Jon Conradi

Avōq just released insightful research into the changing media preferences of D.C. policy insiders. LinkedIn is up, Twitter is down... but there is a lot more to it than that! To get a deeper look, download the topline and schedule a full briefing to learn what these changes mean for your policy communications strategy: https://lnkd.in/eMpRhMZh

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If you are a company or organization currently paying or looking for government relations, public affairs, or lobbying help in the Washington, DC area, don't pay the additional premium for the firm with the unnecessary office image in DC to support. Doing so is like Jim Croce continuing to put dimes into a pay phone to keep the connection going with the operator while a growing digital era takes hold. Instead look at smaller firms, like Avison Strategies, LLC, with similar experience, a much smaller fee structure and a business model focused on results, the latest AI and ML technology, and personal attention to reach people where they are and when it is needed. Retainers average $4,000-$5,000/month for firms like mine compared to $10,000-$15,000/month for firms like those. Office costs and the impact through association fallacy will make you overpay and results will frequently under deliver. Support a small business instead and see the difference.

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What a time in U.S. history. Last month, poll results released by Morning Consult / Bloomberg indicated that half of voters in swing states fear violence around the upcoming election. Sizeable proportions also expressed concern about the potential impact of misinformation, foreign interference, and voter fraud. Can we step back from the precipice? I sometimes feel I’ve been talking my entire adult life about our world’s descent into chaos and uncertainty—into an era marked by new divisions, fears, and existential threats. It’s a topic I discussed in detail in The New Megatrends (book available on Amazon, published by Random House Penguin). Perhaps especially in the U.S., so many of us feel unmoored and even hopeless—eager for change but not at all certain how best to achieve it or whether it ever will come. As I’ve had the privilege these past few months to talk with people across several states and every political orientation, I’ve become even more convinced that the solution to what ails us as a country can’t be left to chance. We all need to claw our way out of our information bubbles and talk—really talk—to people who are nothing like us. I have found it immensely heartening to discover that the headlines about polarization and hate aren’t telling the full story. Dig deeper, and you’ll find plenty of Americans across the political spectrum who want the same things and are eager for a chance to contribute to rational solutions. Let’s stop letting the polls and pundits define who we are. #citizenship #polarization #change #newmegatrends

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How do policymakers in D.C. and those who engage them get their information? It depends on their partisan leanings. Check out the results of Avōq's research below.

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Advance notice for #editors, reporters and writers of Utility and Power sector magazines: ABS Group and its consulting team are attending CEATI Strategy and Innovation Conference 2024 for a presentation on Separation of Duties: Securing OT and When to Isolate. Date: May 15, 2024 Time: 9:30 AM Location: Exhibition Hall Session C4: Organizational Security and Safety Management (Tech and Robotics) - Lakeshore A Session Chair: Paul Silba, CEATI Today’s power industry is faced with new cybersecurity risks, constant change, and the merging of technologies, software, people, and systems. What's the way forward, and is it manageable? The answer lies in focusing more sharply on leveraging security resources for Operational Technology (OT) and Industrial Control System (ICS) environments.  Discover more from ABS's OT experts at the CEATI event next week. For background on this topic go to https://lnkd.in/ebMUC69s. To arrange media interviews and insights post event with ABS Group, please email me at jason@knightsmpr.com. #cybersecurity #risk #technologies #software #systems #people #energy #power #utilities

