Paul Davidson

Political life is defined by moderation and compromise. The recent push to describe politics in apocalyptic terms is dangerous. I discuss this in my latest column. https://lnkd.in/eU2jGfiX

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Curious about the opportunities and pitfalls in using AI for advocacy campaigns? I'll be participating in a panel discussion next Thursday (May 16) at 2:00 ET with some AI superstars. This webinar will be a great chance to introduce yourself to the world of AI and the dos and don'ts for using AI in your advocacy campaigns. Thank you to VoterVoice (Part of FiscalNote) for inviting me to be part of this event. I hope to "see" you there. #grassroots #advocacy #digitalstrategy #ai Rubenstein Impact Group, LLC FiscalNote

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This year's U.S. Book Show was buzzing with energy and insight, making it clear that the pulse of the publishing world is stronger than ever. As we are always in the mindset of “sharing is caring,” here is some knowledge the Smith team and I gained from the event: 🎙️ Panel Insights:  From our industry friends at Amplify Publishing Group and Forefront Books to new connections like Mia Orlandella from Penguin Random House, the discussions were rich and varied. A standout moment was the Young Publishing Forum, where the focus was on "emerging publishers" rather than "young" ones, emphasizing the rapid professional growth in this field and the value of mentorship and community. 🤖 AI and Publishing:  During the CEO roundtable, AI’s role in publishing was a major topic. It was fascinating to hear perspectives on AI as an "intelligent assistant"—a tool that augments rather than replaces the human creativity, empathy, and intuition essential to forward-looking innovation. 📈 Trend Shifts in Book Selling:  The dynamics of book distribution are flipping. It’s no longer just about what bookstores will accept from publishers, but strategically thinking about which books are pushed to major retailers like Barnes & Noble, Inc. or newer platforms like Bookshop.org. This strategic distribution reflects a deeper niche targeting approach. 📘 Digital and Libraries Evolving Together:  Discussions around digital book buying, especially in educational sectors, highlighted the evolving role of libraries. They're not just physical spaces but are adapting to digital demands with tools like social media and virtual book clubs, enhancing access and engagement. We left feeling a profound sense of community and dedication across the board, from protecting authors' interests to celebrating the human touch in our tech-driven world. The Publishers Weekly U.S. Book Show wasn't just about books; it was a testament to the passionate individuals behind them, restoring our faith in humanity one page at a time. If you want to take a deep dive into more knowledge and actionable takeaways from the event, Olivia Whitlock McCoy and I recorded a special episode of the Smith Publicity, Inc. All Things Book Marketing Podcast. Check out our insightful episode here: https://bit.ly/3KlxSUD. #Marketing #Publishing #Author #Books #Leadership

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On this week's #MetricMonday we're looking at sentiment, a tricky data point to come by, but an inherently critical one to understand #crisiscommunications challenges in real-time. First, let me say that NO algorithm or tool allows you to push a button and get a perfect sentiment analysis – it just doesn’t work that way (i.e. "cool" means something different to a fashion brand than it does to an HVAC company). However, in most cases, you can train tools to give you relevant directional data on sentiment based on publicly visible conversations. Once you have a well-trained monitoring tool in place, the granular approach to assessing individual posts matters a lot less than how you plan to use the data. Typically, I'm using sentiment data to: 👉 Determine the scale of an issue: While sentiment tells you the balance of negative, neutral and positive conversation, it can also showcase how much of each can impact your reputation. For example, if there are 10 product reviews on an item with 2M SKUs sold, does it matter that 6 of those reviews are negative? Perhaps, but it's worth noting how big or small an issue is relative to the conversation volume. 👉 Understand trends over time: Net sentiment is typically driven by events in a company's history. A positive net sentiment can change overnight on the whims of a bad newscycle. Analyzing sentiment before, during and after a critical issue will typically indicate whether the issue will persist or dissipate, helping you determine what the proper next steps might be. 👉 Understand topical relevance: Within all the comments and reposts are natural indicators of what topics are driving sentiment. The public will usually TELL you why they feel the way they do, and thus give you data on what the proper response might be, what channel to share it on, and how that statement might be received. Example: If your brand experiences a wave of negative comments on Instagram, does it make sense to issue a press release to tamp down the noise? Perhaps, but there's a case that it might not work based on where the conversation volume originated. If you’re planning to issue a response during a crisis that doesn’t include the trending keywords among negative responses, how might that message be received? Hard to say for sure but your odds of shifting the narrative are narrow without letting the data guide your hand. In all, sentiment is a great signifier of brand health, but as with all metrics, it's only a good tool if we use it to full capacity. And one more thing...can we not use neutral sentiment as a leading insight? It's perfectly fine to note that your audience isn't impassioned at a given moment, but neutral sentiment is easily the least impactful metric when facing a public issue. If it's all you have, shrink the data set and retrain your monitor based on influencer, channel type, publication or post type. There are insights there somewhere, sometimes you have to hunt for them.

