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One Man Show

Small business owner educates the community

by Margarita Raycheva

Syracuse City Eagle August 12, 2004

On October 7, when three women, each representing one of the three different faiths of Israel start touring the United States, details about their talks on a peaceful solution of the Israel-Palestinian problem will be appear on the pages of many major US newspapers, such as the LA Times, the Chicago Tribune or the Washington Post.

What will remain behind the curtains of the media coverage however, will be how one person worked diligently from his tiny one-room office at 702 S Beech St in Syracuse to make the talks a visible and prominent news event.

Peter Wirth, single owner and sole-employee of the Syracuse public relations agency GW Associates does not expect anything different.

"That's the nature of the beast," Wirth said.

As a Syracuse-based PR practitioner who often promotes not only local, but also national and international news events, Wirth has specialized in long-distance public relations. He works mostly from his office and communicates with his clients and the media more often by phone, fax and e-mail than in person.

"It's easy to do everything from here--I've got everything I need," said Wirth, glancing around his office. In the cozy room, the fax machine, the copier, his collections of thick media directories or books with titles like "Unreliable Sources" or "What Makes News" are all at a hand's reach.

It all looks impressively professional for a person with no formal PR training and the limited resources of a small business.

Yet, Wirth who graduated from Syracuse University with a master's degree in social work has made it work. For the eleven years he has been running GW Associates, Wirth has pitched stories to major international and national media outlets, such as the BBC, the major Arabic TV network Al Jazeera, the New York Times or the Washington Post.

Wirth's current clients now range from large organizations, such as the New York State Association for Reduction, Reuse and Recycling; The Episcopal Diocese of Washington or Partners for Peace to smaller organizations, such as the Westcott Community Center or the Art of Massage.

Today, Wirth's local, national and international clients seek his help whenever they have a conference, an important international visitor or any other significant upcoming news event. Then, Wirth writes the press releases, calls newspapers' editors and TV news organizations and ensures the news gets the public attention it deserves.

Today, when Wirth teaches others how to get news to the media's attention in his public relations workshops, the whole process is a well practiced routine.

But it was not as easy when he was making his first steps in the news world back in the 80's. As a member of Witness for Peace, he was then struggling to direct the US media attention toward the complex situation in Nicaragua. It was during the trips he took to Nicaragua, when he first had the chance to see the differences between the US media coverage and the real situation in the country.

"News gets filthy," Wirth says today. "Total objectivity just doesn't happen"

And, as he started helping to bring speakers from Central America to reveal the real face of the problem to Central New York listeners, he had to learn to how to get media attention and coverage. Now he knows--by being patient and persistent.

"It's a question of timing and finding interested media," Wirth said.

Today, Wirth's diverse experience has turned him into a highly evaluated professional, especially when it comes to his favorite sort of stories -- the ones involving issues that "don't fit in the box." These are stories too highly politically charged to be taken up by the media, Wirth said. Examples are Wirth's work on the Israeli women's talks or the story of a Syrian author publishing the English translations of his book in the United States.

"In a perfect world all these stories would get coverage," Wirth said. But in the contemporary news media world, it takes a lot of effort to get them out in the media spotlight, Wirth explained.

But Wirth doesn't complain. Being the only decision-maker in his small agency, he has been able to choose clients whose work and resources fit his personal philosophy, Wirth said.

"Some people find it hard to work for themselves," he said. "But I love what I do. It's fascinating -- It's not black and white."

"I also like the freedom and flexibility--this is the trade-off for me," he added.

Originally from Brooklyn, Wirth came to Syracuse to complete his degree at Syracuse University and after that never had the heart to leave the area.

"I love Central New York," Wirth said. "I'm not going anywhere else."

 

History of GW Associates

In 1980 I became interested in Central America after hearing presentations in upstate New York from Maryknoll missionaries who worked in El Salvador. My interest eventually led me to travel to the region and see for myself, first hand the situation.

Convinced that the violence in the region was more a product of poverty and repressive governments, I joined a growing movement of Americans who attempted to change US foreign policy.

As a "grassroots activist" I learned how to work with our local news media in order to get the stories of the speakers we brought before the million people in my community in upstate New York. Over the years I was able to arrange hundreds of news stories, talk show appearances, editorial board meetings, op-ed's etc. I came to see the media as an important resource to shape public opinion on the issues I was involved with.

In addition to foreign policy concerns I was involved with occupational safety and health concerns, organized labor and domestic policy issues.

The media is more accessible than most organizations realize. In 1990 I formed a public relations company. My goal is to provide the services and support in order to ensure that organizations regardless of their size, are able to place their message before the public in a cost effective manner.

My clients are a diverse group. They include statewide environmental organizations, public policy advocacy groups; citizen activist organizations, individuals running for political office and for profit businesses.