As the Fourth Estate continues to wane at the local level, unethical and corrupt public officials will run unchecked compounding the erosion of our democratic republic, which leads to more polarization.
SL7 INTERVIEW'S FRED LEONHARDT OF GRAYROBINSON
Fred Leonhardt heads GrayRobinson’s government relations practice spanning the law firm’s 12 offices across the state of Florida. GrayRobinson consistently ranks among the top revenue earning government relations practices in the state...
PUBLIC RELATIONS TRUMPS LOBBYING: STUDY REVEALS PR PARADIGM
Government relations professionals refusing to acknowledge and leverage public relations as part of influencing public policy are falling behind the times. A new study by The Center of Public Integrity found that some of the nation's largest trade associations spent nearly twice as much on public relations than lobbying...
SL7 INTERVIEW'S RICK WATSON, CHIEF LOBBYIST FOR ASSOCIATED BUILDERS & CONTRACTORS OF FLORIDA
Rick Watson is legislative counsel for ABC. ABC is the voice of commercial construction. It's a trade association of merit-shop, commercial and industrial contractors. ABC represents every aspect of commercial construction from general contractors to subcontractors and affiliated industries. It’s SL7 Communications’ pleasure to include Rick in our SL7 Interview series. Rick discusses ABC’s role in coalitions, how his members are faring in today’s economy and the key legislative issues heading into 2015...
SL7 INTERVIEW'S UCLA PROF. EDWARD T. WALKER, AUTHOR OF NEW BOOK: GRASSROOTS FOR HIRE
Grassroots Lobbying has become a billion dollar industry leaving its mark on our American Democracy. Surprisingly, there’s little-to-no authoritative research and writing on the consultants who specialize in this field. However, author and UCLA Professor Edward T. Walker pulls back the curtain of consultant driven grassroots initiatives in his new book, Grassroots for Hire: Public Affairs Consultants in American Democracy...
SPEAKING IN TONGUES IN CRISIS: HOW TO INTEGRATE CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS & GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
In today’s digital age, public policy and public perception have become intertwined creating an uncertain landscape for large corporations. Product recalls, citizen referendums, agency contracts and regulations, activist boycotts and proposed federal/state legislation can threaten a corporation’s reputation, credibility and license to operate...
SL7-INTERVIEW'S TALLAHASSEE POWER BROKER CHIP CASE
There are only a handful of influential lobbyists in Tallahassee who have unimpeded access to leadership in the Florida Legislature. SL7 Interviews Chip Case, political consultant, lobbyist and owner of Jefferson Monroe Consulting and Spartan Strategies. Chip is one of a handful of public affairs operatives who can leverage the power of politics with the power of legislation...
THE RISE OF CORPORATE GRASSROOTS LOBBYING
Corporate grassroots lobbying has led to an estimated $1 billion-a-year industry and it’s growing. In today’s political and social environments, an increasing number of C-Suite executives have realized they need more than big PAC checks and high-powered lobbyists to achieve their public affairs strategies...