We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Laura Evans Manatos. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Laura below.

Laura , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.

I wanted to work in TV News since I was in 7th grade. So working my way up to a job as anchor in a Top 10 TV market (Washington, D.C.) was a dream come true. I spent 25+ years on the front line of some of the biggest stories of our time – from 9/11 to the DC sniper attacks. I led coverage of election nights, presidential inaugurations and the Bush/Gore recount. I did sit-down interviews with lawmakers, entertainers and newsmakers and most moving to me, I got to tell countless stories about incredible people overcoming adversity, tragedy or challenges and finding ways to go on and inspire, help and connect with others.

I loved that job for a very long time. It was a privilege to do it and to do it for as long as I did. But at a certain point I realized it was no longer feeling like my dream job anymore. I was a mother of three working nights and missing everything that happened in my kids’ lives after school and at bedtime. News was changing too and becoming extremely negative. I didn’t have the power to change that in the role I was in and I realized that I wanted to have more control. I wanted to put more positive, solution-focused stories into the world.

Until that time, I had never considered a second career choice. TV News was all I ever wanted to do. So figuring out my second chapter was hard and the day I said goodbye to the anchor desk honestly felt both liberating and terrifying. At the time, I did see it as an enormous risk to walk away from the certainty of a TV anchor job and the paycheck that came with it. I think a lot of other people did too. But thank goodness I stepped into the unknown and started building my own business.

I’m now living out my second dream job as CEO of Laura Evans Media. In six years I’ve grown this company from being a solopreneur to running my own public relations company. Our clients are changemakers and disruptors solving problems and putting positivity into the world. I work with an amazing team of former journalists and I am doing purpose filled work every day and on my terms. Taking that risk was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

Laura , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Laura Evans Media (LEM) is a woman owned, progressive public relations firm made up of a diverse group of Emmy award-winning journalists. We elevate our clients as thought leaders, develop and showcase their stories and bring their message to a broader audience to amplify their impact. Our talented team of newsroom veterans and media consultants knows how to get stories to the right people at the right time. We excel at securing widespread local, national, and international coverage for clients on an ongoing basis with reach and views in the multi millions. Organizations and leaders also rely on us to organize and execute large-scale media coordination and broker high-level, powerful partnerships that create areas of collaboration and mutual benefit.

One thing I’m extremely proud of is that we are focused on elevating positive, inspiring, solution-based stories about organizations and individuals who are change-makers and doing good in the world. Our clients are driven by passion and purpose and are working to make people happier and safer, communities healthier and more connected and our world kinder and more equitable. There’s an old saying in journalism that ‘if it bleeds it leads’ but research clearly shows more and more people are tuning out the news and actively avoiding it because it’s so negative and upsetting. I’m proud to be part of a solution – by providing the kinds of stories that news organizations need, the public wants, and our team is thrilled to facilitate – through daily pitching, a variety of content and our LEM Assignment Manager newsletter, which more than 1,000 journalists have signed up to receive.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

My reputation – and the reputation of our company – is built on relationships first and foremost. After many years in news, everyone on the team has a network of contacts across the country and beyond. We maintain those relationships by being thoughtful in our approach and content. We don’t blast every story we have to every contact we have. We know what reporters want and need so we tailor our pitching to specific outlets and journalists, do background research and work hard to provide content that we know will resonate with different audiences.

Storytelling is another hallmark of the work we do and the reputation we have built. We find organizations and leaders are used to communicating ideas and events, but often aren’t aware of all the meaningful stories within their walls and how to tell them. Clients turn to us because as former journalists, they know we have a deep background in storytelling and they’re looking for our help to find meaningful stories and tell them in compelling ways.

The third important element is trust. We are a purpose-driven organization and activating that day after day has built up a level of trust with our clients and with news organizations that is not only important to all of us, it’s a key element of our success.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

I’m very proud of the work environment we have developed and fostered at LEM. From the start, long before the pandemic, my team has worked remotely and flexibly. It’s been great for morale and retention.

We have teammates in 10 different cities from coast to coast. We meet as a team and with clients throughout the week and we communicate via Zoom, phone, Slack, text and email. Everyone at LEM has the freedom to do their work where, when and how they want. I trust everyone will get their work done on time and in a way that works for them – and they do! Deadlines are met and the work is stellar.

At LEM we celebrate accomplishments and encourage each other. We’ve offered self care/health education workshops for the team plus one on one sessions with a life coach to discuss work/life balance.

Everyone has the freedom to pick up their kids from school, run errands, go on vacation, have a mental health day or week – whatever they need. This flexible work environment is a game changer after years of all of us working in news where time off was requested and was often denied. I’m proud not only to have created this working environment, but to showcase how well a remote/flexible model works as I continue to grow this company.

Clients are happy and so is our team.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lauraevansmedia.com/
• Instagram: @lauraevansmedia
• Facebook: @lauraevansmedia
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauraevansmedia/
• Twitter: @lauraevansmedia
• Other: tik tok; @lauraevansmedia

Image Credits
Photos 1, 2 & 3 were taken by Kaz Sasahara. Photo 4 – four of us in front of the lincoln memorial was taken by Astrid Riecken.