Lauren Pratapas, Senior Publicist, CNN
Lauren Pratapas’s addition to the team at CNN changed the game for Jake Tapper’s brand development, increasing both his profile and name recognition. She is a tireless worker who is well respected by industry colleagues and reporters alike. Lauren’s diverse background provides unique insight not only into the workings of one of the biggest newsrooms in the country, but also into the operations and decision making on Capitol Hill, providing a rare balance of PR skills and politics. Hill staffers lean on her for insight into CNN’s coverage and reporters come to her for information, understanding Lauren’s well plugged in on current happenings inside and outside of the bureau.
A challenge for CNN, and any other network, is finding ways to distinguish their coverage from the competition, especially when it comes to nationally televised events like the presidential State of the Union address. To give the public a unique view of what it takes to put on a live broadcast, Lauren invited a BuzzFeed journalist to join Jake Tapper’s team the night of the State of the Union. She took a chance, knowing that you can never be sure what a media reporter will write in the end. BuzzFeed’s time with CNN turned into an entertaining listicle that showcased all the hard work that goes into live coverage and made Tapper and CNN look smart, innovative and showed a side of CNN that their viewers normally don’t get to see.