Since I took on this new job, I get the feeling that there’s a bit of confusion about the role of publishing director. Here’s hoping I can clarify it. Some titles have “publishers”, which are basically sales directors, focused entirely on the commercial side. But the precedent for publisher actually goes across the title. In my role, both the editorial and commercial sides of the business report to me.

Who runs PRWeek editorial? Keith O’Brien, editor-in-chief. He and his team will be deciding the PR Power List, Editors’ Choice, each week’s stories, the Agency Business Report profiles, and everything else to do with the editorial content of the print and Web editions.

Who runs PRWeek advertising sales? Joanna Harp, our new advertising director. She and her team are working with clients on their marketing plans across all of PRWeek’s products, including the print magazine, the Web site, the e-newsletters, PRWeek Contact, and our various events.

So what do I do? My role is to work with both sides of our publication to forge the strategy for PRWeek. That means developing ideas for partners that are working with us to meet their marketing objectives, as well as ensuring the high standards of our content across all platforms. It means coming up with new ideas that will educate, inform, and promote the industry, and the brand, to the most critical stakeholders.

The job give me me the scope to drive an increased awareness of the role that PR is playing for today’s most sophisticated organizations and corporations. PRWeek, which this year celebrates its 10th anniversary, entered the US market at a time when the PR industry was poised for great change, and it is still evolving.

My job really means figuring out where PRWeek goes next, 10 years more and then some. We’ve done some great stuff recently, with the relaunch of our Web site and the Target Green conferences, just to name a few. My new job requires me to never be satisfied with those achievements, though, and constantly push for innovation. It’s a great time to be here.