The BOCA team came from far and near to attend last Wednesday’s Media Predicts PRSA event. As BOCA is a dispersed agency, there is always a festive energy in the office when our remote people are in town. Nothing brings the team together like listening to a panel of reporters predict media trends over a delicious chicken dinner and a glass of red. For some of our team members it was their first PRSA event, for others it was their 31st. The room was filled with PR professionals at various stages in their careers, eager to absorb information and contribute to the Bay Area PR community.
“This was my first PRSA event and it was definitely one to remember! Got to sit next to a NYT journalist, eat some delicious food, and listen to fellow PR folks. Very inspirational for me and my future career!” — Zenetta, Assistant Account Executive, BOCA Communications 
The panel included Ina Fried of Axios, Laura Mandaro of Forbes, Mike Isaac of New York Times, Ryan Mac of Buzzfeed and Jack Stewart of Marketplace. They had a great rapport as a panel and provided insightful, candid predictions for emerging media trends. Here were some of our takeaways:
- Ina touched on the gray area of companies making anonymous comments. “I won’t let companies take shots at each other anonymously. I think that is where I draw the line.”
- Mike gave props to PR professionals. He said through the promotion of his book “Super Pumped,” he has a newfound respect for how difficult a job comms and PR is. We appreciate it, Mike!!!
- The conversation around “on the record” versus “off the record” was thought-provoking as well. The panelists agreed that “off the record” is a two-way street between the interviewee and the reporter.
- Even companies under the most scrutiny can maintain healthy relationships with reporters. As PR professionals, we all know the limbo between managing our relationships with clients and our relationships with reporters. It was great to hear the panel shine some light on their side of the equation.
- There is a lot of potential for using technology to combat climate change. The panel predicted that in time, tech companies will double as energy companies.
What we learned: The Silicon Valley PRSA Chapter has great taste in cheese and wine, the BOCA team doesn’t take great selfies, and we are all super excited to read Mike’s book, “Super Pumped.” Thank you for hosting a fantastic 2020 #MEDIAPREDICTS! We are already looking forward to next year.
The BOCA Communications team