Brendan Gaffney

Valuable insights from Nicole Schuman for any #communications professional seeking to "measure the value of their work and tell that story to their stakeholders." #CommsForGood

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Let's keep learning! So many lessons came out of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the importance of clear communication about what we know and what we DON'T know about emerging infections. I'm happy to be part of the Council for Quality Health Communication: a group working to improve the quality of health information and increase trust among the public. New article by founding members Ken Rabin and Scott C. Ratzan on H5N1 in MedPage Today.

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Worth reading from NiemanLab: Readers prefer to click on a clear, simple headline — like this one By David Markowitz, Hillary Shulman and Todd Rogers In an era when people trust news less than ever, how can journalists break through and attract the attention of average people to provide information about their communities, the nation and the world? By not complicating things. Our research, published in Science Advances, shows that simple headlines significantly increase article engagement and clicks compared with headlines that use complex language. In our research, typical news readers preferred simple headlines over complex ones. But importantly, we found that those who actually write headlines — journalists themselves — did not. We first used data from The Washington Post and Upworthy to see how language features, such as word length and how common a word is, changed how many people clicked on an article’s headline. These datasets included over 31,000 randomized experiments — also known as A/B tests — that compared two or more headline versions of the same underlying article to determine which one generated the most clicks. Headlines with more common words — simple words like “job” instead of “occupation” — shorter headlines, and those communicated in a narrative style, with more pronouns compared with prepositions, received more clicks. For example, The Washington Post headline, “Meghan and Harry are talking to Oprah. Here’s why they shouldn’t say too much” outperformed the alternative headline, “Are Meghan and Harry spilling royal tea to Oprah? Don’t bet on it.” This example illustrates how sometimes a more straightforward headline can generate more interest. In follow-up laboratory experiments, we found that typical news readers focused more on simple rather than complex headlines because the writing was easier to understand. When journalists participated in the same experiments, they didn’t show any preference for simple headlines over complex ones. Put differently: Those who write the news appear to be less responsive to simple writing than regular audiences. Generations of communication consultants have advised that communicators follow the rather crass acronym KISS: Keep it Simple, Stupid. We suggest a modified version applied for journalists. Since KISJ isn’t all that simple, we propose: Keep It Simple, Staffers. Simplicity increases the number of people who click on a news story headline and improves reader recall of the material in the article. Most importantly, simplicity boosts reader engagement, such as how much attention they pay to the information.

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I spent some time this weekend experimenting with Anthropic's newly released Claude 3.5 sonnet, and I have to say I was pretty impressed. To be honest, I've been considering giving up my Claude subscription in recent weeks, and I'm glad I didn't. Here are a few things I liked: ☑ EXCELLENT writing skills, probably the best out there for an LLM, based on my experience ☑ Finally, Claude has 'vision' capabilities (it can see and transcribe text even from low-quality images) ☑ Exceptional reasoning, skills, and what seems to be a very solid knowledge base ☑ It is lightning-fast, and its responses seem to show an excellent grasp of language nuances, along with a bit of personality and a sense of humour! ☑VERY good at processing complex multi-step prompts 'Mid' but with potential: Anthropic also introduced Artifacts, which lets you see what's being generated in a window beside your prompt. Unfortunately, it's still limited for a few things I was trying out, but I love the concept of a collaborative work environment, and it will get better and more user-friendly soon. Highly encourage you to give this latest version a try - the best way to learn how to use AI tools and what they are good at is to spend some time! https://lnkd.in/gvuVZPPK #Anthropic #AI #Claude #Sonnet

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These insights from The Communications Network’s survey are on par with my experience. The more nonprofit and philanthropic leadership integrate the communication team at the beginning of any initiative, the more effective the results will be.

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CCDF Lead Agencies can use research and evaluation to inform their program and policy decisions. Staff can create or use a research plan to lay out the steps for their project and to inform decisions. Did you know that OPRE created a primer to help CCDF Lead Agency staff learn what to include or look for in a research plan? Agency staff can use the primer to think about each phase of the research process. The primer outlines the sections of a research plan, including: - the research behind and purpose of the research, - plan to engage partners - research questions - study design - plan to collect information - plan to analyze the data - plan to communicate findings - timeline - references Learn more: https://buff.ly/3TbKjr0

