What happens when you put 11 legal, communications, and media experts in one auditorium? Everyone—live and online—is treated to three compelling panels on public affairs in the digital age, the intersection of law and public relations, and the relationship between media representatives and corporate communicators.
The forum, “Truth on Trial: Implications for Communicators,” was the third in a series of discussions addressing issues facing those who impart the facts and those who gather them. A video recording of the event is here.
Mark J. Rozell, Dean of the Schar School of Policy and Government and host of the event, gave the opening remarks on Tuesday at Founders Hall in Arlington. The three panels were moderated by Doug Simon, CEO of the New York communications firm, D S Simon Media.
The panel addressing public affairs in the digital age opened the forum by discussing the unavoidable partisan divide and the relationship between business and political image. Michael Caputo, former senior advisor for the campaign of Donald Trump, shared insider knowledge on business and politics. "While corporations are distancing themselves, some are embracing the jackpot of politics," he said.
Former Governor Terry McAuliffe (D-Va.), now a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Schar School, spoke about the white nationalist protest in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017 and the openly racist chants he heard on the streets that day. “People used to wear hoods to make these comments,” he said. “They don’t feel they have to anymore.”
Maria Cardona, principle at the Washington, D.C.-based advocacy firm Dewey Square Group, agreed with McAuliffe’s statement describing how social media has created a platform for divisive and false information. “Politics have always divided people,” she said. “Social media magnifies the divisions more than anything else—it drives intensity.”
The second panel tackled the intersection of law and public relations. On the release of the Mueller investigation, Ty Cobb, the recently retired White House Counsel to President Trump, asserted the importance of transparency, but he emphasized the legal implications of releasing the full Mueller report. “It’s not that there aren’t a lot of facts out there. It’s just on everyone’s collusion meter,” Cobb said.
Richard Levick, chairman and CEO of Washington, D.C., public relations and strategic communication firm LEVICK, made it clear that “you can’t choose transparency based on who you like.” Organizations have a responsibility to treat everyone equally, he suggested.
While the stage was being set for the final panel, Schar School public policy professor David Rehr appeared on video to discuss how CEOs can build their brands. “In this environment, you have to be unique,” he said. In addition, Rehr underlined the necessity of businesses to communicate their message in an ongoing way.
The media and communicators panel hit the stage to discuss the divide between business and the media.
“They [large companies] feel they can communicate with the world without intermediaries,” said Steven Pearlstein, a columnist for the Washington Post and professor of public and international affairs at George Mason University. Pearlstein later confessed that the divide is “at least half” the fault of the media for lacking stronger relationships with businesses.
Lisa Osborne Ross, president of communications marketing firm Edelman Washington D.C., acknowledged that “an accessible CEO makes a company more attractive.” An activist CEO, she suggested, invites media attention and consumer interest in a world where businesses once shied away from the public eye.
Other speakers included former White House deputy counsel Stefan Passatino; George Washington University professor Frank Sesno; legal analyst Michael Zeldin; “open government advocate” Alexander Howard; Peter Carson, managing director of North America public affairs practice of Powell Tate; and New York Magazine national correspondent Gabriel Debenedetti.
After the forum, Melissa Dederick, a Public Policy student from Seattle, Wash., said, “I really appreciate the Schar School for putting ‘Truth on Trial’ together. The event was a one-of-a-kind experience.”