Artificial intelligence (AI) is everywhere these days -- from our phones and cars to advertising and healthcare. There have also been ongoing debates regarding AI taking over journalism, making newsrooms around the world leaner than they already are. 

The field of public relations has also been targeted by AI, but like with journalism, there is a larger debate around the lines between artificial intelligence and human intelligence. While data continues to be a larger contributor to the stories being told (earnings, growth, etc), one critical element to all stories is the human perspective. AI is getting incredibly impressive. Sure, computers can quickly spit out sports scores and write up a brief article on the most recent economic numbers. And Alexa certainly can have a sassy sense of humor at times but it is going to be a while before the human element -- the emotions of a story -- can truly be conveyed by a computer.

Until that time, we will still need journalists and PR professionals to wade through the numbers and dig into the human intelligence and emotion of the stories that need to be told. 

Earlier this year, we invited 3 of the top LA-based journalists -- USA Today's Jefferson Graham, Fast Company writer and freelancer Neal Ungerleider Investor's Business Daily's Brian Deagon -- to join us for a candid discussion around a variety of topics ranging from their top pitch tips and their typical work day to the promotional push into social and video. 

Below, we've compiled a few of the advice highlights from our hour-long conversation at WeWork Playa Vista below to help us all improve our relations with members of the press. 

Stay tuned for more highlights from our Above The Fray event in future posts! In the meantime, are there any topics you'd like to get journalists' perspective on? Let us know as we start pulling together our 2017 events calendar.