This Is RePressed!

A newsletter from Carrie Crecca Maitoza aka @miss_pr_piggy

Welcome to RePressed!

I am finally here. I have wanted to be here for almost two years. Getting here has been hard. A journey! If you will…

It started when a former colleague mentioned I should start a Substack newsletter two years ago. A huge “DUH” moment for me. I have always wanted to be a writer. 

At the time, I was depressed and considering quitting my job. I was trying to sort through my new reality of being a working Mom with a small baby, two things that seemed to always be at odds. I was faced with a sharp and urgent reprioritization of how I spent my time:

‘If I am leaving my 4-month old baby every day for something else; then that something else better be worth it, motherf*cker!!!’

Needless to say, the job wasn’t worth it in the end, even with the compelling trade off of a regular paycheck. I quit! (And switched to freelance)

Shortly after, I revealed my identity on @miss_pr_piggy, an anonymous meme account I started on Instagram in 2019. I promised my followers they would hear more from me “soon.” That was in June 2023. Well, “soon” is now! We made it!

While the Substack seed was planted two years ago and I knew it was where I wanted to be, it has taken me this long to get here. 

Over the last two years, I have been a puddle of fears, what-ifs, and gagging to myself like it’s week 8 of pregnancy and my food aversions are sending me to Saturn at the thought of reviving a Live Journal (am I aging myself?) ON THE INTERNET. (Rows of streaming tears emoji) 

Omg. 

There is a deflated thought that puffs its paranoid self back up every now and then: Can I wipe my presence from the internet and those terrible outfits I wore to fashion parties in 2009? Ouch. I don’t know the internet gods and they seem difficult to reach, so in a state of powerlessness, I usually neatly fold that little thought back up and stuff it into the depths of my brain where it belongs. Forgotten until the next time I feel insecure about anything at all. 

Kelly Oxford once said, 

“You’re only as attractive as your worst photo on the internet.” 

Damn girl! 

Harsh, but true. 

These are the types of things that haunt me a little. Old versions of me out there and searchable. Cruel! There is something tormenting about the frozen-in-time-ness of the internet that gives me a twitchy eye. Facebook can serve me up a (private) “memory” which could be some bland joke(???) I made about Hurricane Irene from 2011 (13 YEARS AGO) and I can then make the jump that I’m a frivolous person with terrible ideas and nothing I do should be memorialized on the internet indefinitely. Why you gotta be like this Facebook? I’m just trying to be a normal Mom and buy my kid a used scooter on Marketplace. Leave me alone!

But this type of jump is why people like me are in therapy. And as my therapist matter-of-factly said, “You can always delete it later.” She’s a genius. Freedom unlocked.

After some career coaching, many therapy sessions, 20-ish self-help books (should I drop the list?), terrorizing my friends and family with my crippling self-doubts, and a gazillion encouraging podcasts later, I made it. I am here! I am climbing cringe mountain and putting myself out there! I’m committed. 

So now that we’ve made it here…let’s discuss! Why RePressed?!

I am at a crossroads in my career. I just turned 40 and have a toddler. I have a pesky, “what is my job now?” feeling for those reasons but also because the media industry has flipped upside down. I know the value that PR holds, but does an entire industry? I wonder. We know all too well that PR is often the stepdaughter of the fashion industry or any industry, really. (It’s OK, Cinderella was a babe!) 

I think what could alleviate some existential feelings is falling back on doing what we do best! Talking! I think we need to get together (and probably with editors and writers too) to discuss where we go from here.

I’m feeling restless. I have felt restless my entire career about not exactly having a place to share an opinion. I think Miss PR Piggy was a solid step in that direction and I have received tons of feedback from my followers that Miss PR Piggy was —and is still— so needed. I see RePressed as a longer form extension of Miss PR Piggy on a platform that fosters community. I hope to take the conversations we’ve been having on Miss PR Piggy here a bit further while maintaining the humor in it all. Let’s be honest, we can’t all work for Chanel or Louis Vuitton! The majority of us don’t work for brands that the media wants to –or has to– cover. How do we carve out a meaningful niche for clients that is sustainable? I hate constantly being the bearer of bad news or…no news. 

Based on my DMs over the years, I don’t think I am alone in feeling a little restless, confused, and confronted with the uncertainty of what the future holds.

I think it’s a good time for PR people to band together, step out of the all-black uniform and show ourselves a little bit. When we humanize the job, we get more understanding.

This is how I see RePressed taking shape on Substack:

*A safe space for PR people to commiserate and feel seen, heard, and understood. Where we can ask each other, “what the f*ck is our job now?!” in peace, without retainers being slashed.

*A space to observe common practices within our industry that deserve to be questioned, changed, or maybe just joked about so we don’t feel crazy? I’m looking at you, press releases!

*A space to chat with other PR people about work and life and have a built-in support system. Instagram only goes so far! Substack is about community.

In Miss PR Piggy fashion, I will be drawing on my own experiences (17 years!) in PR to try and process what once was, what is, and where things are going.

Sometimes these takes will be accompanied by a meme. Sometimes I’ll peel back the curtain on one of my existing memes and tell the real life story behind it, and I *might* name names! (Never in a negative way!)

While things unfold, the cadence, columns, and ideas may change over time and I appreciate you sticking here with me to figure it out. I will communicate any future changes right away so you know what to expect, always.

For right now, what you can expect from RePressed is a weekly newsletter that comes out every Friday morning. The first newsletter of the month is free. Every other newsletter in the month is paid. When you become a paid subscriber, you also get access to the comments, the PR Group Chat, as well as access to special group offerings like book studies, article clubs, blind items, and maybe an in-person hang or two! More on that later…

When you subscribe yearly, you get two-ish months free. When you become a Founding Member subscriber (ZOMG! THANK YOU!) you get a 1x1 vent session with me + everything above. 

The full offerings breakdown is below for ease:

• Essays and *hot* takes! (The first post of the month is for all subscribers; the rest of the posts in the month are for paid subscribers)

• 33 Questions series - a way to humanize the job by giving real-life PR gals and guys a chance to share their insights Q&A style. Important questions only, like “who is the last editor you texted?” obvs! (Paid subscribers)

• If I Could Do PR for Anything series - Recommendations from your fave internet publicist! (Paid subscribers)

• PR Group Chat - A safe space to ask, “Who is doing the Gift Guide at Vogue.com this year?”  among other pressing PR matters. (Paid subscribers)

• Group Offerings - Potential book studies, article club, blind items, and IRL meet ups! More info coming soon! (Paid subscribers)

• 1x1 vent sessions with moi! (Founding Member subscribers)

Thank you for subscribing to RePressed. Becoming a paid subscriber directly supports my writing and meme-making! It means so much to me that you’re here. 

Best wishes,

Carrie

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