Sign up HERE to receive the Ceisler Media Newsletter each month!
A Message from Larry Ceisler
As we continue through an uncertain anxiety-provoking period for so many of us, I’ve noticed a huge increase in the demand for news. Local news. National news. It makes sense. People not only want to know, but need to know the latest on what’s happening around them.
In the business world, the thirst for information is at an all-time high. With no playbook on how to operate, everyone is hungry to learn what others are trying or even the questions they are asking. What are industries doing to protect workers? How are other companies attempting to re-open? What is the impact of a legislative issue - locally, statewide, nationally or even globally?
From our Ceisler Media home offices across Pennsylvania, we’re proud to be able to keep our clients informed through comprehensive media and issue monitoring. It’s a service we’ve always provided, but one where our focus has increased as businesses look to develop strategies during of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our team searches for and analyzes relevant items across platforms – print and broadcast, social and digital. If there’s a tweet out there that references a client, we’ll find it. If there’s a Zoom meeting where a particular sector’s future is being discussed, someone from our team is likely to be there.
We’ve monitored more than 100 such sessions already – from government hearings to tech councils to non-profit think-tank sessions. And we’re delighted to share more and more helpful findings with our clients.
Caitlin O’Connor, a Senior Associate on our team, has been our point person for all of this. Caitlin understands the nexus of communications, politics and grass roots organizations. She’s meticulous and detail oriented – which is important in this kind of thing.
Speaking of our statewide presence, this newsletter has great contributions from members of our team who are boosters of their hometown. Each explains what residents of their city, and some of our clients, are doing to help during the ongoing health crisis.
Senior Associate Alison Burdo writes of how Philadelphia’s renowned resolve shines through when needed most. Senior Associate Drew Murren explains why Harrisburg is, in fact, the keystone of the Keystone State. And our entire Pittsburgh office teamed up to write an ode to the Steel City – not surprisingly with a few boasts about its sports championships.
You’ll also find contributions and opinions from other Ceisler people, including a follow up piece from Associate David Huppert on how media around the state are covering the coronavirus – even as that media are sustaining serious cutbacks.
There’s also client news and updates on members or our team.
And here’s an update I’m happy to share: Senior Director Kirk Dorn continues to make progress from a heart transplant he received on Mar. 25. Kirk is receiving excellent care at the Johns Hopkins University Hospital and is out of the ICU, now in the step down unit. As always, Kirk, his family and all of us at Ceisler Media appreciate your well wishes. One message from Kirk: He misses watching Philadelphia sports during the shutdown, but he’s catching old games in replay on TV -- and at least knows there will be a good ending when he watches.
Blog Posts
Ceisler team members in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Harrisburg often engage in friendly - and not-so-friendly - disputes on the merits of their favorite cities. Here, three of our staunchest advocates debate over what's special about their hometown, its people and some of our clients.
Client News
PHL COVID-19 Fund
Ceisler was proud to provide pro-bono social media support for the PHL Covid-19 Fund’s “PHLove” live benefit concert on Thursday, May 21. With headliners Daryl Hall, Questlove, and Patti LaBelle, PHLove helped raise awareness and donations for the Fund, which is supporting Greater Philadelphia’s nonprofit community during Covid-19. Follow the firm’s work for the PHL Covid-19 Fund on Twitter.
Local hoops legends, including Julius Erving and Aaron McKie, joined members of Philadelphia City Council in a #StopTheSpread campaign encouraging social distancing. Ceisler Media helped create PSAs for radio, social media and other outlets.
As the country ponders how to make workplaces safe, one Pennsylvania company has developed a road map. Desmone Architects President Eric Booth offered the six biggest ways the coronavirus will change buildings in a think piece for NEXTPittsburgh. Desmone’s office became the first in Pittsburgh to earn WELL Gold Certification -- an international standard measuring a building’s impact on health and wellness. Desmone’s upgraded office anticipated many of the current public health challenges – and their solutions.
As normal childhood medical services shut down in recent months, Wesley Family Services compensated by offering telehealth platforms for its therapeutic support services and behavioral health software programs. Wesley has provided more than 10,000 telehealth sessions to children, adults and families it serves since mandated closures began.
The Chester Housing Authority’s Ruth Bennett Community Farm is running biweekly food distributions, prioritizing residents and senior citizens. The fresh produce delivery is part of CHA’s efforts to provide relief to residents during this difficult time. The authority has also been working with residents to adjust rent payments as needed and sharing information on local resources on its social media pages
Client Highlights
Members of the Pennsylvania Association of Nurse Anesthetists (PANA), received a boost when Gov. Tom Wolf cited the COVID-19 outbreak to declare a temporary blanked waiver enabling advanced practice nurses -- including certified registered nurse anesthetists -- to practice to the fullest extent of their education and training.
In conjunction with Mental Health Awareness Month, Entercom is airing educational vignettes on all of its stations featuring the voices of artists, celebrities and mental health specialists. The spots build on Entercom's commitment to end the stigma of talking about mental health, especially now, in the nation’s collective COVID recovery.
Stress during the pandemic is causing a rise in child abuse -- but more cases are going unreported. Carolina Castaño, lead forensic interviewer at Philadelphia Children’s Alliance , appeared on a CBS News feature explaining the challenges for those who protect children.
XTO Energy offers a unique scholarship – the Leader of Tomorrow Award – providing money both to an exemplary high school senior, as well as a community organization of that student’s choice. This year’s winner, Cole Goode of Belmont, Ohio, selected the local Habitat for Humanity chapter to receive a $1,000 grant donation from XTO.
Belmont Charter Network hosted a car parade as a creative and safe way for students to see their teachers outside of virtual classrooms for the first time in two months. Nearly 50 teachers decorated their cars for the occasion and drove around a 2.5-mile route as their students – ranging from Pre-K to 10th grade – cheered and waved from the sidewalk in front of their houses.
Since the onset of the pandemic, Liberty Coca-Cola Beverages has donated more than 240,000 bottles of beverages such as Powerade, Dasani, Coke Energy and Dunkin Donuts bottled coffee -- along with 5,000 facemasks -- to hospitals and food pantries throughout Philadelphia, New Jersey and New York City.
Ceisler Viewpoints
Anthony Campisi aims to be part of the solution. The Ceisler Media Associate Director is participating in a volunteer program at Penn – his alma mater – testing a vaccine for the coronavirus. Ceisler Fellow Brandon Boyer provides the details.
Senior Associate Courtney Accurti and her Team Delaware teammates placed fifth in the adult division competition of the 2020 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships in February. The team's program featured songs from the musical "The Prom," and technical elements such as a traveling wheel, box intersection, footwork circle and pivot block. Congrats to Courtney and her teammates.
Bruce Kaplan, Director of Business Development in our Pittsburgh office and wife Carol welcomed their seventh grandchild -- and second in two months -- as Tessa Catherine Thomas entered the world on Feb. 16. The adorable newborn weighed in at 7 lbs,10 ounces and is the daughter Lindsey and Zeb.
Enjoy this wonderful story about the lengths that former Ceisler Media intern Henry Shah and his new bride, a resident in emergency medicine, went to in order to get married during the pandemic. The tale involves a 2,000-mile drive, a crown made of pipe cleaners and a ceremony shared on Zoom.
Our Viewpoints
Media reports on COVID-19 should also be mindful to include the good news about recovery rates, writes Ceisler Media Special Projects Manager Larry Miller.
News outlets around PA have geared up to cover all aspects of the ongoing health pandemic. Still, writes Ceisler Media associate David Huppert, cutbacks have made the job tougher for local media.