Fay Shapiro builds on her love of newsletters, PR, and directories.

Fay Shapiro, new associate publisher in the new New York office of Infocom Group (see lead article), has successfully tilled the fields of journalism, newsletters, public relations, and directory publishing.

She graduated in journalism from the University of Illinois. After spending about a year, as she put it, "fooling around in newspapers," she returned to school and received a master's from Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism.

From there she remained in Chicago and served as editorial director at Bacon's, the media information firm.

Joins Oxbridge

Shapiro's next step brought her to New York City and the directory publisher Oxbridge Communications, where she stayed for a decade, eventually serving as publisher. Among its many directories is the Oxbridge Directory of Newsletters.

"It was at Oxbridge where I became immersed in the world of newsletters and learned the scope, breadth and depth of the newsletter publishing field. I also learned a lot from groups like the newsletter association."

Joins Oxbridge azd then Burrell's

From Oxbridge she moved to Burrell's, another directory publisher, and oversaw their group of a half-dozen directories online.

With electronic publishing gaining a strong foothold in the directory business, Fay hooked up with Los Angeles-based Market Wire, a newswire for marketing and media relations, where she got first-hand experience in public relations. But she realized--after stints in Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles--that she was a New Yorker at heart.

By chance, she happened to tell Jack O'Dwyer she was looking for the opportunity to return to New York City. "Come work with me," Jack responded.

Joins O'Dwyer

So, six months ago, she joined the J.R. O'Dwyer Company. She said she tried "to hit the ground running, developing the brand known as Jack O'Dwyer." When people asked her about the new job, she said, "I'm publisher and publicist for Jack O'Dwyer."

O'Dwyer's publishing operation includes the 37-year-old weekly Jack O"Dwyer's Newsletter, taglined "The Inside News of PR and Marketing Communications"; the O'Dwyer Directory of PR Firms; the Directory of Corporate Communications; the monthly magazine PR Services Report, and the number-one visited website in the PR field, www.odwyerpr.com.

The website, run by John O'Dwyer Jr., includes heavy editorial content updated daily. It's also interactive with opinion polls and even quizzes. Subscriptions to it are available on a stand-alone basis for $14.95 a month or are included in the annual $295 price of the newsletter.

In connection with the 35th edition of the O'Dwyer Directory of PR Firms, Shapiro organized two top-level "information-education events," in Chicago in April and in New York City in May, titled "The Future of PR: Marketing Communications." Jack O'Dwyer moderated panels of industry heavy hitters, including the incoming president of the Public Relations Society of America.

Joins Sinkinson

Six months to the day after joining Jack O'Dwyer, she left to become associate publisher of Jim Sinkinson's California-based Infocom Group, which also serves the public relations field. But she's staying in her adopted hometown, running Infocom's New York office.

She said she completed what she was hired to do at O'Dwyer's and now was anxious to develop Sinkinson's New York presence.

Shapiro, who is currently setting up the New York Infocom office, may be reached at 917-453-5159.