Meet Patricia Jones, Co-Founder of Paws PR TV
Patricia Jones is co-founder of Paws PR TV, founder of Paws PR, the original Pet PR Agency, former NBC News producer, and lifelong animal lover.
Patricia shares her home with three rescued cats and spends time with all creatures.
Let's start at the beginning. Where did your love of animals come from?
It started in my backyard growing up in New York City where I took care of a colony of stray tuxedo cats. I’ve been a cat lady since childhood. I spent summers on my family’s farm in County Kerry, Ireland and my grandfather’s love of animals was passed down to me. I wanted to go to vet school but I didn't have the math skills so I pursued another passion: journalism which I studied at New York University.
You started your career at NBC News. Tell us about that.
After graduating, I started as an NBC Page and worked my way up. I eventually became a producer for NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, which was an extraordinary experience. I covered stories from the White House to the beaches of Normandy, France for the Anniversary of D-Day. Being a producer taught me how to work under extreme deadline pressure and juggle multiple tasks at once.
How did you go from NBC News to the ASPCA?
Honestly, I was simply burned out covering the news and I knew I wanted to use my skills to make the world a better place for animals. Joining the ASPCA as Vice President of Communications was the perfect next step in my career.
And then you launched Paws PR. What made you take that leap?
I had just left the ASPCA to launch my own consulting firm when Hurricane Katrina gathered strength off the coast of Louisiana. I was glued to the television watching the enormous eye of the storm tracking directly towards land. I reached out to a small nonprofit that was doing rescue work on the ground and said, "Let me help you tell this story." The media coverage I generated resulted in over $8 million in donations to that organization via media.
I’ll never forget standing outside 30 Rockefeller Plaza with Al Roker doing a live segment about a company that was donating dog houses to families who had been impacted by the disaster.
Paws PR has worked with some remarkable clients over the years. Any that stand out?
In 2024, I launched Paris Hilton’s first line of pet grooming products, securing exclusive coverage in PEOPLE. In 2025, Kelly and I led the launch of Prospect Pet with brand ambassador Brooke Shields which was a really fun project.
Our nonprofit clients are at the heart of Paws PR. I am especially proud of the media coverage I have generated for Pilots To The Rescue, a nonprofit founded by pilot Michael Schneider. I’ve secured coverage in Forbes, the New York Post and Inside Edition.
How did Paws PR TV come about? What was the spark?
Securing earned media has become incredibly difficult for brands. Newsrooms have shrunk. Editors want affiliate links before they'll even consider a product story. TV news requires integration deals for most brands. Our clients were doing everything right and still struggling to get visibility. I knew there had to be a better way to get pet brands in front of consumers at scale, and I knew that broadcast television, done right, could deliver that. The question was how to make it accessible, credible, and turnkey for brands of all sizes.
And that's where Kelly Diedring comes in.
Exactly! Kelly has a rare combination of on-air expertise, PR-savvy plus she genuinely, deeply loves animals and understands pet products. I prefer to stay behind the scenes so we make the perfect team!
What makes Paws PR TV different?
Our segments are produced to look and feel like editorial television, the kind of segment you'd see on a morning lifestyle show, not a hard sell. Kelly integrates the brands into a natural, story-driven conversation. It's warm, it's genuine, and it's the kind of content that pet lovers actually want to watch. The segments are syndicated across multiple markets, so brands aren't just getting one airing in one city, they're getting national reach. And because Kelly and I come from PR and news production, we know how to make a brand look credible, not commercial.
What do you want pet brands to know about Paws PR TV?
The pet industry is booming, competition is fierce, and the old playbook for getting media coverage isn't working the way it used to. Paws PR TV exists to solve that problem. We give pet brands a guaranteed, professional, nationally syndicated television presence that actually moves the needle. We've done it. We have the results to prove it. And we'd love to do it for more brands who are ready to be seen.