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My latest for MSNBC: The union plan to unleash a tsunami for Biden. "There’s plenty in the former president’s record w/ which these unions can make their case. Former President Donald Trump’s popularity among working-class voters is, to be blunt, a triumph of bluster over substance and presentation over reality. The former president says he is a friend of the common man. His actions demonstrate he is anything but. Trump’s administration was a wrecking ball when it came to worker rights, rolling back multiple safety initiatives. His Supreme Court nominees were instrumental in a major ruling weakening public-sector unions. His appointees to the National Labor Relations Board made it harder for workers to unionize. During his administration, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration even removed the names of people who died in workplace accidents from the front page of its website. And since he left the White House, he has fought with the United Auto Workers and urged its members to stop paying their dues. Biden’s strong pro-worker actions are a 180-degree turn from Trump’s record. He marched on a picket line last year with striking UAW members (a first for a sitting president) and met with Starbucks labor organizers. His NLRB appointments are more likely to back workers over employers. And he's been an aggressive advocate for nonunion workers. His administration’s ban on almost all non-compete agreements will most likely both increase entrepreneurial efforts and give America’s workers a wage boost of more than $500 a year. And, yes, the names of workers killed in workplace accidents are back on OSHA’s front page. Nothing highlights the difference between Trump’s & Biden’s attitudes toward working Americans better than how they both handled overtime compensation. Trump abandoned an Obama administration initiative to double the salary threshold under which salaried workers would be eligible for mandatory overtime pay. Biden’s administration didn’t just restore the Obama-era rule; it raised the threshold to just over $56,000 annually ... [But] a recent review of databases tracking Democratic candidate statements, social media posts and campaign ads during the 2022 election revealed relatively few House and Senate candidates emphasized kitchen table economics or Biden legislative achievements like the infrastructure bill or the Inflation Reduction Act. That is borderline political malpractice. These issues and achievements mean a lot to voters. But they won’t sell themselves. People, I’ve learned over decades of reporting on these issues, lead busy lives: They don’t spend their days thinking about political gains and losses. They are upset about inflation and the rising cost of living but aren’t aware of what Biden — or any politician, really — is doing (or not doing, when it comes to Trump) to make their financial lives better." #Biden #Trump #Election2024 #OSHA #NLRB #SEIU #noncompetes #overtime #WorkerRights #unions #Fightfor15

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This report from #DOE is a fascinating look at commercial pathways to innovative grid deployment. If you are an early or growth stage company seeing federal funding for your #innovation take a read. https://buff.ly/3w7KZ8F

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Crisis communications observers have been watching the large-scale response to the Francis Scott Key bridge collapse in Baltimore the last few days. It's a complex response involving many responding agencies and contractors. Have the communications coming our from the unified command team met expectations? On the latest episode of The Leading in a Crisis Podcast, Tom Mueller and I parse through the communications from the unified command and various state/federal agencies communicating around the incident. The joint information center has about 20 people on staff now, down from the initial response but still a significant communications team. If you pay attention to crisis communications issues, you'll want to tune in to hear how we evaluate communications coming from the unified command as well as other parties. Spoiler alert: there's a team of professionals managing those communications on behalf of the unified command and it shows. Tune in to hear our discussion of the communications effort and see what your organization might learn from this incident response. #crisiscomms #crisismanagement #keybridgeresponse https://lnkd.in/gZ4Hzs3x

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A brilliant new column in Observer by Roy Swan that will unpack how we can strive for a better form of capitalism that can work for all of us, rooted in innovation, prosperity, and fairness. Check it out!!

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📣 Navigating Public Statements with Diverse Member Opinions 📣 In this week's Association Insights, I tackle a complex challenge: making public statements when not all members agree. Here’s how to approach this delicate task effectively: 👉 Establish a Clear Decision-Making Framework: Set transparent rules about the levels of consensus needed for different types of public statements. 👉 Align with Predominant Member Interests: Understand and represent the majority while maintaining open dialogue to manage expectations and relationships. 👉 Find Common Ground: Emphasize shared values and goals to craft a balanced statement that respects diverse viewpoints but upholds industry priorities. 👉 Communicate Transparently: Always explain the decision-making process and reasoning behind public statements to all members to foster trust and understanding. Handling disagreement requires a strategic and inclusive approach to effectively represent your association's interests and maintain unity. 💬 How do you manage differing opinions in your organization? Share your strategies below! #PublicRelations #AssociationManagement #Leadership #CommunicationStrategy #AssociationInsights #OnWrdUpWrd

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I've shared a lot on double negative voters — those who dislike Biden and Trump and could prove decisive in the 2024 election. Recent reporting from The New York Times adds compelling evidence of their impact, showing that across key battleground states, Biden has lost support from 14% of respondents who supported him in 2020 — voters who now say they will support Trump, a third-party candidate, are undecided or won’t vote. While acknowledging abortion rights and preserving democracy as priorities, Biden defectors cited inflation, immigration and foreign policy concerns as motivating factors. Moreover, nearly 75% viewed the economy as poor and want fundamental change. Biden defectors also skewed younger and Hispanic — two historically Democratic groups that are shifting somewhat Right. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gXb8sY4j

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Misinformation and disinformation, the threat of deepfakes, the rise of AI, dwindling workforces and resources - are converging trends undermining the quality of and trust in the media? Have a read of this excellent piece by Tom Harper, APCO European head of media and former Sunday Times journalist, in POLITICO today.

