Q&A Rewrite

Todd Corillo is the media relations manager of the Newport News Shipyard. Before this, he
worked as an anchor at WTKR-TV for ten years. Corillo attended William And Mary for his
undergraduate where he pursued a double major in Spanish and history. He later attended
graduate school to earn a master’s degree in business administration which led him toward the
communication field.

Corillo gave the following interview to Brianna Richardson for her media interview assignment.

What led you to pursue a degree in communication?

I do not have a degree in communications, believe it or not. My undergraduate degree is in
Spanish and history. A few years ago, I got my master’s degree in business administration. Both
of my parents met in television, so I grew up around that. When I was a junior in college, I had
the opportunity the summer between my junior and senior year to do an internship at a local
television station and fell in love with it. That was how I got into the field initially and I did that
for about 13 years. A few years ago, I switched and have been doing media relations since.

What early opportunities did you have that helped you excel in your career?
Undergrad, I went to William and Mary and was part of our student newspaper there which was
The Flat Hat. I actually started their weekly newscast. I did that for several years in undergrad,
so that kind of prompted my interest.

Have you found your education or experience to be more valuable in your career?
It’s a combination of both. When I was doing journalism, for instance, every day was something
different. You had to make yourself an expert really fast on whatever it was that you were
assigned to that day. There’s definitely stuff from education, but it’s less special when you get
into a field like this. It is definitely understanding critical thinking skills, writing skills, and what
makes a strong interview. You really draw on those experiences you have in your education
where you have to think critically. Every time I was in journalism and I did a story, I would look
back and say “OK, what went well?” and then get feedback from folks on what I can do better
next time. I’ve used a lot more of my master’s degree in business to apply to some of the
scenarios that come up working in a defense contracting world. It’s been a combination of both.

Describe your average workday.

No two days are the same which is always very exciting. I am on the corporate communications
team, but I am directly supporting the Newport News shipbuilding communications team.
Everything external media relations is held at the corporate level, and we have three divisions
within the company. I kind of have a role on both teams. I’m corporate, but am also supporting
the Newport News team and am embedded with them most days. Every day, like I said, is
different, but on an average day, I’m responding to media inquiries from local media outlets, TV
stations and the newspaper in a way that almost separates groups of people who cover us from
the defense industry. A lot of them are based in Washington, DC area and they work for outlets
that are specifically read by folks in the Pentagon or in the defense industry, so it’s more of a
niche reporting role. These are outlets like The Navy Times, Inside Defense, Breaking Defense,
Defense News. It’s talking to those reporters, even if they’re not writing stories about us that
day. I’m checking in, seeing what the pulse is of the big topic of the day, writing news releases
for various milestones for the ships that we’re building or initiatives that we have going on and
then really just being agile in responding to requests from the division, from executives, working
on talking points for when executives have engagements. No two days are the same but usually
you start at the beginning of the day and 5 o’clock rolls around and you’re suddenly like “Where
did the time go?’’

How do you communicate with news outlets?

I am in the office most days. Interviews are interesting for us because we are a nuclear
shipbuilder. If I want to bring a media outlet into the shipyard itself, I have to submit a security
plan to the Navy at least two weeks in advance that details what they’re going to see, who’s
going to be there, all sorts of things; whereas, some media relations folks will tell you, “Oh yeah
everyday media people are coming out interviewing us.” For us, it’s a little bit different just
because of the security requirements we have. I do a lot of phone interviews with executives
and that usually works especially for the folks in DC. Last week, we had one of our executives
take part in a news conference over in Norfolk, so they were off-site. When we have events, for
example, a christening, things like that, we typically bring media in for all of those.

How do you balance the different relationships you maintain at the shipyard?
It is definitely one of those things where you’re having to shift your hats throughout the day and
understand what is the priority directly in front of you. My calendar is my best friend. There are
a lot of people I have to call and talk to and get a response on something in a very short basis. If
a reporter calls us and is like, “I’m writing a story and my deadline is 3 p.m. If you don’t
comment, it’s going to make the company look bad” or whatever it is. When I do have those
scenarios and I need everyone, they have to know that I’m only coming to them like that
because it is super important. If we don’t, we’re going to be behind the ball as a company. To
that end, when I’m not in a crisis situation and I do have time to let them review, I can get stuff
to them early and give them that courtesy. Investing time in that and going to someone’s office
and being like, “This is just purely a “How are you? What can I do for you?” moment, I find that
to be very helpful.

What is your decision-making process when approaching the media?

