From Irrelevant to Relevant

Meet Entertainment Public Relations Professional Danny Deraney in a one-to-one interview done by Yaritza Rodriguez regarding his profession, his ups and downs in the field and the tips he gives to newbies.

Danny Deraney, a 43-year-old easygoing extrovert, grew up with three jobs in mind: working for the Yankees, a sports anchor, or a career in public relations. He is now in media relations and the President/ CEO o of Deraney Public Relations.

In media relations, Deraney has managed various campaigns— news events, crisis management, and product releases and has represented big names in the industry such as: Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé, and Madonna. Day to day job consistsof presenting a navigationalguide for clients in order to meet their strategic and business needs and wants;trying to keep clients connected to recent news, maintaining the clients relevant and positive in the public eye.

However, for Deraney, public relations mean something deeper than relevancy.

“It is story-telling, activism, it’s the truth, trying to convince somebody of the truth when there are stories that are out there telling you otherwise,” said Deraney with devotion. “It’s passion, it’s fighting for others and your beliefs.”

Just like any other person, Danny has come to face wins and losses. He reminisced on one of his most recent accomplishments; a campaign that he worked on alongside W. Bruce Cameron, author of New York best-seller book “A Dog’s Purpose.” In early 2017, Cameron faced backlash when a video of animal abuse on-set of the film began surfacing social media. But to his fortune, Deraney waltzed into his life to turn his luck around; with interviews, press conference and full video disclosure of the video, both the author and the film’s name were cleared and the movie did better than anticipated.

“Little wins like that kind of make things better, you are proud of the work that you’ve done,” said Deraney. He adds, “Seeing the smiles onyour clients’faces, those are the kind of things wedo it for,” enthusiasm, and proudness filling his tone.

Although the highs gave Deraney a sense of gratification for his work, there are lows that come along. “The cons are those, those clients who don’t get it, who don’t get what you are trying to do… And that nothing is guaranteed,” said Deraney with sighs in between every other word. But he remains optimistic about the job he loves, going on to defend it saying the pros outweigh the cons.“The pros are those clients who do get it, who see the job you are doing, that understand that you are doing everything you can,” he said with joy. “Specially seeing the smile onyour clients’faces.”

After being in the media relationsprofession for over sixteen years, Deraney has developed gratitude and admiration forhis profession, “It has given me my livelihood,” said Deraney, grateful and sentimental. “It’s given me the adrenaline that I had lost when I left the news world.”Public relations have granted Deraney with lifelong friendships, chance to tell stories for and to humanity, and most importantly, bring out the best in others and himself. If there is one thing Deraney can’t stress enough, it’s the advice to begin in news in order to get to the level where you can perform efficiently, working in the news room trains your mind to think of how an action will affect the people and this method helps you learn new abilities.  

“The value, the opportunities that you have, and the one thing you have aheadwhen working first in a news room, is thinking like a journalist because your job is to get the news out there,” said Deraney with dramatic pauses.

A last and very important advice for up and coming journalist and public relation practitioners is to remember that your reputation matters as much or even more than that of your clients. Respect your beliefs, morals, ethics and most importantly yourself.

Danny Deraney

President/ CEO

Deraney Public Relations

Danny@deraneypr.com

1(323)333-8501

Twitter: @dannyderaney @deraneypr