Alexa Rose Steinberg

Recent industry research shared by Eleanor Hawkins at Axios shows that 66% of Fortune 500 Chief Communications Officers are women, a demographic variance not yet seen in other C-suite roles. Diverse perspectives are essential to effectively lead, listen to and engage the many different groups and audiences that can dictate a company’s success and I look forward to similar progress in inclusion across other leadership roles and industries.  https://lnkd.in/e7c-5fS7

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The October monthly episode of our For Immediate Release podcast explores critical communication trends. Shel Holtz, SCMP, and I discuss six compelling topics, including Reddit's potential for crisis comms, the state of blogging in 2024, ethical concerns in celebrity news coverage, workplace connection challenges, and AI's impact across industries. In a blog post, I've set out some key takeaways that present opportunities for communicators, including leveraging Reddit for stakeholder engagement and preparing to guide organisations through AI adoption. Read more and listen now for valuable perspectives and insights on navigating today's complex communication landscape. https://lnkd.in/e5_CcMR2

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Here at Innovation Zero to soak up sessions of systemic change, climate communications and implementation at scale. There’s a job to do but encouraging to see the range and quality of ideas already. #climateinnovation #energytransition #climatefinance

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Authenticity is key for senior executives to be influential on LinkedIn, but not every leader finds it easy to engage genuinely. 🔸In episode 342 of our For Immediate Release podcast, Shel Holtz, SCMP, and I explore how communicators can help executives craft authentic online personas and build influence and trust, focused on LinkedIn, with practical examples. I also dive into this topic in a new blog post published today, arguing that authenticity opens the door to success. Communicators must guide leaders who struggle with authenticity, identifying formats or mediums that play to their strengths. Take a read and listen to our discussion ⬇️ #Authenticity #Communication #LinkedIn #FIRPodcast https://lnkd.in/eMu9D48j

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Communications best practices apply to IR, just as they do for all strategic communications. Learn more about IR website essentials in the in-depth guide from PR Newswire ➡️ https://lnkd.in/e9wW2QaH #IR #InvestorRelations #Comms

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Here’s Ann Tracy from Colgate-Palmolive, delivering an enlightening keynote at #SustainabilityLIVEClimateWeekNYC Ann explains the business’s Swords & Shields Strategy. If you’re not here, we’ll be summarising later. #ClimateWeekNYC #ColgatePalmolive #sustainability

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I’m thrilled to share Randstad’s latest thought leadership report: "Understanding Talent Scarcity: AI & Equity." This report dives into the critical intersections of AI, equity, and talent scarcity in the global workforce. Very proud of the team that delivered this great piece of work Roberta Cucchiaro Luke Akal Marina Levin with some help from our partners FORMATIVE CONTENT LIMITED and Headland. A few of the report insights that call for action as much as awareness: 💻 Gender equity in AI Our data reveals a stark gender divide: 71% of AI-skilled workers are men, leaving only 29% as women—a 42 percentage-point gap. Addressing this gap is essential for bringing diverse perspectives to innovation and driving balanced growth. 👥 Generational divides Only 22% of Baby Boomers have received AI training, compared to nearly half of Gen Z. This generational disparity highlights the urgent need for more inclusive skilling to bridge knowledge gaps across all age groups. ♿️ AI Empowering People with Disabilities More than half (55%) of workers with disabilities use AI to enhance problem-solving in their roles, compared to just 39% of others. And, they are more likely to leave their roles if AI training opportunities aren’t provided—making equitable skilling essential for retention and growth. Explore the full findings and learn how we can collectively bridge these gaps: https://lnkd.in/erPP5ZbH

