A Communications Playbook for Public Officials – Robert Johnson and Michael Fraser
A Communications Playbook for Public Officials: How to Effectively Manage the Message, the Media, and Yourself is a collection of essays that focus individually on specific media relation challenges or opportunities. Originally written during 2020 as separate essays sent to state and territorial health officials as advice on how to manage the intense scrutiny of the media during the Covid-19 pandemic, these essays were compiled into a book. Each chapter of the book draws from Johnson’s more than forty years of experience working as a journalist in newsrooms and as a strategic communicator for government, political, private, and nonprofit organizations and clients. Taken as a whole, this book provides a handy guide to some of the most common yet difficult media relations situations and is accessible to anyone looking to improve their media relations knowledge.
Because of the independent nature of each chapter, this book is designed to guide readers through their immediate media interactions with actionable and field-tested advice. Not meant to be read all at once, A Communications Playbook for Public Officials is a quick and easy reference guide that gifts readers with solutions in minutes and offers a resource to return to again and again.
Robert Johnson is Partner and Strategic Communications Officer at Riester Influence in Washington DC. He also serves as an Adjunct Professor of Communication at American University. Johnson used his decades of work in media relations to write A Communications Playbook for Public Officials alongside co-editor and author Michael Fraser. Fraser is the CEO of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO). As an author and expert, he has been a distinguished leader in public health for over 20 years.
For more information on A Communications Playbook for Public Officials, visit https://www.astho.org/communications/books/a-communications-playbook-for-public-officials/
