The role of the media team at National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) has greatly evolved over the past few years. Under new leadership, the department grew from a small communications team—which only had the capacity to be reactive with the media—to a team that works proactively with the media on a daily basis to pitch creative stories and get more missing and exploited children in the news. The media team is using social media to bring kids home—and it's working.
The media relations team is constantly encouraged to follow passion projects, because the best results are achieved by people who care deeply about what they’re doing. The sky is the limit when it comes to taking on new projects. One media relations manager decided a few years ago that she wanted to work more closely with case managers in the Missing Children Division to design new ways to get information out to the public. Today, both departments work so closely that they have two dedicated employees for that task alone. NCMEC thoroughly supports passionate employees who take the initiative to find new ways to bring children home.
The culture at the center varies by department. The organization as a whole is fairly conservative and consists of many retired law enforcement officers. The communications department is much more fun, loud and outgoing. They're creative by nature and feed off of each other’s excitement; they’re a tight-knit group and, for the most part, more friends than colleagues.