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As many of the folks in my network gear up for #ClimateWeekNYC, I wrote about the importance of storytelling for the weekly 17 Communications impact newsletter. DM me if you'd like to be added to the distribution list! See below for an excerpt and read the full newsletter at https://lnkd.in/eGPCPckD I’ve attended Climate Week NYC for each of the past two years and have always come away feeling excited, inspired and curious. There are so many people doing such interesting things to address climate change, even if the news cycle most days seems apocalyptic. News stories about heat waves, droughts or natural disasters don’t seem to have quite the same effect as they used to – perhaps because we’ve all become numb to the tragedy. But there are still some mediums that are capable of breaking through the numbness and motivating changes in people’s behavior. Books. On my train ride to last year’s Climate Week NYC I read “The Ministry for the Future,” a climate sci-fi book that explored what it might look like if the world got its act together in time. The author, Kim Stanley Robinson, recently gave an interview to the FT in which he said that people are attracted to the book because it can replace “feelings of futility or despair” with “relatively justifiable hope.” As for his motivation? “You tell the story in an attempt to forestall it by informing people in advance.” My take is that the book found a way to balance blind optimism and cynical pessimism in a way that felt refreshingly human. Most news coverage these days tends towards the dark and stormy, but long-form writers like Robinson are able to take a step back and offer a more balanced perspective that feels more real and accessible for a general audience. TV. Like many of my colleagues who work in finance, I’ve become enamored by the steady stream of excellent TV series that bring viewers into the wacky world of finance. Billions is the most obvious example, but even hit shows like Silicon Valley and Succession explore complex financial themes that are integral to the narrative. The new show that should be on everyone’s watchlist is Industry, which explores the inner workings and general tomfoolery of an investment bank in London. While their episodes focused on the ESG craze have been cringeworthy, I appreciate that a major company like HBO would green-light a project that offers a somewhat realistic view into how the finance world works, and why it sometimes doesn’t work. The 3rd episode, which is primarily set at a major climate conference, shows how the worlds of finance and sustainability interact, with profit rather than purpose motivating most decision-making. The link between these examples is storytelling... Stories are what power human ingenuity and creativity, and are how we are able to connect across racial, cultural and economic divides. 

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Good things come to those who wait - and Gaia Arzilli waited very patiently for me to get this from interview to article. Thanks for your great thoughts and insights, Gaia. Here's to AWorld and it's growing carbon-cutting influence on companies across the globe. As it's Halloween, I'm going to creep out the businesses that don't like to read these two words - SCOPE THREE 🎃 👻 👿. You can run, but you can't hide. #AWorld #Scope3 #sustainability

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What happens when everyone is a media outlet? 🤔 My Weber Shandwick colleague Brad Burke challenges us to rethink how we create and consume information in 2024 in what I think is a pretty thought-provoking PRWeek article (which you can read here: https://lnkd.in/eDkszxFw), where he introduces the concept of a "media network effect." If you're in #BrandMarketing or #CorporateCommunications, this article might offer some interesting insights into our ever-evolving media landscape: - We're living in a world where everyone has a TV studio in their pocket 📱 - Platforms allow anyone to build audiences around the world 🌎 - At the same time, #AI is not just creating content, but consuming it too 🤖 Does this new reality demand a shift in our approach to leverage this "media network effect" in our communication strategies? I believe so. I personally find this fascinating, and I love the fact that it's forcing us as communicators to be more curious, strategic, and creative. With that being said, I'm curious about what my "network" thinks. Drop a comment below or message me. Let's talk about what the "media network effect" means for our work and our society going forward. #MediaLandscape #CommunicationsStrategy #AIinMarketing #BrandStrategy

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As I approach my third month at The Baltimore Banner, I have been thinking a lot about defining success. A mentor offered the following thoughts: For reporters, it is much easier to define success. Editors often need help seeing that their goals should be quite different than their reporters'. They need to see each of their reporters as individuals with different strengths and weaknesses. So editors need to meet each reporter at a different place and help them improve, and hopefully, thrive. Sometimes that means focusing on reporting or writing skills, sometimes it is helping a reporter figure out how to cover a beat, or how to distinguish their work from the competition. Editors of course are key to guiding coverage, whether it's breaking news or a more conceptual beat, when the goal has to be finding the front edge of the topic (for an education reporter, that might be new trends in teaching and for the city hall reporter it might be who are the emerging power brokers.) When it comes to editing copy, editors have to avoid rewriting stories, which can completely demoralize reporters, but they also can't send along stories that are confusing or take too long to get to the point. It takes awhile for editors to figure out that sweet spot between improving copy but not just rewriting it the way they would have written it. The hardest part of editing is probably dealing with difficult reporters and there is no easy answer for that. The only part of running a newsroom that I could advise on is running the coverage and for me, that was always driven by focusing on the big news of the day. You have to make sure that editors have put enough staffers on the big stories and are looking across the news cycle, e.g. what will we have to publish first thing tomorrow, and make sure some people are trained on the bigger, deeper questions that take a few days to report. If you are clear on your top priorities each day and the newsroom aligns behind those, then the smaller stories will take care of themselves. You will be judged by how the Banner did on the big things, not the small things.

