Carol Jouzaitis has made a successful transition from the spotlight of covering the White House to the behind-the-scenes world of public realtions. Through it all, she has remembered her role as a public servant.

Carol began her journalism career at the Star in 1972 as a reporter covering the Student Association. She later became a news editor, and also covered the state legislature.

Carol credits the Star with helping her develop relationships with sources, get scoops and further her people skills.

“It was real experience calling state legislators and representatives,” she said. “I felt by the time I got out of college, I had real experience.”

She attended NIU during particularly hostile times, both in and out of DeKalb. Vietnam and Watergate dominated the headlines.

“There was a lot happening,” she said. “Investigative reporting was all the rage. We were very inspired by that.”

After graduating, Carol held numerous reporting assignments, including at the Geneva Chronicle, where she spent about a year learning the aspects of writing, shooting photos and newspaper production.

In 1977, Carol hit it big when she started at the now-defunct Suburban Tribune. She soon started writing finance for the parent Chicago Tribune, and shortly thereafter, worked for seven years in the paper’s Washington bureau. She later would serve as a national correspondent and the White House correspondent, covering Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign and much of his presidency, traveling frequently on Air Force One.

After leaving the Tribune, Carol worked as a national correspondent for USA Today, before deciding to serve the public in other ways.

“I’ve always seen my role as evening the playing field,” she said. “Twenty-five years in journalism was a great adventure. At some point, though, you look up and say, ‘What am I going to do with the next 20?'”

Carol entered public relations, and currently works at the firm of Slack Barshinger in Chicago, where she is senior vice president and director of public relations.

She keeps in mind the fact that in PR, she ultimately is serving the public. She said this understanding of communication has helped her to appreciate the aspects of the public relations industry and perform her job better.

“I see public relations and journalism as connected,” she said. “Both are about communication. Public relations is about encouraging people to participate in the discourse.”