I have been working in the field of public relations for more than three decades, most of the time in the largest publishing house in Slovenia, Mladinska knjiga. Nevertheless, it was journalism that initially led me to this field, which, to this day, I deem crucial for my understanding of PR work. I bid farewell to journalism at the turn of the 1990s and continued my work in a PR agency. During this time, I completed a specialization at the International School of Public Relations in Belgrade. Armed with theoretical knowledge, my colleagues and I were able to meet the challenges that various stakeholders of the newly emerging country were putting before the young PR profession at the time. Our first successes were a great incentive for us to attract new members to our ranks. By actively working in the Public Relations Society of Slovenia, where I was a member of the board at the time, we spread and deepen the expert knowledge in our field; my colleagues and I were granted official recognition by the International Association of Business Communicators IABC for our work.
The biggest challenge in my PR career was my transition from the PR agency to Mladinska knjiga, a commercial enterprise with an important cultural mission. The then CEO of the company, who was later awarded for excellence in communication, recognized the strategic role of public relations. Without his support, we would not be able to tackle the challenges of crisis management, presented by the extended privatization process of the company, an attempted “hostile” takeover, the economic crisis that threatened the existence of publishing houses and printed books, and many other communication challenges.
