Interview with Jack Bonner National Public Radio refers to him as the “King of Grassroots.” Fortune magazine has referenced him as the “guru” of grassroots. The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal have even gone so far to say that he is the “pioneer” of the grassroots effort respectively. So who is this man of so many titles? He is Jack Bonner, president and founder of Bonner and Associates, a ground-breaking grassroots lobbying firm located in Washington, D.C. Bonner, a graduate of the University of Arizona, began his career in public relations as the PR Director for the City of Tucson, Arizona. There he learned how to work with both local and national levels of media and even hosted his own prime time television and radio shows. After serving the city of Tucson for five years he went to work in the press office of the Republican National Committee. From there he went on to work as press secretary and then senior political aide to U.S. Sen. of Pennsylvania John Heinz. In 1984, Bonner founded Bonner and Associates in order to help develop and promote corporate grassroots campaigns. His company has had the privilege to work with many top national companies and has won 75 percent of the political battles they have been in. Bonner was kind enough to share his experiences and insights into the hectic and often overwhelming world of public relations and politics. Q: How did you acquire your first job as public relations director for the City of Tucson, Arizona? Bonner: I had an interest in politics from the beginning, so I began to look for possible job opportunities that would provide an outlet for me. I was able to find that the city had an opening in public relations for Tucson. I began as an assistant director and then worked my way up from there. My job involved me being in charge of public relations for the Tucson convention center, which allowed me to work with groups such as the Rolling Stones and such through concert promotions. I also worked a great deal with movie production and promotion. Q: How did this career and your involvement in the local television and radio stations of Tucson help to further your career in PR? What lessons did you take from these experiences? Bonner: This job helped me immensly in furthering my PR career, because it gave me the opportunity to host my own live call in show on the local ABC station, have a half hour interview program on PBS, and I was able to create a taped radio show for six different stations. The reason I was able to have all of these outlets was because the Federal Communication Department provided time on their local stations for community broadcasts. This promotion and hosting of a TV show gave me insight into how PR firms create good pitches, which gave me insight into what makes for a good show. Q: How did working in the Press Office of the Republican National Committee help prepare you to work as the press secretary and then the senior political aide to Sen. John Heinz? Bonner: Well, it all began when John Rhodes, the current House Minority Leader, was a guest on one of my shows in Tucson. He really opened the door for me and helped me get in contact with the Republican National Committee. By doing different types of media work and working with different people I learned the importance of developing personal relationships, because those relationships can often pay back later. While working in the PR field of the National Committee the Republican National Committee had a great deal of publicity payed towards it. One of our PR stunts was that we decided to promote the Kemp Roth Tax Cut by renting a 727 airplane and loading it up with Republican senators and house members, such as Alan Greenspan for example. We would all fly to various major cities in the country and then split up and speak at multiple venues about the tax cut. While on the trip I got to know Sen. John Heinz. Later Sen. Heinz called and asked me if I would come work for him when he got an opening in his office, which I agreed to do. Q: How have your political views impacted your career in Public Relations? Do you find that being strongly one way or another in terms of being a Republican or Democrat can have a negative impact on your career? Bonner: It depends on what your goal is. If your goal is just to do political PR than you have to choose one or the other, but if you want to do PR for issues or products then you should be nonpartisan in your views and personal politics. Q: Did Sen. John Heinz give you any tips to help further develop your PR skills? Bonner: I learned an immense amount from Sen. Heinz, mainly because he was a very hands on senator. He was reelected because he was able to reach out to the people of Pennsylvania and he knew what they wanted and what they were interested in. He knew how to play to the press, which I was able to learn a great deal from. Sen. Heinz some days would do eight to nine news releases. I would have to set up interviews for him all across the country and the state. By working with him I learned to move fast and how to pitch stories very quickly. I also learned that in PR there are many traps that you can get caught in and that you have to be very careful of what you say. EVERYTHING is on record, even if you say it is off the record. Q: What would you say the most valuable lessons were that you learned in your time in PR? Bonner: PR like lobbying is in essence at its base a form of marketing. What you need to be able to do, whether selling an issue, personality or product, is one, find out what aspects of it are most appealing to a reporter or a producer and two, how can I use that to get coverage and attention. Objectivity doesn’t play a big role instead the most interesting angle does. An ability to listen very carefully is really important, you need to be an extrodinarly present listener. Q: How did your work in PR help transfer into helping you create a well respected and strong grassroots firm? Bonner: If you do well in PR and learn how to think in a successful way, see the creative points and how to sell the idea that is essentially the same concept at the grassroots level. PR is a great skill to master in general. Q: What sparked your interest in venturing from the PR path and starting your own company? Bonner: I saw an opportunity based on my work on the Hill. I was able to create a unique nitch, which dealt with nonpartisan issues. We were the first firm to do it this way. I am naturally an entrepreneurial type of guy. This company has it’s upsides and downsides, but it presents a challenge and I like that. Q: Has your work in Public Relations made television, radio, newspaper, and magazine interviews easier for you? And if so how so? Bonner: It massively improved my ability to participate in interviews. It helped me to understand the reporters as both professionals and as a person. I start out by talking to them as both and I never make assumptions. Reporters may have preconceived notions as to what they want to write about, but the more you can understand them and get them to ask you about your work the more you both will get out of it. I always ask reporters what they want to do with the story first, so that I can better direct the conversation. Through PR I also learned to never ever lie or mislead a reporter, it is always better to say “no comment.” You should help the reporter get their story, give them other sources to speak with to answer more of their questions. Q: Recently the Center for Media and Democracy has written an article speaking out about your interest and support of utilizing the web to promote activism in grassroots, how do you feel that the internet will continue to impact PR and how can you better utilize it to your advantage? Bonner: The internet has significantly impacted the grassroots business. It is a very cost effective way to reach out to large numbers of people. The rise of blogs has played a big role in political PR, they make a large difference. I think PR will become more involved in the internet in the future, but it will not become too streamlined. Newspapers and magazines will still greatly be utilized however. Q: What are you working on currently with Bonner and Associates and what do you foresee for the future of your company? Bonner: We are currently working on a lot of initiatives in getting prescription medicines to uninsured and low income citizens. We are also working on health care in Pennsylvania and helping senior citizens to better undersand medicare and the prescription plans in general. For the future we hope to continue to try and re-enginer ourselves and find new application for our expertise. We also hope to better our corporate reputation. Q: Where do you see PR going in the next 10-20 years? Will it have a continued need in the future? Bonner: It will absolutely be needed in the future. There will never not be a need for PR. It will become more important as the sources of communication to the public becomes more diverse on the web and from more sources in the future. The ability to navigate in the communication world will be more of a sought after skill. The pace of change has greatly accelerated, both information and media are coming quicker and future PR agents are going to have to be able to keep up with that. Q: Are you pleased with the career you have made for yourself and the impact you have made on grassroots PR in general? Bonner: My cup runnith over. My career is a source of great joy and satisfaction. Selling ideas and litteraly helping millions of people is something I feel really good about and so does my staff. |