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After a quick stroll down memory lane to NAFIS events past, I then turn my attention to one of the topics of discussion at this year's event: future data roles.

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“Did not respond to a request for comment.” Seems there’s a growing trend of companies and sources simply 𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 requests from the media to respond to a journalist’s questions. But – is it wise? In a piece from the Columbia Journalism Review (link below), Paul Farhi cites a It cites a fivefold increase in this trend over the past 10 years. The article delves into why it’s in a company’s best interests to respond to a journalist’s questions. Reasons include: ✅ It allows a source to share their side of the story. “It’s the job of spokespeople to tell the best story about the companies they represent,” says Oliver Darcy of CNN. ✅ Sources can dispute facts before publication and, in some cases, steer a reporter away from publishing it (“Reporters don’t want to publish something that’s not true”). ✅ Working with a reporter can help you build trust and a relationship that brings benefits over time. It's important to remember that building and maintaining a business's reputation is, after all, a long game. ✅ If a company says nothing, it may appear as though it’s confirming a story is correct – and staying quiet or ghosting reporters could lead to even more scrutiny. Often, the 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘴𝘵 way to approach a reporter’s request for comment is to fail to respond. While it may be uncomfortable to answer questions, imagine how unsettling it'll be if the story runs 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 the company's point of view represented? ✅ It takes A LOT to get a correction made if the story runs with an error and the company tries to correct it after the fact. Speaking from experience, I can say it’s a 𝘮𝘶𝘤𝘩 more straightforward path to respond to the original request than to try to correct it later. 👉 On that note, be sure to have a media contact listed on your company’s site. The contact should monitor and respond to messages daily. Reporters are often on deadline and need a prompt response to their questions. Side note: I appreciate this story’s use of the terms “earned” and “owned” media, which we don’t see used often enough (although ads, which are also mentioned, fall under "paid" media). #B2BPR #publicrelations #earnedmedia #PRTips

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Public perceptions of crime don't always match reality, a problem fueled by dodgy campaign rhetoric and (drum roll, please) ... old and incomplete crime data. Unlike readily available data on inflation and unemployment trends, national crime data lag by many months. The consequences? Here's what our Crime Trends Working Group says in its new report outlining a roadmap for progress: “Even small discrepancies can have big consequences in the policy and political environment. The potential fallout can be huge — in terms of crime tactics and strategies, whether the police chief stays on the job or gets fired, even whether the mayor or prosecutor is re-elected or driven from office. At stake are billions in government spending on public safety and criminal justice, the viability of businesses and urban centers, and the extent to which Americans are safe, and feel safe, in their homes and communities.” Tom Jackman of The Washington Post wrote a thoughtful summary of the problem and our group's recommendations this week. https://lnkd.in/gj4yXqje And please see the post below before turning on the TV tonight:

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This article from Columbia Journalism Review is fascinating, and an argument for the importance of a reputation management communication plan. There are volumes authored by PR pros advising against ignoring reporters inquiries, yet this article documents how frequently it happens. Throughout my career, I can count on one hand the number of times I have made a calculated decision not to respond to a media request, and 99.9% of the time it was after multiple engagements with a reporter who repeatedly misrepresented or distorted information (even if not intentionally). I suspect, more often than not, reporters get ghosted because the brand is caught off guard. They haven't planned how they will respond in a reputation crisis. Or haven't socialized the planned response with stakeholders. If the PR team is haggling with executives and lawyers on what to say or how to say it when the reporters' questions start rolling in, the opportunity to frame the narrative is quickly lost. Thanks for sharing the article Jennifer Johnson Avril! https://lnkd.in/gYmTA9CW

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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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For this podcast, the Confident Retirement, there's a twist: I was the one interviewed, not the one asking the questions. (I like it better the other way - but that was fun - thanks for inviting me on, Kristopher Flammang CRPC®AIF®BFA®) Oh - and I'm not retiring :) Some of the things we talked about: * My early journalism career change to being a juvenile probation office for three years; • Why and how the Business Observer has made a transtions to #digitalfirst — and why we keep the focus on that; and • The lessons I've learned from interviewing hundreds of entrepreneurs ands business owners Take a listen!

