Real Estate in the Media was the focus of the Brown Bag discussion hosted by ULI Chicago’s Young Leaders at Cannon Design’s office at 225 N. Michigan Ave. on March 6th. Alby Gallun, Crain’s Senior Real Estate Reporter, and Emily Johnson, President of Taylor Johnson, spoke on the important role the media can play in learning about real estate transactions and/or promoting new real estate projects or topics.

Often times real estate trade publications, like Crain’s Real Estate Daily, are a major source of information for real estate professionals, particularly when the topic is outside of one’s core business.  In other instances, firms like Taylor Johnson are hired by real estate professionals to strengthen their public image or, to take it one step further, to manage how their firm is represented in real estate publications. 

Alby and Emily touched on a broad range of topics including, how to get your story in the media, how it can be difficult for the media to verify confidential transaction information, and how important relationships between the media and real estate professionals can be for both parties. They also spoke more specifically about Crain’s Chicago Business, what their real estate writers look for in stories or trending topics, and how to pitch your story to Crain’s.

Alby Gallun is a senior reporter at Crain’s Chicago Business and leads a team of six journalists who cover real estate for the newspaper and its website, ChicagoRealEstateDaily.com. Before taking over the real estate beat in 2002, he covered consumer-products and food companies for Crain’s. He has also worked at the Milwaukee Business Journal and Reuters.

Emily Johnson is president of Taylor Johnson, a marketing agency that specializes in public relations and social media for the real estate industry. Established in 1977, the firm has represented public and private companies in the areas of residential development and brokerage; commercial development and brokerage; mixed-use development; property management; real estate finance and investment; real estate auctions; and architecture and design.

The Brown Bag event was sold out and the audience of Young Leaders stayed engaged, asking relevant and pointed questions throughout the discussion.  Watch for details on the next Brown Bag Real Estate Lunch Table – short, one hour programs on rotating real estate topics designed for young professionals.