Keyana Corliss and Becky Buckman host Mixing Board member and Axios journalist Eleanor Hawkins in today’s episode for a conversation on getting the comms perspective in news reporting. Eleanor worked as the senior director of corporate communications for PBS in Washington prior to arriving at Axios, and previously worked in politics as a press secretary. Eleanor, who authors the weekly Axios Communications Newsletter, also discusses Axios’s unusual journalism model and the impact AI could have on both comms and reporting.

Becky Buckman points out that journalists frequently go into comms, but it’s rare for comms pros to go into journalism. Eleanor’s career pivot highlights Axios’s larger strategy of teaching subject-matter experts across fields how to be journalists. Eleanor writes in real-time, working to get comms people behind stories to speak about a story’s impact–which isn’t easy, given comms pros’ traditional role behind the scenes. Discussing topics ranging from AI to the future of online events to the value of old-fashioned press releases, Keyana and Becky leverage their combined knowledge of comms and journalism to get Eleanor talking.

“I try to do like real-time case studies of what's going on and how it impacts the business and kind of how they're responding to it. And sometimes it can be really tricky to get people to peel back the curtain and talk to you about it. … that's been surprising because I thought for sure comms people would love to be on stage and love to see their name. But then I immediately think back to my own experience and it was like if my name was ever in a news story, something went wrong, right? … you should not be quoted, there should be no fingerprints. So I'm navigating that on the other side of things, which has been really interesting.” - Eleanor Hawkins

Join technology comms pros Becky Buckman and Keyana Corliss as they cut to the heart of today’s tech-news cycle and the general craziness that is high-tech corporate communications right now. With a short, not-too-serious take on the industry - with plenty of humor and irony thrown in - they’ll bring you the best in the biz, across comms and media together, for one-of-a-kind insights and perspectives you won’t hear anywhere else!

About Eleanor Hawkins:

Eleanor Hawkins is a communications strategist and writer at Axios. She authors the weekly Axios Communicators newsletter and covers topics and trends that impact how leaders, brands and employers communicate.

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Resources discussed in this episode:

• Sara Fischer at Axios
• Edelman’s 2023 Future of Corporate Communications Study
• Axios Pro

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Contact Rebecca Buckman and Keyana Corliss:

• Rebecca on LinkedIn
• Rebecca on X
• Keyana on Linkedin
• Keyana on X

Contact Eleanor Hawkins:

• LinkedIn
• Mixing Board