WonkComms Breakfast Club: How think tanks talked about hot election issues

WonkComms Breakfast Club: Immigration, family, economy — how think tanks talked about the hot election issues

📅 Thursday, November 21st, 2024, 9:00–10:00 a.m. (EST) - An optional 30-minute networking session will immediately follow at 10:00 a.m.

📍 Pew Research Center, 901 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20004

In this post-election Breakfast Club we’ll be asking battle-scarred wonks to pick themselves up, dust themselves off and reflect on a long, chaotic and anxiety-inducing election campaign. And we’ll ask a simple question—did we as communicators actually make any difference during the election?

Don’t worry, this is a safe space…

WonkComms Breakfast Clubs is a series of informal events (and, occasionally, a mutual support group) which bring together think tank comms professionals to discuss issues of common interest.

We’ll be looking at how think tank communicators shaped and responded to the hot-button election issues. Which messages resonated and which ones fell flat? Which think tanks succeeded in cutting through the noise with evidence-based insights? What did we learn about the role of expertise in a fast changing news environment?

Our conversation will be kickstarted by Blythe Thomas, who will discuss Pew’s communications about its research related to family; Kristie De Peña who will talk about the Niskanen Centre’s immigration work during the election; and Melina Kolb explaining how the Peterson Institute responded on economic policy.

Coffee, croissants and comms—what could be a better start to your morning?

Speakers

• , Director of Strategic Communications at Pew Research Center

• , Senior Vice President for Policy and Director of Immigration Policy at Niskanen Centre

• Vice President for Communications at Peterson Institute for International Economics

Moderator

• , CEO at Soapbox

About WonkComms Breakfast Clubs: WonkComms is a global network of think tank communications professionals who share ideas and best practices. Our first event was in the UK in 2013 and we have since expanded our activities to Washington DC, Berlin, Brussels, Madrid and Buenos Aires. We organize informal events on subjects that are of practical interest to our community. You can find us on and .The WonkComms Breakfast Club DC is organized by .

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