{"id":20699,"date":"2018-12-03T11:53:57","date_gmt":"2018-12-03T15:53:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/?p=20699"},"modified":"2025-06-04T11:07:39","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T15:07:39","slug":"political-messaging-the-modern-media-a-discussion-with-jerry-abramson-and-margaret-quackenbush","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/2018\/12\/03\/political-messaging-the-modern-media-a-discussion-with-jerry-abramson-and-margaret-quackenbush\/","title":{"rendered":"Political Messaging & The Modern Media: A Discussion with Jerry Abramson and Margaret Quackenbush"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Wednesday, November 28th, 2018, 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 <\/span>Jerry Abramson<\/span><\/a>, former White House Director of Intergovernmental Affairs under President Obama, and Margaret Quackenbush, Deputy Press Secretary at the Massachusetts Attorney General\u2019s Office. Dean and Professor of Journalism <\/span>Thomas E. Fiedler<\/span><\/a> moderated the panel.<\/p>\n

Dean Fiedler opened the discussion from a journalist\u2019s perspective, working for the <\/span>Miami Herald<\/span><\/i> as an investigative reporter, political columnist, and editorial page editor for 30 years before his promotion to Executive Editor from 2001 to 2007.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fiedler noted that journalists ask the questions they believe informed citizens would ask, using their medium to communicate such information. He emphasized that the relationship between journalists and press staffers within the government is a critical connection and, most often, the origin of information published by the media. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c[Those relationships] are a source of nourishment for a high percentage of what you see in the news,\u201d said Fiedler.<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

National and international publications that disseminate news at exponentially rapid rates are only relevant in large megacities, Abramson claims. In most cities and smaller communities across the nation, city governments work with local weekly publications to convey vital information. Despite the advent of the internet and the proliferation of major publications, local \u201cweeklys\u201d still serve as very important sources of information for a majority of communities within the United States.<\/span><\/p>\n

Abramson also emphasized that \u201chigh-tech\u201d modern communication strategies are not complete substitutes for \u201chigh-touch\u201d contact. When serving as Mayor of Louisville, Abramson prioritized outreach to his community, engaging personally with his constituents, be it a trip to the grocery store or an open forum in a high school gymnasium, a program he called \u201cMayor\u2019s Night Out.\u201d He noted that high-touch contact is an imperative way to broadcast messaging in local elections.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTo get the message out, you have to collaborate with other members of your community to make 1 + 1 = 3,\u201d said Abramson. He advises seeking local non-profits and interest groups that might bolster your message to expand the audience for disseminating information. <\/span><\/p>\n

The implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) exemplifies Abramson\u2019s point. However,h the new healthcare policy was designed and passed by the federal government, it was up to local city leaders to implement the program, ensuring the members of their community signed up and learned of the benefits available to them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe best thing a mayor can do is take initiative on [their] own, not [waiting] for federal or local government to tell you what to do,\u201d said Abramson.<\/span><\/p>\n

Regarding the relationship between the government and the press, the fourth estate has a responsibility to be skeptical, not cynical, as cynicism can hinder the effective conveyance of information.<\/span><\/p>\n

Margaret Quackenbush then discussed her role as 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 understand or recognize fully. <\/span><\/p>\n

She presented her recent work on Attorney General Healey\u2019s Abandoned Housing Initiative<\/a>. This program helps repair dilapidated and abandoned properties in residential areas across Massachusetts by incentivizing owners to repair them themselves or appoint a receiver, as reported by NBC10 Boston. Although the initiative has been in place for 20 years, its lack of media coverage has meant it has gone relatively unnoticed by residents. <\/span><\/p>\n

Quackenbush collaborated\u00a0<\/span>with NBC10\u2019s Ally Donnelly<\/a>\u00a0for a few months to produce a\u00a0segment<\/a> that highlighted Massachusetts\u2019<\/span> abandoned housing issue and discussed the initiative with Attorney General Healey. According to Quackenbush, the segment was perfect for her PR team, as it boosted engagement when local newspapers and social media picked up the story.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fiedler, Abramson, and Quackenbush each addressed the changing media landscape resulting from social media and the increasing polarization of traditional news outlets. The public often casts doubt on news sources, leading to a generation of intense skepticism and cynicism of news outlets. As our panelists asserted, this began with President Lyndon B. Johnson\u2019s inaccuracy on the Vietnam War, shifting public perception to the belief that \u201cthe government is wrong until proven right.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

There is no single, fundamental force collectively driving public opinion, like that of Walter Cronkite; rather, several different sources and media figures approach news stories in varying ways. This contributed to an educational issue where Americans must learn how to assess and interpret the news properly. Oftentimes, however, this is not a task that Americans want to undertake, leading to an increased reliance on sites like Facebook and Twitter for news updates. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone knows their rights, but it\u2019s your responsibility to read and learn and listen,\u201d said Abramson.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Wednesday, November 28th, 2018, 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, and Margaret Quackenbush, Deputy Press Secretary at the Massachusetts Attorney General\u2019s Office. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23085,"featured_media":20700,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[169,16],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20699"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23085"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20699"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20699\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22101,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20699\/revisions\/22101"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20700"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20699"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20699"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/ioc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20699"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}