Political Messaging & Modern Media

Political Messaging & The Modern Media: A Discussion with Jerry Abramson and Margaret Quackenbush

By Carly Berke

On Wednesday, November 28th, the Initiative on Cities and the College of Communication (COM) co-sponsored a discussion on the changing role of media in the political landscape. The talk featured Jerry Abramson, former White House Director of Intergovernmental Affairs under President Obama, former Lt. Governor of Kentucky, and the former Mayor of Louisville, and Margaret Quackenbush, Deputy Press Secretary at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, and was moderated by COM’s very own Thomas E. Fiedler, Dean and Professor of Journalism.

Dean Fiedler opened the discussion from the perspective of a journalist, having spent over 30 years working for the Miami Herald as an investigative reporter, political columnist, and editorial page editor before culminating his experience as Executive Editor from 2001 to 2007.

He noted the role that journalists play in asking the questions they believe informed citizens would ask, and then using their medium to communicate that information elsewhere. He emphasized the relationship between journalists and press staffers within government, which are critical connections and most often the origin of information published by the media.

“[Those relationships] are a source of nourishment for a high percentage of what you see in the news,” said Fiedler.

Jerry Abramson, with a wealth of experience in politics and public affairs, discussed the impact that local, smaller news outlets still have even during the massive disruption of the media by the proliferation of new technology and social media.

National and international publications that push out news at exponentially rapid rates are only relevant in big megacities, Abramson claims. In most cities and smaller communities across the nation, city government works with the local weekly publications to convey vital information. Despite the advent of the internet and the proliferation of major publications, local weeklys still serve as very important sources of information for a majority of communities within the United States.

Abramson also emphasized the fact that “high-tech” and the modern communication strategies that accompany it are not complete substitutes for “high-touch” contact. When serving as Mayor of Louisville, Abramson made it his priority to get out into his community and to engage personally with his constituents, be it during a trip to the grocery store or an open forum in a high school gymnasium, a program he called “Mayor’s Night Out”. He noted that high-touch contact is an imperative way to get your message out in local elections.

“To get the message out, you have to collaborate with other members of your community to make 1 + 1 =3,” said Abramson. He advises looking to local non-profits and interest groups that might bolster your message to expand the base for getting information out.

One instance he cites in particular is when the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed into law; although the new healthcare policy was designed and passed by the federal government, it was up to local city leaders to actually help implement the program and make sure the members of their community signed up and learned of the benefits available to them.

“The best thing a mayor can do is take initiative on your own, not wait for federal or local government to tell you what to do,” said Abramson.

Regarding the relationship between the government and the press, he also emphasized that the fourth estate has a responsibility to be skeptical, not cynical, and that cynicism creates difficulty in conveying information.

Margaret Quackenbush then discussed her role as the Press Secretary for Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey. She highlighted the responsibility she has to work with reporters and establish connections with those in the media to convey information and updates about the work of the Attorney General, a position that many often fail to fully understand or recognize.

She presented her recent work with NBC10 Boston on Attorney General Healey’s Abandoned Housing Initiative, a program that helps repair dilapidated and abandoned properties in residential areas across MA by incentivizing owners to repair it themselves or appointing it to a receiver. Although the initiative has been around for 20 years, little media coverage means it has gone relatively unnoticed by MA residents.

Quackenbush collaborated for a few months with NBC10’s Ally Donnelly to produce a segment that highlighted MA’s abandoned housing issue and discussed the initiative with Attorney General Healey. According to Quackenbush, the segment was quite perfect for her PR team, and she saw increased engagement as the story was then picked up by local newspapers and received more hits on social media.

Fiedler, Abramson, and Quackenbush each addressed the changing media landscape as a result of social media and the increasing polarization of traditional news outlets. Doubt is often cast on news sources, leading to a generation of intense skepticism and cynicism of news outlets. This began, our panelists asserted, with President Lyndon B. Johnson and his inaccurate informing of the Vietnam War, which caused a shift in public perceptions to the assumption that “the government is wrong until proven right”.

There is no fundamental force collectively driving public opinion like that of Walter Cronkite; rather, several different sources and media figures exist that all approach news stories differently. This has led to the development of an educational issue, as Americans must learn how to properly assess what’s happening and how to correctly interpret the news. Oftentimes, however, this is not a task that Americans want to undertake, leading to the increasing reliance on sites like Facebook and Twitter for news updates.

“Everyone knows their rights, but it’s your responsibility to read and learn and listen,” said Abramson.