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The federal government is often failing to meet its own requirements for digital accessibility, according to a new, congressionally-mandated report released late last month. The law requires that federal technology like apps and websites be accessible to people with disabilities, which make up about 13% of Americans, according to the Census Bureau. But only a third or less of federal agencies’ most viewed tech is fully in line with Section 508 standards meant to ensure accessibility, and governmentwide digital accessibility decreased in fiscal 2024. https://lnkd.in/e8KwPxti

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In the world of media and communications, the relationship between journalists and PR professionals is often misunderstood. However, the reality is far more nuanced and symbiotic. Journalists rely on PR folks to provide them with access to newsworthy stories, expert sources, and valuable insights. In turn, PR depends on journalists to amplify their messages and bring attention to their clients or organizations. A recent report by #MuckRack on the "State of Journalism," found that journalists acknowledge PR professionals 70% "as at least moderately important to their success." This mutual dependence highlights the essential role each plays in the dissemination of information to the public. Trust forms the foundation of our collaboration and ensures that the stories that reach the public are credible and impactful. Journalists rely on us to provide accurate and reliable information, while those of us in PR trust journalists to report the news fairly and accurately. Journalists are skilled storytellers who strive to craft compelling narratives that resonate with their audience. PR pros, on the other hand, are adept at identifying and shaping stories that align with our clients' goals and objectives. Together, we work to create stories that inform, engage, and inspire. I encourage you to read the attached report which provides many insights of today's newsrooms. #Journalism #PR #MediaRelations #PublicRelations #NewsMedia #MediaIndustry #JournalismEthics #Storytelling #MediaCollaboration #InformationSharing #MuckRack #StateOfJournalism #PressRelations #MediaPartnership Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Natan Edelsburg

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Policy + public affairs experts who know stuff about the environment! I am looking for someone to sit on our panel on how green growth can translate into economic growth - for a panel on things the new Lab gov can do

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It was great to join a Quorum webinar today with my colleagues Khadija Butt Hina Razzaq & Bryce Ballard from Rational 360 talking about how we work to quantify impact in the integrated campaigns that we run across clients -- and discussing some of the trends that we're seeing in public affairs, social listening & digital campaigns. Thanks for the opportunity to join in this discussion and to the many great questions that came in!

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This is important for #communications pros and our subject matter experts to remember. An interview is a conversation not a rote question asked, prepared answer given. Using talking points rather than scripted answers is more effective for a SME and makes for a better interview. Unfortunately that path isn’t taken as often as it should be.

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This work is more important than ever in the current media landscape.

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When I founded LAUREL seven years ago, I did it in response to needs within my network for quality support of founders launching new ventures. As I defined my own superpowers over time, established what I could lead well, built a great team and better understood the needs of a two-sided market, LAUREL has grown to address issues of source diversity in media - providing founders who possess a depth of subject matter expertise with the tools and knowledge to go direct with their PR strategy and change the narrative of power while scaling the ventures they launch. This article from American Public Media Group published a few months ago is confirmation that we're building the right thing in the right place where both the need and the desire to build the future of media exist together. The future is collaborative. The future is IRL. It very much depends on how we build it. And it's for that reason the future is bold. "Our goal is not to build a bigger network of sources. It’s to know whose voices are being included and excluded and to use this research as a catalyst for a broader conversation about what topics we choose to cover, who we choose to hire, the importance of cultural competence, and how we can and must do better." Read more in the article below or check out LAUREL's directory of bold leaders building the future in RISING ICONS: https://lnkd.in/gk7bePgi

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What if: instead of evaluating politicians based on blind party allegiance, we evaluated them based on how effective they are at solving problems on behalf of the American people? Over 90% of congressional incumbents get re-elected, but they have, on average, a 13% job approval rating. Closing the gap means equipping Americans with new tools for holding elected representatives accountable and reducing extremism (from all sides) in government. Today, we launched the Builders Power Rankings (playing off an NFL power ranking) to name the top problem-solvers and biggest dividers in congress. A big thanks to Karl Rove, Kara Swisher, and Andrew Yang, who added their insights to the AI and machine-learning powered by Dartmouth College's Polarization Research Lab and Sean Westwood. Proud of this team effort from Tom Fishman, Mariette Hummel, Michelle Rueda, John Zhang, Gavin Alaoen, Amelia D'Entrone, Kristie Yeung, Tori Larned, Taylor Larned, Isabel H. Clark, and the many other team members who made this possible. Please share the tool & debate! www.buildersranking.com

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