Retired Tucson public relations executive and reporter Roger Yohem has released his debut book: Bizarre PR and Doozie Newsies: True stories from a career in words. The memoir captures the whimsy and stress of the odd situations he faced in the entangled worlds of journalism and PR.
Four of the companies he worked for changed CEOs and the turnover at the top shattered any thoughts of job security. To survive the uncertainty, SA (Situation Awareness) and humor was his salvation.
The book’s 83 episodes are based on his newspaper days at the Tribune Chronicle (Warren, Ohio) and Inside Tucson Business; and his PR experiences at Tucson Electric Power, Southwest Gas, the Tucson Association of Realtors, and the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association. His unique perspective comes from both sides of the pen. In the newsroom, he controlled the content of stories. In PR, he tried to influence the content of stories.
Yohem was a contributor to the Arizona Daily Independent before he retired in 2016.
His book includes highs and lows from his 40-year career. As a cub reporter, Yohem thought a call from astronaut John Glenn was a prank so he hung up. While PR director during TEP’s bankruptcy battle, an executive scandal was exposed nationally. The Cannonball Run movie crew came to Tucson and needed an expensive, bizarre PR favor. While recruiting the Colorado Rockies to Spring Training, he whiffed on the significance of the moment. As vice president at SAHBA, unruly protesters crashed a news conference. And after a snarky parody of Occupy Tucson, wanted posters with his photo appeared in the Occupy camp.
“As a columnist, I wrote about some of these experiences. They were well-received by readers – not always so by certain bureaucrats – and often got more comments than my business beat. When the Wall Street Journal picked up my spoof of the Baja Arizona Movement, I realized I was on to something,” Yohem said.
The Arizona Newspapers Association and Arizona Press Club have honored his work. His national awards include the Public Relations Society of America, Edison Electric Institute, and the National Association of Home Builders. As president, the Tucson Chapter of the American Marketing Association was a national Chapter of the Year.
“My book shares life lessons, the most important being SA: Situation Awareness. If you become complacent and don’t pay attention to what’s going on, someone else will make decisions for you regarding your job, career, and life,” he added.
Yohem holds a journalism degree from Ohio University. His book is dedicated to Barry Burdett, his mentor at TEP. Visit www.yohembooks.com for details and to order the book.