Fighting for Press Freedom through Public Affairs
The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) is the world’s largest professional association dedicated to broadcast and digital journalists. As the organization’s public affairs partner, I was a key member of a small team tasked with leading the strategy, development distribution of content for their newsletter, web and social media platforms— reaching an audience of over 15,000 journalists, public officials and press freedom advocates.
I worked alongside a public affairs expert and longtime RTDNA executive director to coordinate the organization’s annual week-long public affairs push in Washington, DC. Over the course of two years, the team built and fostered relationships with key Congressional allies to advance two key pieces of legislation, The Journalist Protection Act and the PRESS Act.
Planning for the Week of Action began months in advance, with gathering information and contacts about the key Congressional players. Several rounds of outreach and coordination followed to create a cohesive schedule of meetings with Senators, including Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Sentor Peter Welch (D-VT) as well as key senior consel, advisors and staffers from offices in the House and Senate.
