Communications Tip
New-Media Marketing
In the New-Media world, plenty of opportunities exist to connect with consumers and voters without using the tradition media. Monday’s edition of the Wall Street Journal (paid subscription required) contains an excellent in-depth article titled “How to Get Attention in a New-Media World” on how businesses can use New Media to reach consumers. Many of the suggestions also apply to politicians and others trying to communicate with citizens on public policy matters.
The article discusses using regular Web sites, blogging, podcasting, Google advertising, and using such sites as YouTube and Flickr. The article is worth a read.
House Demos are Blogging
Utah House Democrats have started their own Weblog, joining the House Republicans and Senate Republicans in creating their own direct communications channel to citizens. The House Democrats’ blog tends to be a little more partisan and critical than the two Republican majority blogs, but that’s pretty normal for the out-of-power party.
Blog Watch
At the Senate Site blog, Sen. Lyle Hillyard says: "I attended the Governor's Education Summit and then the joint meeting of the Public and Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittees during the last two weeks. I am excited about helping the Governor accomplish some pretty lofty goals for education in the next session. Our current surplus is mainly in income tax (a.k.a. education money). Given this year's tax cut, and all the talk about future tax cuts, there seems to be a great deal of apprehension in the education community. I do not sense a great deal of interest in just adding more money to public education without some clearly agreed upon goals or accountability. ... I hope people will rivet attention on the Governor, his staff, legislators and educational leaders as we try to make a meaningful impact in public education while also addressing the desire to cut taxes and reduce government. This work will be challenging; hopefully we can reach an agreeable compromise" (see also here, here, here, and here)... Phil Windley says: "If I do a quick look at the postings that show up on the UtahPolitics.org homepage, my gut tells me that liberals are winning the blog wars. There are more liberal postings at any given time than conservative ones. I'm not sure we can read much into this at this point, but I am sure that liberal blogs are making their case better -- even here in Utah"... At Out of Context, Thomas Burr reports: "Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney may need to spend some more time pressing the flesh in Iowa, but, hey, at least he's doing better than Hillary Clinton. Romney beat the New York senator and former First Lady by 4 points in a hypothetical matchup, but he lost to three other Democrats, former senator John Edwards, Gov. Tom Vilsack and Sen. John Kerry, according to a poll by the Des Moines Register published over the weekend. The GOP's man on top: Former NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who bested Edwards, Kerry, Vilsack and Clinton. Iowa is the place to be liked when running for president; the state hosts the first caucus in the nation and winning -- or at least doing well -- is a must to get any traction in the 2008 contest. The poll shows that Romney needs to buck up his credentials in Iowa, since some 69 percent of those polled were unsure whether they liked him or not. Of those who knew, Romney had more people who had an unfavorable opinion of him (16 percent) than a favorable one (15 percent). Here's to a few more trips to Iowa" (see also here and here).
Washington Watch
Hatch Praised by Former Aide
Article profiles Salt Lake City native Nancy Taylor -- lobbyist, former senior aide to Sen. Orrin Hatch, and U of U grad -- who "speaks reverentially of Hatch's skills as a lawyer and a legislator. The legislator 'understood, pragmatically, how to get things done [and] also had a vision,' Taylor says" (The Hill); Hatch introduces legislation that "would protect rural Medicare beneficiaries who rely on ... small businesses to provide their walkers, wheelchairs, diabetic supplies, and other durable medical equipment" (see press release); Hatch praises "the efforts of the Citizens' Working Group to provide Congress fresh insight into reforming the nation's health care system" (press release).
Cannon: Transportation $$ for Utah
Rep. Chris Cannon announces "three grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation totaling nearly $9.5 million dollars. The funds will go towards the construction of a new Light Rail station in Sandy, the construction of the Gateway Intermodal Terminal and the purchase of land for the West Valley Intermodal Terminal, and for replacement buses for the Utah Transit Authority" (see press release).
New Study on Uninsured Children
Most of the 88,458 children in Utah who don’t have health insurance live in two-parent families, according to a new report. In most of these families, both parents work. These are among the key findings in a comprehensive new analysis of uninsured children to be released on Sept. 28 by the national consumer organization Families USA and Utah Health Policy Project on behalf of the Campaign for Children’s Health Care – a coalition of more than 50 national organizations that seek to address the plight of uninsured children.
The report, called No Shelter from the Storm: America’s Uninsured Children, will be released at 1 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28, at Shriners Hospital, 1350 East 11th Ave. Participants will include Dr. Tom Metcalf, MC (Intermountain Pediatric Society and UHPP Board); Trina (working mother of uninsured child); Judi Hilman on report itself & proposed solutions (UHPP); Kerry (pediatric medical assistant with uninsured child); Mike Babcock, Director of Public Relations (Shriners Hospital for Children); Al Church (Principal of the AMES School). For more information, see the Utah Health Policy Project web site or the Families USA site. |
