Meet Julian Read: Liz Carpenter Lifetime Achievement Award winner

by Kristin Johnson

Julian Read, legendary public relations counselor to Texas businesses and politicians and mentor to countless young communications professionals, will be honored with the Liz Carpenter Lifetime Achievement Award at the AWC Austin Banner Brunch on April 30.

Named for author and AWC Austin member Liz Carpenter, a friend and colleague to Read, the award recognizes professional communicators who have reached the highest levels of personal and professional achievement over a lifetime. Emphasis is placed on a lifetime of leadership, vision, outstanding achievement, and promotion of the field of communications. 

Recently, Read shared his thoughts on mentoring, his life in politics, and communications in the age of social media. 

AWC: You have mentored many communications professionals over the years and have made a special point of helping women. What advice would you give young women to help them thrive in a communications career? 

The truth is, in many cases I have favored young women. Women have a lot of curiosity and are attentive to detail. That’s very important in the communications business.

One thing I would suggest, particularly in today’s world where so much focus is on social media, is to learn about things outside your normal orbit. Make a point of rounding yourself out. It broadens you and broadens your marketability. You’ll grow, you’ll be stimulated by it, and you’ll meet people in different realms. Don’t stay in your comfort zone.

This is the golden age of communications. I can remember when public relations was something most professional people wouldn’t even talk to you about. Today the need for strategic communications is greater than it’s ever been in our history. The opportunity is enormous for young people.

Regardless of what skills you have, one of the primary things you need to remember for success is that there is no greater key than relationships. They are enduring.

Young people in this profession are blessed with whistles and bells of communications that previous generations never had. What hasn’t changed is that there has to be someone who creates the message. Creativity is still a prime ingredient that comes only from the human mind. The message is still the king.

AWC: What value do you think mentoring holds for the mentor, both professionally and personally?

We’ve all had mentors as we developed in our professions. It’s a natural thing. It certainly gives me pleasure to see people develop, to see interns blossom into leaders.

Mentoring gives extra meaning to your own skills. You’re sharing what you’ve learned. You don’t always know what you may do in mentoring that makes a difference. One casual observation may help shape someone’s career.

AWC: You’ve counseled such legendary political leaders as Lyndon Johnson, John Connally, and Jim Wright. What drew you to working with politicians?

It started out accidentally. I was a young reporter with the Fort Worth Press and covered high school athletics. One of the players I covered was Don Kennard who was a star football player.

In 1952 he was enrolled at UT and asked if I would help him with his campaign for state representative. He introduced me about a year later to a young guy, Jim Wright, who wanted to run for U.S. Congress. I got involved in that campaign and it was a huge upset. We won it decisively.

That started scores of political campaigns from the courthouse to the White House. We’re best known for the work we did for John Connally, from when he was governor of Texas to his time as Secretary of the Treasury for the United States until he passed away.

Politics enables you to engage all your political and communications skills at once. It’s one of the few products that you’re selling to everybody. Every person is a potential customer and that’s fascinating.

AWC: You were in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963 as press secretary to then Texas Gov. John Connally when President Kennedy was assassinated and the governor was shot. What did you learn that day in the process of responding to the crisis?

Every individual responds to a crisis differently. The thing I look back on – that surprised me in retrospect – was that I went into autopilot mode. Without recognizing it, I knew instinctively what to do and did it. I didn’t have time to be emotionally upset until it was over. I didn’t leave Parkland Hospital for three days.

There’s no script for this. The thing I do remember is that – it was kind of an odd feeling – after this I am never going to encounter anything else of this magnitude that I can’t handle. What else is there?

AWC: With the advent of social media what do you see as major trends and challenges for PR professionals of the future?

I often refer to what’s happening today as the Wild West of communications. I have an interesting perspective because I’ve been around so long.

The No.1 thing that troubles me about it is there are no longer gatekeepers on information. Back in my day we had editors. There were standards of accuracy and of good taste that we’ve lost completely. Anyone can say anything and there’s no one to challenge it. So we have this bombardment of messages – Twitter , Facebook, radio, television – a fracture of communications.

On the positive side, communications have always recorded history and have helped influence it in some cases, but we’ve actually seen social media help shape a revolution. That’s pretty incredible when you think about it.

[Technology] is wonderful but also has a downside. We lose a whole lot when we rely on email so much. We lose tonality. It has its advantages – my ability to edit an article with three editors all of over the country – that’s magic.

I feel very blessed that I‘ve been able to witness it all.

AWC: You’re still working today. What are you up to?

I have my own firm, Julian Read Associates, and still counsel a few senior clients. I also spend a lot of time doing non-business work with the Texas Historical Commission.

In the midst of the last week or two I’ve been very much involved in fighting for funding for the commission. Proposed budget cuts of 70 percent are threatening our Texas Main Street program, our heritage trails program, and our courthouse preservation program.

The commission is an economic generator for Texas. Statistical data shows that every dollar brings a return on investment. We’re not only protecting something that’s precious to our state but something that’s good for Texas economically. It will continue to be one of my passions.

And I will continue to help young people in careers in communications. I have three interns now. They’re all very bright.