Whether I’m crafting a short story for a literary contest or reporting on a new restaurant opening for saratogaliving.com, I’ve come to realize that writing, no matter what the style, is about understanding an end goal and shaping the language to that purpose. Get the words just right, and you can make magic happen. Megan Baker, founder, CEO and president of Baker Public Relations in Albany, has had that on lockdown for more than a decade. “As a natural storyteller, it gives me great joy to help business leaders achieve their goals through creative and strategic communications,” says Baker, who founded the company in 2007. She and her team of communications specialists are making both local clients (Mohawk Honda, Complexions Spa) and national ones (like Fresenius Kidney Care) very happy indeed. Baker Public Relations’ client list even boasts some Fortune 500 and Global 500 companies. (saratoga living has also retained Baker PR’s services.)
Baker was honing those storytelling skills long before she ever mastered the Tao of PR. She spent almost a decade on the “other side,” working as a broadcast journalist, including a two-and-a-half-year stint as an anchor/reporter at WBNG-TV in Binghamton and more than three years at Capital News 9 (now Spectrum News), where she was awarded a New York State Emmy. Following that feat, after having just re-signed a four-year contract with Capital News, Baker about-faced, deciding it was time for something new. “I’d covered two presidential visits; the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston; and countless breaking news, human interest and feature stories,” she says, noting that the Capital News gig didn’t afford her much free time. “I missed interacting with real people and telling their stories.” Hence, the switch to PR, an industry that thrives on constant facetime with clients. “It’s an easy transition for any journalist,” says Baker. “It allows us to continue to do what we do best, just in a different capacity with more tools and resources.”
A dozen years on, and the future’s bright at Baker. In addition to launching InfluenceHER earlier this year—a video podcast series on YouTube, iTunes and SoundCloud that features interviews with female “movers and shakers” such as Real Housewives Of New York City star (and our most recent saratoga living cover celebrity) Dorinda Medley—Baker also opened a satellite office on Pittsburgh’s South Side in October. “I took a few team members to Pittsburgh for a quick trip so they could learn to appreciate its charm and beauty,” says Baker, who grew up about an hour away in Butler, PA. “I just might have persuaded them to become Steelers football fans after we took in a home game at Heinz Field.” As a journalist who receives pitches from publicists all day and night, I can only imagine how persuasive she actually was.