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A Bloomberg reporter was fired for breaking an embargo. It’s a nightmare that fuels paranoia whenever someone is working with sensitive information. What if a reporter, despite promising, file a story earlier than planned? I think what’s happened here – a dangerous, very unfortunate action that could have jeopardised an international prisoner exchange – shows us why we don’t have to worry too much. By far the most common reason to give reporters access to information early is so that they have additional time to plan and report a story. We want to make sure they have the ability to put the news in context, hopefully by speaking to someone and adding more context. Time is also a consideration – the ability to release the story at the soonest possible moment. Even though the news hopefully will be covered by others, you desperately, in this world of thousands of sites and accounts, want people to hear it there first. All of this is understandable and, at some level, benefits everyone. What doesn’t is breaking that agreement. I’ve never had a journalist knowingly break an embargo. And a couple of times, something has gone up quicker than expected, it’s usually been because there’s been confusion over a changing embargo time. (Note: don’t do this.) Moreover the vast majority of pieces of news are interesting to a specialist audience. They are noteworthy, yes, but there’s no massive fame and fortune to be made by leaking. On the contrary, the consequences of being iced out of future deals – and potentially even facing legal action are far more dire. Even in the Bloomberg case, there’s been an impassioned response from the reporter in question about how she never, ever would maliciously break a pre-agreed break time. It seems that what happened – while not acceptable – was somewhere in the process of writing and editing. So breathe easy, and let people with trusted relationships have time to review and report on forthcoming stories.

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Corporate and Startups keep a close eye on the elections, government affairs and public notices. Why??? Because it impacts their businesses. Politicians are Policy Makers. Policies they make have a direct and indirect impact on the business operations. Corporate Communications professionals need to be an expert in Public Policy tracking and Public Affairs too apart from Public Relations. Government and Politicians are a key external stakeholders and influencers for businesses. Lobbying by entrepreneurs across the globe since a century is a common phenomenon. Industry Bodies of varying ministries gives an option to varying entrepreneurs and organisations to share their feedback to the Ministry, elect their representative for that body, suggest changes in policies, propose policy plans and participate in the engagement for nation building. Public Affairs is a serious business and needs to align with the PR planning. #hemamalini #superstar #loksabha #memberofparliament #parliament #delhi #mathura #legacy #legend #publicpolicy #publicaffairs #corporateaffairs #artist #influencer #keyinfluencer #messaging #governmentaffairs #publicrelations #pr #corporatecommunications #internalcommunication #stakeholdermanagement #stakeholderengagement #brandengagement #thoughtleader #thoughtleadership

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Corporate and Startups keep a close eye on the elections, government affairs and public notices. Why??? Because it impacts their businesses. Politicians are Policy Makers. Policies they make have a direct and indirect impact on the business operations. Corporate Communications professionals need to be an expert in Public Policy tracking and Public Affairs too apart from Public Relations. Government and Politicians are a key external stakeholders and influencers for businesses. Lobbying by entrepreneurs across the globe since a century is a common phenomenon. Industry Bodies of varying ministries gives an option to varying entrepreneurs and organisations to share their feedback to the Ministry, elect their representative for that body, suggest changes in policies, propose policy plans and participate in the engagement for nation building. Public Affairs is a serious business and needs to align with the PR planning. #shatrugansinha #superstar #loksabha #memberofparliament #parliament #delhi #mathura #legacy #legend #publicpolicy #publicaffairs #corporateaffairs #artist #influencer #keyinfluencer #messaging #governmentaffairs #publicrelations #pr #corporatecommunications #internalcommunication #stakeholdermanagement #stakeholderengagement #brandengagement #thoughtleader #thoughtleadership

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Corporate and Startups keep a close eye on the elections, government affairs and public notices. Why??? Because it impacts their businesses. Politicians are Policy Makers. Policies they make have a direct and indirect impact on the business operations. Corporate Communications professionals need to be an expert in Public Policy tracking and Public Affairs too apart from Public Relations. Government and Politicians are a key external stakeholders and influencers for businesses. Lobbying by entrepreneurs across the globe since a century is a common phenomenon. Industry Bodies of varying ministries gives an option to varying entrepreneurs and organisations to share their feedback to the Ministry, elect their representative for that body, suggest changes in policies, propose policy plans and participate in the engagement for nation building. Public Affairs is a serious business and needs to align with the PR planning. #shashitharoor #loksabha #memberofparliament #parliament #delhi #mathura #legacy #legend #publicpolicy #publicaffairs #corporateaffairs #artist #influencer #keyinfluencer #messaging #governmentaffairs #publicrelations #pr #corporatecommunications #internalcommunication #stakeholdermanagement #stakeholderengagement #brandengagement #thoughtleader #thoughtleadership

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