Take the Reins: How PR Pros Can Powerfully Communicate in the “Fake News” Era

Errol Cockfield is the senior vice president of communications at MSNBC, where he is responsible for setting the communications and media strategy and partnering with editorial and business leads at the network. He also serves as lead spokesperson. A journalist by training, Cockfield draws from extensive experience in the areas of media, politics and communications consulting, having led the New York crisis management team for Edelman, the world’s largest independent public relations agency. Cockfield is also media trainer, executive coach and has run crisis simulations for C-Suite teams. Prior to MSNBC, Cockfield oversaw a mix of public affairs and crisis management engagements as a senior vice president in Edelman New York’s Corporate & Public Affairs division. He steered clients (including Fortune 500 companies) through a range of crises related to product and food recalls, special situations, labor relations and regulatory changes. His sector experience has crossed education, food, tech, cosmetics, the arts and nonprofits. Cockfield was press secretary to New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and his successor David Paterson during one of the most tumultuous political and fiscal crises in the state’s history. He was also chief of staff and communications director to the Democratic leader of the New York State Senate. He helped lead communications for the state’s chief economic development agency. Drawing from deep media and political contacts, Cockfield has overseen issue campaigns and built key alliances for top government officials. Cockfield spent a dozen years as a reporter for the LA Times, Hartford Courant and Newsday, where he was the statehouse bureau chief.