MARKETING THE MAYOR: FROM JOURNALIST TO PRESS SECRETARY, SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY REGENT PAT WASHINGTON BRINGS ENTHUSIASM TO THE JOB

ST. LOUIS -- Pat Washington comes at you with truckloads of enthusiasm and a smile that's every bit as contagious.

Washington's enthusiasm extends from her job as press secretary to St. Louis Mayor Freeman Bosley Jr. to her roots in Cape Girardeau. That characteristic also applies to her role as a member of the Southeast Missouri State University Board of Regents.

After nine years of working in journalism, most of the time with African-American weekly newspapers in St. Louis, the 32-year-old Washington has switched gears: Instead of covering City Hall, she works there.

Her small, second-story office borders an elegant, spacious waiting room that leads to the mayor's large office.

"I'm still pinching myself," said Washington, who was hired in June as director of media relations for St. Louis' first black mayor. Bosley, 39, was elected mayor in April.

"Here I am having a key role in policy decisions for a city of almost half a million people," she said.

The mayor's staff is relatively young. "We've got an under-40 crew here for the most part," said Bosley.

"Pat is a hard worker and she's very conscientious."

Bosley said, "One of the strategies that we have is that a lot of times we try not to let the news define us, but a lot of times define the news."

Many times politicians and administrations develop "a siege mentality," he said.

Bosley said he challenges the media to have balanced reporting, and point out not just "the muddy side" but also the "sunny side" of issues.

Washington writes the mayor's speeches and most of his press releases and position papers. She generally accompanies the mayor when he makes public appearances.

"I think I have a responsibility to help market him and look after his image as much as I do looking after who gets an interview," she said.

Her job is never dull, particularly when it comes to dealing with media requests. They range from inquiries about what the mayor likes to eat for breakfast to coordinating a photo shoot for the mayor and his dog.

"Those things are fun for me. You come out of a meeting where you are making decisions about crime and gang problems, to setting up a photo shoot with the mayor and his dog," Washington said.

"It's just so odd. A couple of years ago I was here fighting to get an interview with the (previous) mayor and now I am deciding who gets an interview with the mayor. I feel sometimes like Alice looking through the looking glass."

She's married to her job, often working 14 hours or more a day. "I thrive off work. I thrive off being busy and moving.

"I don't like it when the weekends come because I don't know what to do," said Washington, who is single.

She spends her free time volunteering with various charities and handling her duties with the Board of Regents.

A graduate of Southeast Missouri State University, Washington was sworn in as one of the university's two new regents in April.

Said Washington: "I just felt it was a wonderful opportunity because I do care very much about what happens to Cape Girardeau, and I care very much about what happens to Southeast Missouri State."

Washington grew up in Cape Girardeau; the family's home was on Olive Street. She went through the public school system, graduating from Cape Girardeau Central High School in 1979.

Her mother, Essie Mae Washington, died in 1986. Her father, Booker T. Washington, lives on a farm in Washington, Mo. An aunt and uncle, Clarence and Genevieve Dockery, still live in Cape Girardeau.

As a youngster, Washington loved the written word.

"I always wanted to write," she remembered. "And I always involved myself in those things that would help me be a better writer. I read voraciously. I read everything and I still do."

Said Washington, "I cannot sit still without reading something. I think that is what led me to wanting to become a writer, because I was reading so much."

Washington has always had a love of newspapers, dating back to her days as a paper carrier for the Southeast Missourian.

"I can remember being late delivering my papers because I had stopped to read the paper. I couldn't get them folded and the rubber bands on them fast enough because I was trying to read what was in the newspaper.

"So by the time I delivered the papers," she recalled, "I could tell everybody what was in it before they even read their paper."

Washington enrolled in Southeast Missouri State in 1979. She graduated in summer 1984 with a liberal arts degree in mass communications.

Friends and instructors had encouraged her to pursue a career in broadcast journalism. But Washington said she wanted to work in print. "I was good at it (TV news) and I came across well on camera and everything, but I just didn't really feel like I was being a journalist."

As an African-American, Washington's goal was to work for a black newspaper.

"I never really wanted to work for a traditional, so-called mainstream newspaper," she said.

"I didn't have any interest in recording the daily events of the day. I wanted to try and get with an organization where I could look at it from the analysis perspective, where I could look at it from an advocacy role."

Washington said she wanted to be involved in advocacy journalism to stir people to action.

Washington began her career in summer 1984 as an intern at the St. Louis Argus, the oldest African-American newspaper west of the Mississippi River.

The weekly newspaper didn't have a large circulation, but, Washington said, it enjoyed a solid reputation. "It was the New York Times of the African-American community."

Washington was paid $15 per story and received college credit.

After completing a three-month internship, she stayed on for a few more months. "I knew they didn't have any money to hire me, but I stayed on because I was learning so much in an urban setting."

She then moved on to the Suburban Journals, where she worked for about a year and a half, covering East St. Louis city government and the school board there.

"It still fit with what I wanted to do, even though it was not an African-American-owned newspaper," she explained. "The fact that it was East St. Louis made it better for me."

Washington returned to the black press in 1986, landing a job in classified sales with the St. Louis American. The newspaper had a circulation of about 10,000 at the time; today, it has a circulation of 55,000.

Washington spent about seven months in sales before getting back to the news side as the newspaper's church reporter.

Later, she became a general assignment reporter before being promoted to acting managing editor. In 1989, she become the paper's permanent managing editor, a job she held until being hired as Bosley's press secretary.

Washington took a keen interest in Bosley's mayoral campaign. "I did all this work covering the campaign, assigning reporters to cover the campaign, directing all the campaign coverage."

The St. Louis American didn't just stand on the sidelines, she said, but took an active role in the campaign.

But Washington didn't get to really celebrate Bosley's victory. She spent most of April in the hospital suffering from a heart-valve problem and missed the mayor's inauguration.

Ironically, Washington was the picture of health in high school and college. She was on the track team, first in high school and then in college.

While in the hospital, friends suggested she consider working for the new mayor.

At first she rejected the idea, believing she could help Bosley more by remaining with the St. Louis American.

Washington returned to her newspaper job in May, but then became convinced it was time to join the mayor's team and be part of the change rather than write about it.

For Washington, the job may have changed, but her advocacy role remains the same.

"We have a good team," said Washington. "We really think about this as not a job. We are doing things that affect people's lives and that's what's important."