Grove City College Communication students recently heard from veteran Pittsburgh broadcaster and communications professional Bill Flanagan.
Flanagan shared insights from a career in communication with students in Instructor Tricia Pritchard’s Writing for the Media and Public Speaking and Rhetoric classes, emphasizing the importance of “soft skills” that potential employers are looking for in job candidates.
Flanagan serves as host and producer of “Our Region’s Business” – a weekly business public affairs program on WPXI-TV, the Pittsburgh Cable News Channel (PCNC) and YouTube – and as chief corporate relations officer for the Allegheny Conference on Community Development and its affiliated regional development organizations.
As a broadcaster, Flanagan has told the story of the transformation of the economy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for almost 30-years. With the Allegheny Conference, he guides the development of regional and organizational messaging strategy and supervises investor relations, membership development, programming and fundraising.
“Bill emphasized the importance of soft skills to employers across all professions. I couldn't agree more. Whether in speaking or writing, the need to communicate your ideas thoughtfully, clearly and confidently is a vital threshold skill,” Pritchard said.
Across the board, she said, employers are seeking candidates that possess interpersonal communication skills, are team players and adept at public speaking and writing.
The Department of Communication and Visual Arts at Grove City College prepares students for diverse careers in communication and design and for graduate and professional studies in related disciplines. By situating the study of human communication and the visual arts as a robust theological, philosophical and cultural locus of intellectual inquiry, the Department nurtures socially responsible, engaged citizens who can interpret and evaluate the images and messages they create and receive.