Many Jews are frustrated by the media’s coverage of Israel. For Richard Dukas, though, frustration led to a career in public relations.
“In my junior or senior year in college, Israel had its war in Lebanon, and I went to the Hillel one evening for a program by CAMERA,” Dukas told The Jewish Press. “They showed a film about how one-sided and erroneous NBC’s coverage of the Lebanese war was, and I realized how incredibly powerful the media was in shaping, not only public opinion, but foreign policy.”
Shortly thereafter, Dukas applied for an internship with CAMERA, which in turn led to an offer to work in a public relations firm. “I didn’t know anything about public relations, but it sounded more appealing than going to law school,” Dukas said.
Today, Dukas, an Orthodox Jew, heads Dukas Public Relations (DPR), which was recently named “Best PR Firm” of the year by HFMWeek, a leading hedge fund news publication.
The Jewish Press: What’s your background?
Dukas: I grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey, and I’m a product of Teaneck public schools. My children go to yeshiva day school, but I did not have that privilege.
Did you grow up in an Orthodox home?
No, we were not Orthodox. I would say we were a semi-traditional Conservative house. But we had a strong Jewish identity. Talk of Israel and the Holocaust was always prevalent at home. I remember my mother helped get a Russian refusenik to Israel back in the late ‘70s, early ‘80s.
How did you become Orthodox?
It was a confluence of different circumstances. I was very pro-Israel, I was very proud of being Jewish, and I was living in New York at the time as a single man in my 20s and I was just looking for a little bit more. I loved Israel, but I felt there must be more to being Jewish than supporting Israel.
Also, I think part of the reason my father, who grew up Orthodox, decided not to continue being Orthodox had to do with his experience in the Shoah, and I didn’t want to let the Nazis rob me of my Jewish heritage.
There were a lot of Dukases before the war, but through the Shoah and assimilation I found myself the last male Jewish Dukas. And I said, “Hitler is not going to get the best of us.” So I decided to explore. It wasn’t an immediate thing. But I credit Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald of Lincoln Square Synagogue as really the being the major influence in my move to a religious traditional lifestyle.
Some people may not know what a financial public relations firm does. How would you explain it to them?
To boil it down as simply as possible, we help our clients build and enhance their brand and reputation. And the primary vehicle we use to do that is the media.
Can you give a concrete example?
We represent mutual fund companies. So let’s say a company is launching a new fund with a specific investment purpose. They want investors and financial advisers to know about it. They want to appear in places like CNBC and Bloomberg. They want articles written about the new fund in places like the Wall Street Journal and Barron’s. So it’s all about generating positive exposure and being out in front of the target audience.
Is a PR firm – or Dukas Public Relations – similar to the stereotype some people have of defense lawyers – that they will represent anyone, guilty or innocent?
[Laughs] No, I would think not. I really take a lot of pride in running a very ethical business and we will not take a client if we think it is somehow dishonest in business.
You’ve been in the PR business for 25 years now. How did the Internet change the nature of public relations?
I would say the basics have not changed. Even before the Internet, firms that wanted to engage with the media still needed a good story to tell and PR practitioners still needed to maintain very good relationships with reporters. What obviously has changed is the immediacy of events. Now, news breaks and within minutes it’s all over the Internet. So we always need to be aware of breaking news or, God forbid, a crisis, and act much faster than we did in the past. We also need to be able to effectively use certain social media channels.
The other thing that’s changed is there’s a whole other area of public relations now, which is called “online reputation management.” Sometimes clients get into trouble – they are penalized by the FCC or a publication will write a scathing article about them – and then when you Google that company, you might see three or four very negative links about them on the first page. And that isn’t good because, for example, if a large investor wants to put their money with a mutual fund company, one of the first thing they’re going to do is Google that company. And if they see these negative links, they may get cold feet.
So online reputation management is a method of cleaning up the first few pages of Google results so that the company’s reputation online looks much better than it did previously.
How is that done?
There are various methods involved. We actually work with a firm based in Israel that does some of the back-end work. We do some of the front-end work trying to develop new content like generating positive articles on the company or writing an op-ed, or getting an article placed in Barron’s [which will appear above the negative results on Google].
Does the fact that you’re an Orthodox Jew affect what you do or how you do it?
Well, we only bring kosher food into the office. And there’s never been a problem with leaving early for Shabbat or not being available on Shabbat or Yom Tov. Thank God, we have a very talented and understanding team of people – many of whom are not Jewish – and they’re always willing to fill in and take calls on Saturdays if necessary, and clients know that. It’s never been an issue.
Also, like I said before, I try my best to run a very ethical shop. I try to be very open and honest with people. I try to create a work environment that is reflective of what a positive Jewish environment should look like. I like to believe that I treat people with respect, I encourage others in the office to treat others with respect, and I think morale in our firm is good.
As a PR man, what’s your advice to people looking for a job in this difficult economy?
Number one, do research. If somebody’s applying to Dukas Public Relations, I want to know why. There are hundreds of PR agencies in New York, and we’re not the largest. Why do you want to work for us? When they’re able to articulate a good answer, it’s impressive. I also find it impressive when they’re able to recite to me some of the work we’ve done, or articulate who our clients are. It shows a certain intuitiveness on their part and a certain seichel. You don’t want to come into a job interview blind.
You once wrote that it’s also important to talk less about who you are and more about what you can do.
Yes, make it tangible. I want them to tell me a lot less about themselves and a lot more about what they could do for me. And by doing that, they are telling me about themselves. They’re telling me that they’re good sales people, that they’re good PR practitioners, that they’ve done their research, and that they think intellectually and intuitively. So it’s more of the “show me, don’t tell me” philosophy.