We had the good fortune of connecting with Barry Kluger and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Barry, what do you attribute your success to?
My success with many of the world’s iconic brands comes from different directions. As a senior executive, I understood office politics but I never got political. Another trait that help me navigate the media and entertainment industry was always speaking the truth, even if it was difficult for others to hear at times. My profession was often called ‘spin,’ but the truth is always the truth and while you can hone the message, people pay you to be forthright, and those who want you to tell something less than reality, you don’t want them as a client. My grandmother used to say: “don’t pour water down my back and tell me it’s raining.”

Another factor in being successful is to know, while you may have taken your brand or yourself to a high level of notoriety, don’t confuse the image, with who you are. Clark Kent is who I am, Superman is what I do. One is a skill and a talent but there is always a ‘person’ behind that execution and that is you. Never forget it. and as far as notoriety, it comes–and it goes. And there will always be a “Didn’t you used to be..? at least once in your career.

One thing I learned early in my career, helped me as a senior executive and as the owner of my own crisis management agency. that was “be kind and respectful to the people you meet on your way up, as they are the people you will meet on your way down.” DOWN does not mean failure but the people we meet in business can be lifelong friends, ongoing associates or mentors or mentees when your career winds down.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I began my media career while still in college, as one of a very small handful of student journalists to cover the Impeachment hearings of Richard Nixon. After a few radio gigs as a host and DJ, I returned to NY and began my pr career with a major radio station group, moving on to a pr firm with clients in the television industry. After four years, I took a position with USA Networks, heading up their communications efforts. Four years later, in 1985, I was hired as Director of PR at MTV Networks, the parent company of MTV, VH1, Nickelodeon, and Nick at Nite, Two years later, I was named Vice President, overseeing the launch of MTV Europe and VH1 Europe and in 1991, became Senior Vice President, a post I held till 1995.

In 1995, I joined the internet company Prodigy and was one of the executives who purchased the company from IBM and Sears and took it public at the beginning of 1998.

In 1998, I formed my own consulting pr firm in NY, Kluger Media Group, and moved my firm to my new home of Scottsdale in 1999, which I ran until I retired in 2018.

During that time, I was appointed by then-Governor Janet Napolitano to be co-chairman of the Governor’s Film and Television Commission, a position I also held under Governor Jan Brewer.

The most important moment in my life came in 2001 when my 18-year-old daughter Erica was killed in a car accident in North Scottsdale. I became a go-to person in speeches and on the internet for grieving parents worldwide. In 2011, along with fellow grieving Dad Kelly Farley, we began to Farley-Kluger Initiative to add child loss to the Family Medical Leave Act.

Fast forward, the Sarah Grace-Farley-Kluger Act has been introduced as a bi-partisan bill in every session of Congress since 2011. In 2021, our efforts bore fruit when our work was included in the National Defense Authorization Act, granting paid bereavement leave to federal employees. Our work continues in 2023 to have leave extended to ALL working Americans.

Simply put, no amount of career success can overshadow loss but the skills I learned over the decades have given me the tools to keep Erica’s memory alive and keep my story and the stories of others, in the news and in the national dialogue.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
As I used to say when I lived in NYC, there is so much to see, but take the road less taken and see what exists beyond. It’s the same here. Visit the iconic neighborhoods in Phoenix, Tucson, Prescott, Bisbee, Pine Strawberry, Flagstaff, and that big hole in the ground up north.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Leadership comes from the heart. among those who guided me in my career are Marshall Cohen, Bob Pittman, Tom Freston, Ed Bennett, Dale Pon, Jay Kriegel and Frank Biondi.

Website: www.barrykluger.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/barry-k-b266/

Other: https://barrykluger.substack.com/ https://www.american.edu/magazine/article/in-her-name.cfm

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