TUCSON, ARIZONA -- Roger Yohem, retired Tucson public relations executive, news reporter, and past contributor to Real Estate Daily News, has released his memoir. Titled Bizarre PR and Doozie Newsies: True stories from a career in words, it captures the oddities he faced in the entangled worlds of journalism and PR.
Four of the companies he worked for changed CEOs and the chaotic turnover shattered any thoughts of job security. Another went bankrupt; one was sold. To survive the uncertainty, SA (Situation Awareness) and humor was his salvation.
The book’s 83 episodes are based on his newspaper days at Inside Tucson Business and the Tribune Chronicle (Warren, Ohio); and his PR experiences at Tucson Electric Power, Southwest Gas, the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association, and the Tucson Association of Realtors. His unique perspective comes from both sides of the pen. In the newsroom, he controlled the content of stories. In PR, he tried to influence the content of stories.
Yohem was a contributor to Real Estate Daily News before he retired in 2016. Real estate market information from the TAR Scorecard (Tucson Association of Realtors) online newsletter he produced was adapted for Real Estate Daily News. It was popular for its mix of data, research, news release, and opinion.
His collection of stories include… Hanging up on astronaut/US Senator John Glenn as a cub reporter. Pranking KNST radio news that Kennedy Lake was infested with piranha. Moving a utility pole for Burt Reynolds during local filming of Cannonball Run. While PR director during TEP’s bankruptcy fight, an executive scandal made the national news. While vice president of SAHBA, unruly protesters crashed a news conference. And amid a high-profile grazing dispute, a nervous caller needed to know if cattle rustling was a felony.
“As a columnist, I wrote about some of these experiences. Readers liked them and I often got more online feedback than for my business beat. When the Wall Street Journal picked up my spoof of the Baja Arizona Movement, I realized I was on to something,” Yohem said.
His awards include the Arizona Newspapers Association, Arizona Press Club, Public Relations Society of America, Edison Electric Institute, and the National Association of Home Builders. As president, the Tucson Chapter of the American Marketing Association was a national Chapter of the Year.
“My book shares life lessons, the most important being SA: Situation Awareness. If you become complacent and don’t pay attention to what’s going on, someone else will make decisions for you regarding your job, career, and life,” he added.
Yohem’s journalism degree is from Ohio University. Visit www.yohembooks.com for details and to order.