Inaugural “Communications Week” Kicks Off on October 20, 2014

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The first Communications Week™, a cross-industry celebration of the public relations, communications and media industries, will kick off on October 20, 2014.

Communications Week was created to celebrate accomplishments, share ideas and discuss the challenges facing public relations and media professionals. It consists of inspirational, informational and social events for those employed or interested in the PR, communications and media industries. Events will be held at various locations around New York City and online.

The first year’s theme is “Media Disruption” with programming and content looking at how the PR and media industries are being impacted by the continuous changes driven by new tools, technologies and types of media emerging today, while traditional media entities begin to reinvent themselves and innovate in order to remain relevant.

“We are living in a time where the lines have blurred between the public relations and media industries. Now is the time to focus on how media is being disrupted and how both established and emerging businesses can improve and disrupt their own communications strategies,” said Tiffany Guarnaccia, Founder of Communications Week and CEO of Kite Hill PR.

Founding organization partners for the event include the Public Relations Society of America’s New York Chapter (PRSA-NY), the PRSA Tri-State District, New York Women in Communications (NYWICI), the Council of Public Relations Firms and agencies Affect, Feintuch Communications, Kellen Communications, Kite Hill PR, LKPR Inc., Nova Communications and Workman PR. Business Wire is a founding supporter of this inaugural event, PRWeek is the event’s leading media partner and AlleyWatch is a supporting media partner.

“The public relations, communications and media industries play multiple critical roles in the U.S. economy, including informing and educating consumers and businesses in our society,” said Henry Feintuch, President, PRSA-NY and President of Feintuch Communications. “Communications Week will provide the opportunity to step back, celebrate our work, reflect on the changing landscape and learn ways we can better serve our various constituencies.”

“There is a co-dependency between public relations and journalism, and we often focus on the tensions rather than the collaboration between the two professions,” said Sandra Fathi, President of Affect, and Chair of the PRSA Tri-State District. “This is an opportunity to engage in valuable discourse about the future of communications, learn from our colleagues and raise the bar for both industries.”

There is an open submission process for the Communications Week calendar where companies from all corners of the PR and media ecosystem are encouraged to submit events for consideration.

“The blurred lines between earned, owned and paid media are just the conversation starter. Consumers now expect unprecedented access to information. Feeding consumers’ information appetites with easy-to-digest, compelling content that rises above the clamor is both an opportunity and a challenge for communications professionals. New York City, as the media hub of the world, is the place to explore the impact of media disruption not only on our industry, but on global society,” said Joan Cear, Senior Vice President of Kellen Communications.

“New York Women in Communications is looking forward to participating in Communications Week because the events will provide professional, educational, and developmental opportunities that can help further the advancement of women in the workplace,” said Linda Descano, President of NYWICI and Managing Director and Head of Content and Social, North America Marketing, Citi.

“One of our organization’s pillars is to support the advancement of women in communications at every stage of their careers, and this partnership is well aligned with our focus,” Descano continued.

"Trending topics would tell us that effective communication in 2014 is all about 'content creation' and 'content curation.’ Since when have these not been the domain of public relations and journalism? That is why professional communicators in PR and in media are in the best possible position to thrive in this environment,” said Laura Sturaitis, EVP Media Services and Product Strategy, Business Wire.

To learn more about the week, please visit www.CommunicationsWeek.org and follow @CommsWeekNY on Twitter.

ABOUT COMMUNICATIONS WEEK

Communications Week™ is a cross-industry celebration of the public relations, communications and media industries. The week consists of inspirational, informational and social events held at various locations around New York City and online. With a growing number of organization, agency and individual supporters, Communications Week is a collaboration of many instead of the ideas of a few. Communications Week was founded by Tiffany Guarnaccia, CEO of Kite Hill PR. The Kite Hill PR team spearheaded the inaugural week, which currently has support from founding organization partners, PRSA-NY, PRSA Tri-State District, the Council of Public Relations Firms and NYWICI as well as agency partners Affect, Kellen Communications, Workman PR, Feintuch Communications, LKPR Inc., and Nova Communications. Business Wire is a founding supporter of the inaugural event, PRWeek is the event’s leading media partner, and AlleyWatch is a supporting media partner.

For more information, visit www.CommunicationsWeek.org and follow @CommsWeekNY on Twitter.