Strategic communication veteran leading a “digital transformation” at WKAR Public Media

<p>“Strategic communication is one of those terms that we hear thrown around a lot in the communication field. And what we're talking about with strategic communication really is the idea that we all communicate with each other daily, in organizations, interpersonally, with family and friends. And that communication is designed to relay a message between you and me right now to achieve some objective. When we talk about strategic communication, we're really talking about looking at a vision, objective, or goal for an organization and developing the communication that will help us achieve those objectives or those goals over time.</p><p>“It's a field that's evolved over the years and one that I really enjoy working in because it involves not only helping organizations get from where they are today to where they want to go. But it also involves elements of crisis communication, issue communication, and a range of other things that organizations are dealing with daily. I still enjoy teaching and helping the next generation of communicators.”</p><p>What made you want to take on <a href="https://www.wkar.org/station-news/2022-05-02/shawn-turner-named-as-wkar-public-media-interim-general-manager">the assignment</a>?</p><p>“When I got to know the team here at WKAR, what I found was just a great group of people who come to work every day with this idea that there's a community out there that needs information, a community out there that needs support, a community out there that relies on this station and the people at this station to keep them informed. And while it's very different than the type of service that I spent my career engaged in, it's still service to people who need your support. And so, I felt this natural kinship with the folks here. When this opportunity came along, I will tell you the only thing that gave me pause was the fact that <a href="https://share.transistor.fm/s/4a479e71">Susi Elkins</a> was such a phenomenal general manager here and has done such great work that I think you have to stop