Almost anytime we have something going on, whether it’s a milestone in a ship that’s under
construction or some of our workforce development efforts, whatever it is, we usually have
conversations in our management meetings where we say, “OK, what is the objective here?
What are we trying to get out of some coverage?” Whether it’s through traditional media,
posting on our company account, or various things we could do. It’s definitely having a
deliberate strategy and then also thinking through what the pros to this is and what the
potential risks are. When I go into media, I want to be sure I have a clear understanding of
myself, of the totality of the program, where we are with things, what types of questions they
might ask me and what visuals I have to offer them to support the story. Unfortunately, some of
the time, because we are a nuclear shipbuilder, there are a lot of things that we can’t document
or let other people document just because of the nature of what it is. We are tightly regulated
by the United States government in that realm. It is really just going through that checklist and
being like, “OK, I think this may be a great story. Do I have everything on my end buttoned up?”
Whereas, when I go to pitch it to a reporter, it’s going to be a seamless process.

What is the hardest aspect of your job and why?

The hardest aspect is just making sure that everyone is singing from the same page of music. I
think a lot of people have great ideas, and it’s finding the common ground to make sure that
everyone is somewhat satisfied with an approach to something. It’s a constant keeping at it. To
be very blunt, it’s not something that I dislike, it’s just a more challenging aspect.

Talk about the similarities between broadcast journalism and media relations.
They are very related. In my job of media relations, I am the external face of the company
explaining to our audiences through various media outlets on what we’re doing, how we’re
doing it and challenges we may be facing. There are so many similarities in the sense that
obviously I came from that world, so reporters reach out to me for help on a story or questions
about something we’re doing. I understand what their deadline process is like, how long their
story typically is, what type of depth of knowledge they have about our industry, whether it’s
that they’ve never covered the shipyard before or they’ve been coming to every event in the
last 20 years. It is certainly understanding that realm, but then also, once you’re on the other
side within the company, understanding what the company priorities are, what are the things
that you are trying to advance on behalf of the company, how you’re supporting the executives.
They’re definitely related, but they both obviously have different objectives.

What is one aspect you wish you could change about your career field and why?
The journalism world has undergone a lot of changes in the last five years. It’s a very different
media landscape. For many decades, you would have print reporters who would cover the
individual beats and were compensated and all of that. Most of that has gone away. You are
finding journalists who are underpaid and doing a lot more with a lot less. It’s just a different
landscape, and I think that is disappointing because it’s such an incredibly important public
service, truly. I think we have to find a way to make sure that’s sustainable. We need journalists.
Most of the time they are not coming from a malicious intent, of course, there are a few bad
apples, but you can never judge the whole based off of that.

What qualities make a potential hire stand out?

I’ve been on a lot of job interview boards recently. The most important thing, especially in this
job field, is curiosity, strong writing skills, and critical thinking. If you don’t have the critical
thinking and the attitude of, “‘Let me figure this out. Let me ask the questions,” then I can’t
teach those types of things. It’s really the people who are self-starters who have that drive. I
think those people make the best communicators, even just having that ability to connect with
people. Everyone doesn’t have to like you, but you have to have that ability to be a good
communicator.
What advice would you give a communication major who one day would like to have your job
or a similar one?
My advice would be to apply for internships and then learn as much as you can. People will
have this idea that they aren’t qualified for this or that and don’t apply. Getting past that own
self-doubt unlocks tons of opportunities. I would say to ask the questions when you do get your
foot in the door somewhere, whether it’s just an internship or your first job, make sure to show
that curiosity. Then be willing to learn what everyone else on your team does not, not because
you think you know better than them, but because you want to diversify your skill set and make
yourself even more valuable as a team member. Just keep showing up. You’re not going to get
every opportunity, but don’t let that discourage you. Make sure that you are constantly looking
for ways to improve yourself and to give it your all, all of the time.

What is the most rewarding aspect of your career?

In my career and what I’m doing now, it’s being able to tell the stories of these shipbuilders. I
think these are the most incredible men and women on the face of the Earth. They are building
truly the most impressive machines that mankind has ever seen and they work in difficult
conditions sometimes without complaint. It’s just being able to tell their stories and give them
the recognition that they deserve. It’s really the greatest thing.

When have you faced a career setback and what did you take from the experience?
Oh, 100 percent-- when I was in journalism, there was more than one occasion where I went for
a promotion and did not get it for a variety of reasons. In each of those opportunities, as much
as it stung at the time, a year or two later, you kind of look back and see that it wasn’t the best
fit for you, having that hindsight and learning from those moments and seeing what you can do
better for next time. It’s really taking those setbacks and saying, “How can I turn this around and
use this to my advantage?”

Do you have anything you would like to add?

Communications, media relations, the entire field-- there are so many opportunities within it.
Within the shipyard communications team, we have folks who are planning special events, folks
who are graphic designers, folks who work on the website. No matter what your passion is,
there are avenues that you might not even realize to pursue in a variety of different ways.
Starting out, I definitely never thought I’d be working for a major defense contractor and yet
there is an incredible communications team. I’d just say to look for the opportunities in places
that you might not expect because sometimes those are the best ones.