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In this episode, Mort Crim joins On Top of PR host Jason Mudd to discuss his career highlights, truth in journalism, and his newest memoir, “Anchored: A Journalist’s Search for Truth.

Tune in to learn more!

Our Guest:

Our episode guest is Mort Crim, a retired journalist, author, lecturer, and motivational speaker. He inspired the Anchorman character Ron Burgundy.

Five things you’ll learn from this episode:

1. The inspiration behind Anchorman’s Ron Burgundy
2. Mort’s journalism career highlights and pivotal moments
3. Maintaining a trusted image in journalism and PR
4. How the media has changed and ways to adapt
5. Mort’s book, “Anchored: A Journalist’s Search for Truth”

Quotables

“I have a philosophy that if you run fast enough, old age can’t catch you.” — @Mort Crim

“Never have an ego or have arrogance about yourself because you never know when you're going to need help or the support of others in your community.” — @JasonMudd9

“It's all about the story. History is made up of stories. We call journalists the people who write the first draft of history. But that hasn't changed — for all of the technological change, for all the proliferation of media — it's still about content.” — @Mort Crim

“Become a good writer, and if you're a good writer, I can teach you how to stand in front of a camera. I can teach you how to hold the microphone. I can teach you how to be a broadcaster. But I can't teach you how to think, and I can't teach you how to write.” — @Mort Crim

“Journalism is a profession that requires, first of all, a commitment to honesty and truth. But secondly, you need training. You need to have some understanding and experience in how to recognize a story, how to organize a story, how to tell a story in a way that is meaningful to the audience.” — @Mort Crim

“PR needs to be all about the audience of the news outlet when you're pitching media.” — @JasonMudd9

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About Mort Crim

Mort Crim is a journalist, author, lecturer, and motivational speaker. He is the main inspiration for the character Ron Burgundy, a news anchor in the Anchorman movie series. His network and local broadcast experience in radio and TV includes five years as a correspondent for ABC in New York City and two decades as a senior editor and anchor for WDIV-TV, an NBC affiliate station in Detroit. He was backup for Paul Harvey’s “The Rest of the Story” radio program for five years. He is the author of eight books, including his most recent memoir, “Anchored: A Journalist's Search for Truth.”

Guest’s contact info and resources:

Mort Crim on X

Mort Crim on LinkedIn

Mort Crim on Facebook

Mort Crim’s website

Support the show

• On Top of PR is produced by Axia Public Relations, named by Forbes as one of America’s Best PR Agencies. Axia is an expert PR firm for national brands.
• On Top of PR is sponsored by ReviewMaxer, the platform for monitoring, improving, and promoting online customer reviews.

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Disclaimer: We edited portions of this recording from its originally aired version at Citizens Property Insurance Corporation's request.

In this episode, Doug Filaroski joins host Jason Mudd to discuss how a property insurance company manages crisis communications.

Tune in to learn more!

Our Guest:

Our episode guest is Doug Filaroski, senior communications representative at Citizens Property Insurance. He manages crisis communications projects, provides strategic consulting, and oversees the production of all types of content — from leadership messaging to digital communications and video.

Five things you’ll learn from this episode:

1. Citizens Property Insurance’s communications strategies

2. How to respond to a crisis

3. The role of crisis response centers during catastrophic events

4. The importance of fraud prevention campaigns

5. Why companies need a crisis communication plan

Quotables

“We feel a great responsibility — because we are the state or the people's insurance company — to provide them with good service.” — @Doug Filaroski

“Florida was responsible for 79% of all the lawsuits in the United States against property insurance companies.” — @Doug Filaroski

“When I started with a company about 10 years ago, I don't think we had as good a plan as we have now. So one of the best tips is to have a plan. Frankly, a lot of people I talk to in crisis communications don't really have a formal plan.” — @Doug Filaroski

“I'm personally a big fan of templates. If I have to send the same email twice, I'd sure like to have a template for it for the third time, and I always encourage my teammates to do the same thing.” — @JasonMudd9

“A lot of the comments you're making speak to the culture of your organization and that you obviously care and you're there to serve, as opposed to just being the solution that's the least desirable for your customers. I think that really matters and goes a long way.” — @JasonMudd9

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with others or leave us a quick podcast review.

About Doug Filaroski

Doug is a former journalist who's covered presidential campaigns, government corruption, and growth. He now works as a corporate storyteller. After stints at a Fortune 500 company and the JAX Chamber, he moved on to internal, external, and crisis communications for Citizens Property Insurance in Florida. Doug is also the vice president of communications for the Florida Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators.

Guest’s contact info and resources:

Doug Filaroski on X

Doug Filaroski on LinkedIn

Citizens Property Insurance website

International Association of Business Communicators

International Association of Bu

Support the show

• On Top of PR is produced by Axia Public Relations, named by Forbes as one of America’s Best PR Agencies. Axia is an expert PR firm for national brands.
• On Top of PR is sponsored by ReviewMaxer, the platform for monitoring, improving, and promoting online customer reviews.

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Our Guest:

Linda Beltran is vice president of corporate communications at Holiday Inn Club Vacations, a leading vacation ownership company with more than 30 resorts across the U.S. She oversees a team of communications professionals who manage internal and external communications, executive visibility, corporate social responsibility, media relations, crisis communications, community relations, and thought leadership.

Five things you’ll learn from this episode:

1. How internal communication management can prevent external crisis
2. Executive media training and thought leadership
3. The evolution of internal communications
4. The future of internal communications
5. Internal communications best practices

Quotables

“Your team members are really your first and most important audience.” — @Linda Beltran

“We have to be nimble and pivot. And I tell people all the time, improvising and pivoting are one of the undersold skills that you have to have in this line of work.” — @JasonMudd9

“If you have a company and leadership that really puts their faith in their comms team, you're already ahead of the curve, and then the rest is just making sure that they're being received.” — @Linda Beltran

“Pre-pandemic, people weren't necessarily paying attention to their internal audience.” — @Linda Beltran

“I love the idea of trying something new. I love the idea of failing forward. And as I tell my team quite a bit, as long as you're working on something that won't be shown externally, take some risk internally.” — @JasonMudd9

If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with others or leave us a quick podcast review.

About Linda Beltran

As a seasoned communications leader with over 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry, Linda brings strategic, creative, and impactful solutions to diverse audiences and stakeholders. Her mission is to enhance the reputation, visibility, and engagement of the organizations she works with, aligning communications with their values, culture, and goals.

Guest’s contact info and resources:

• Linda Beltran on X
• Linda Beltran on LinkedIn
• Holiday Inn Club Vacations website

Additional Resources:

• The value of being honest in internal communications
• 4 ways to present your corporation as grateful to its shareholders

Support the show

• On Top of PR is produced by Axia Public Relations, named by Forbes as one of America’s Best PR Agencies. Axia is an expert PR firm for national brands.
• On Top of PR is sponsored by ReviewMaxer, the platform for monitoring, improving, and promoting online customer reviews.