Don Fluckinger covers customer experience (CX) management and its enabling technologies for Tech Target’s Search Customer Experience and their allied systems for SearchContentManagement. His previous articles have appeared in publications and websites including SearchHealthIT, Ziff Davis’ PDFzone.com, Briefings on Hospital Safety, The Boston Globe, Billboard and Antiques Roadshow Insider.
Don also had a stint working as a PR pro alongside Davida Dinerman. The two chatted about a variety of topics:
02:07 - Don’s intro into journalism started with music
05:15 - How being a music journalist prepared him to write about tech
06:34 - The evolution of journalism over the last 30 years
11:41 - Article ideas often news-based, but PR pros are also helpful in framing a topic
14:01 - When breaking news is your beat, schedules can be fluid
16:19 - The best time to reach out with an embargo
17:53 - How Don determines what he’ll cover and who he’ll talk to at a trade show
21:48 - Virtual are necessary now, but Don misses the face-to-face experience
23:51 - Topics that are particularly interesting to him right now
27:42 - The transition from journalism to PR was harder than anticipated
30:25 - On how he prioritizes PR email
31:35 - Things PR pros do that drive him “bananas.”
35:37 - Don shares his affinity for cooking — especially with cast iron skillets and barbecue
39:03 - Don offers details on an unexpected brush with a member of the J. Geils Band
