background has helped him understand the communication methods residents are comfortable using.
“We have residents who are very technologically advanced and use their phones for everything and residents who don’t use a phone at all. I learned to cater to both demographics,” he said.
“It’s important to have some form of printed material that you mail to residents. It could be simple, an event calendar or one or two news items, but something that lets residents know what’s going on it the city.”
He said it’s also important to build a digital contact list to expand the reach of his digital newsletter. While not everyone uses the same social media platforms, he said Facebook remains a strong outlet.
“You learn quickly that people don’t know what’s going on if you’re not speaking in their space,” he said.
Chapin Communications Specialist Dylan Francis. Photo: Town of Chapin.
In Chapin, Dylan Francis has been the town’s communications specialist for about a year and a half, moving to the position from his previous job with the Newberry Observer.
His main responsibilities are community events and public relations. He plans and coordinates the town’s events, updates the town’s website, writes a monthly newsletter, posts on social media and writes press releases.
Chapin’s largest event on the calendar is the Labor Day Festival, which lasts several days and includes a country music concert, a 5K race, more than 100 vendors and the Labor Day Parade, which has been going on since the early 1970s.
“I do enjoy being able to help form further community,” he said. “Chapin can be a place where people go to retire, or sometimes want to keep to themselves. So providing a forum for people to come together, see their neighbors, listen to music, and bridging those gaps is something I do enjoy doing.”
Francis said combatting misinformation is one of the biggest challenges he has found in his job.
“Even if you put out an official statement, a lot of misinformation still gets passed around,” he said. “It can get challenging when a rumor takes flight and catches fire. You get a barrage of calls, people asking if it’s true.”
He said the town has strong local media partners, including Best Version Media, which publishes Chapin Neighbors, which also hosts the Chamber Neighbors podcast addressing local business and nonprofit highlights. Francis said he is fortunate that they invite him on to promote local happenings such as the Labor Day Festival.
“Social media tends to be effective in its range, but it can also cause some discourse,” he said, adding that the Chapin website is updated often with breaking news that residents need to know — such as a boil water advisory or a road closing.
As for advice for his fellow municipal PR practitioners: “I would urge people to approach a situation from the eye of the public. People have a lot of notions about local governments in all different levels. Generally, people don’t come knocking at your town hall happy. A certain amount of empathy is key to proper public communications. Think about how you’d want to be treated yourself in the same situation if the roles were reversed.”