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The data from our first poll with The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter and GS STRATEGY GROUP is a sobering look at the current landscape in American politics. Check out our research here:

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🌟 From Big Ideals to Real Solutions: How Governance Works in Practice 🌟 This week's TL;dr from Good Government Files spotlights three must-read stories that show how effective governance bridges the gap between democratic ideals and practical challenges. 🔹 We Are Still the People: Yuval Levin’s reflections on American identity highlight the power of unity through action, not uniformity—an important reminder for anyone working in local government. 🔹 Mistaking Politics for Religion: Martin Gurri tackles the growing trend of viewing politics as a source of personal salvation, offering valuable lessons for keeping governance grounded and focused on real-world results. 🔹 Boise’s Water Renewal Success: How Boise, Idaho, leaders won community support for sustainable water recycling—by using creative storytelling and engagement, even brewing beer from recycled water to make it relatable! These stories show how government thrives by blending big-picture ideals with boots-on-the-ground solutions. 💡 👉 Read more and subscribe to Good Government Files for more insights on smart governance. https://lnkd.in/gQhWWDaA #Governance #Leadership #PublicService #Sustainability #CommunityEngagement #GoodGovernment

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📣 This just in: Policy Insiders’ Media Habits. Our annual research provides actionable insights into the changing media preferences of D.C. policy insiders.      This year’s survey indicates shifting ground for many tried-and-true media sources.  To get a deeper look, download the topline and schedule a full briefing to learn what these changes mean for your policy communications strategy: https://lnkd.in/eMpRhMZh

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Questions, questions everywhere. One of the biggest surprises when I began Spotlight Communications is that CEOs don't understand the positive impact PR can have on their health/climate tech startup. But we're about to change that. I'm excited to offer four FREE 30-minute PR chats with CEOs and C-Suite executives at health tech and climate tech startups in Israel. Any PR question or topic will be on the table and it will be completely pitch free. During these calls I'll answer any PR questions and give practical steps to start laying your PR foundations. If you are in the c-suite of a health tech or climate tech startup in Israel and want free PR advice, DM me "Let's schedule a call" and I'll send you a booking link.

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Recently, I caught up with a former boss and longtime research friend, Jennifer Gusikoff. We’ve both been in the research field for over 20 years, and as we swapped stories about some of the more challenging projects we’ve tackled, Jenn made a great point: “Easy projects would be boring! We make the impossible happen.” That really hit home for me. At Southpaw Insights, we’ve never been afraid of tough projects—especially when they involve hard-to-reach audiences. Jenn and I have been in the trenches together on projects that seemed impossible at first but turned into some of the most rewarding work we’ve done. Take, for example, July 2020—peak COVID times—when we had to pull off an in-person qualitative research project in four markets to test a product. Most people were staying home, but we found a way to do it safely, and the results gave our client the insights they needed to move forward confidently. Another standout project was a deep dive into Native American communities, where we conducted a mix of surveys and qualitative interviews with teens and parents to talk about water safety. Native communities have the highest rate of drowning in the US, and the American Red Cross wanted to understand how to better communicate and design programming to address this. This kind of work—listening directly to communities that are often overlooked—matters. It’s not always easy, but it’s always important. So yes, the impossible projects can be daunting, but they’re also the most exciting. And the ones that make us proud to do what we do. Read more about our approach to research with hard-to-reach groups on our website: https://lnkd.in/ghrJ6Fa3.

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Interesting article from the Washington Post today on #DEI Based on our data and report shared out recently companies are going to need to make decisions on their overt public stances on the topic based on what they perceive is in their best organizational interests. That being said, internally there are less shades of grey if companies want the ability to attract and retain workers under the age of 40. https://lnkd.in/eD-JgNG8

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Fighting misinformation can be infuriating, not to mention difficult, but there are ways to do it effectively and here are some tips from Spin Sucks.

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