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The PRCA has just issued essential guidance for public affairs professionals with the upcoming General Election. This isn't your typical memo; it's a call to action for all of us in the field. In the world of business, politics has an impact on every aspect. The guidance the PRCA provides is an essential toolbox to ensure that our engagement is ethical and impactful. It emphasises the importance of transparency, integrity, and improving our performance. We must stay well-informed, contribute thoughtfully, and maintain the highest ethical standards to succeed. Let's ensure we familiarise ourselves with these new guidelines and make our voices heard in the political sphere…for all the right reasons. #PublicAffairs #EthicalEngagement #PRCA #GeneralElection2024 #BusinessStrategy #IntegrityInAction

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Here's the summary of our new paper calling for greater effort at dismantling inequity: DC’s Local Fund budget (the portion of the budget that reflects spending supported through our three broad based taxes—income, sales, and property) has been steady for decades when taken as a share of the economy (a key measure of our fiscal capacity). In other words, we’ve largely just kept pace with growth in the economy and that’s a good thing—we have to be able to keep up with growing needs for public services broadly and also specific things like competitive public sector wages and parts of the budget that grow faster than others or serve populations with higher cost needs. Our spending as a share of the economy has at times been higher than it is now—in fact it is actually lower now than it was in the very last year of the Control Board era. We’ve made some really important investments for racial and economic equity with that spending, especially in the last decade or so (we share a few examples that are not meant to be an exhaustive list). Revenue is projected to decline as a share of the economy in the coming years, which could cause us to backtrack when we really should be pushing forward toward more progress on tackling longstanding racial and economic inequity. More progress would strengthen our economy as a whole. To move forward and achieve more transformative change, we will need to raise revenue and increase our collective effort (we offer just a handful of examples where we should fulfill commitments already made and forge ahead with additional public investments).

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If your association, brand, or firm is grappling with a legislative or regulatory hurdle, Drumfire Public Affairs can assist you in crafting creative campaigns and strategic solutions. Discover how we can tailor our decades of experience and expertise - from Capitol Hill to the State House - to address your needs at http://www.drumfirepa.com. #publicaffairs #publicrelations #drumfirepublicaffairs

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Don't let the "It depends" takeaway stop you from looking closely at this American Political Science Review journal article on political ads. Swayable tested 617 ads produced by 51 campaigns and tested with over 500,000 respondents and there are a lot of fascinating insights here on what persuades voters. I had the good fortune to work last year w/ James Slezak last year and what can be done here in real time to test these ads is absolutely reshaping the landscape because "what works" is shifting just as rapidly from campaign to campaign. https://lnkd.in/guhTfXn4

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In the world of media and communications, the relationship between journalists and PR professionals is often misunderstood. However, the reality is far more nuanced and symbiotic. Journalists rely on PR folks to provide them with access to newsworthy stories, expert sources, and valuable insights. In turn, PR depends on journalists to amplify their messages and bring attention to their clients or organizations. A recent report by #MuckRack on the "State of Journalism," found that journalists acknowledge PR professionals 70% "as at least moderately important to their success." This mutual dependence highlights the essential role each plays in the dissemination of information to the public. Trust forms the foundation of our collaboration and ensures that the stories that reach the public are credible and impactful. Journalists rely on us to provide accurate and reliable information, while those of us in PR trust journalists to report the news fairly and accurately. Journalists are skilled storytellers who strive to craft compelling narratives that resonate with their audience. PR pros, on the other hand, are adept at identifying and shaping stories that align with our clients' goals and objectives. Together, we work to create stories that inform, engage, and inspire. I encourage you to read the attached report which provides many insights of today's newsrooms. #Journalism #PR #MediaRelations #PublicRelations #NewsMedia #MediaIndustry #JournalismEthics #Storytelling #MediaCollaboration #InformationSharing #MuckRack #StateOfJournalism #PressRelations #MediaPartnership Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Natan Edelsburg

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