Overview

Public policy education is oriented around the development of innovative ideas for how to improve governance and make society better. However, it undervalues a critical tool for translating policy ideas into action: the ability to communicate ideas broadly, strategically, and effectively. Drawing on his past frustration with translating his research from academia to the public sphere, Justin Gest has written a primer for public policy students, researchers, and policy professionals on how to turn analyses and memos into clear and persuasive campaigns. This book outlines the principles, structure, and target audience for different media essential to policy communication. Including advice from practitioners and illustrative examples, Gest explains the indispensability of pithiness to clear communication and how to achieve it.

Full Product Details

9780190062187

Table of Contents

Reviews

How does one get his/her policy ideas across in a fragmented, regimented, and highly competitive media landscape? This is a much-needed book that provides readers with the essential building blocks for communication, identifies the venues in which to communicate public policy, and includes the logistics, practicalities, and an array of examples that will help students and professionals write a better press release, executive summary, or tweet. -- Sophia Kalantzakos, New York University Justin Gest's Mass Appeal is concise, compelling, and powerful just like good strategic communication itself. Loaded with real-life examples and practical advice, the book lays out why strategic communication matters and how to do it effectively. A few features make this book particularly useful for future spin doctors: the focus on public policy, the wide range of media covered, and the presentation of real-life practitioners to emulate. -- Beth Knobel, Fordham University Gest practices what he preaches: Mass Appeal is written with clarity, precision, and clear target in mind. Too many brilliant ideas and insights are trapped in the weeds of expert jargon. Gest shows you the path out of the jungle and into the light. -- Edward Luce, Financial Times

Author Information

Justin Gest, Associate Professor of Policy and Government, George Mason University's Schar School of Policy and Government. Justin Gest is Associate Professor of Policy and Government at George Mason University's Schar School of Policy and Government. He is the author of IApart: Alienated and Engaged Muslims in the West (2010); The New Minority: White Working Class Politics in an Age of Immigration and Inequality (2016); The White Working Class: What Everyone Needs to Know (2018); and co-author of Crossroads: Comparative Immigration Regimes in a World of Demographic Change (2018). In 2014 and 2020, he received Harvard University's Joseph R. Levenson Memorial Teaching Prize and George Mason University's Teaching Excellence Award, respectively each university's highest award for faculty teaching.

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