February 6, 2024 | 14:00 ET | Free to AAA Members

Media relations is important for any EMS agency, but how do you help navigate the conversation through proactive pitching and where do you even begin? In this webinar, Smitha Rao – a media strategy lead and a freelance journalist – will take a deep dive into why proactive pitching is a lot more important than reactive storytelling; discuss the best ways to make your story stand out among journalists; and tell you why a blast pitch just doesn’t cut it in the current media landscape.

Meet Smitha Rao

Smitha Rao has nearly 20 years of broadcast, PR and media experience. She has been involved with countless live events, media tours, and news shows. Smitha has worked for five television newsrooms, and for all of the major broadcast affiliates, including NBC, CBS, and FOX. Her work behind and in front of the camera has appeared on CNN and HLN. Her most memorable story was her coverage of former President Barack Obama, when he came to visit North Carolina in 2009.

Smitha also has extensive experience in media relations, currently serving as a media strategy lead for Amazon. Prior to that, she was an integral part of the earned media teams at several different agencies in New York. She has worked with clients in many fields, including tech, healthcare, consumer, travel, education, and finance.

Smitha is from upstate New York, and a proud graduate of the prestigious S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.