Political Experience in Communications: The "It" Factor

Matt Gobush, Manager of corporate communication for Exxon Mobil visited with our class this past Wednesday and brought a whole new perspective of the communications field. Prior to his time at Exxon, Gobush was an avid government official. His communications experience grew during his years in the Clinton administration and for the U.S. Department of Defense.  He told our class the lessons and experience he gained from these years are the reason he is still in communications. In addition, he added that there is a real need for people with political experience in the communications field.

Why?- You may ask. Well, partly because the lessons you will learn working in politics will serve you well the rest of your life, and in addition, there is a transparency that politics bring to communications. For elected officials, communications is a big part of their job and they are constantly under a microscope. This attention pressures communications experts to fine tune their skills in a way that no other field can really say the same for.

Gobush also introduced some very interesting statistics to our class about elected officials and their participation in this new wave of technological communications. Did you know that over 50% of key congressional aides regularly read blogs? This is a drastic change from 5, 10 years ago when “blogs” were almost non-existent. The words we put out in the digital world can be found and read by almost anyone. If you blog about a government official or something related to their cause, chances are, someone working with or for them will find it. Don’t let this scare you, just make sure you are being precise and direct with your words.

Here is a cool statistic: Did you know over 70 members of Congress have Twitter and use it on the floor. This is a direct communication link between our representatives and the general public. This virtually allows the general public to basically be a part of our Congressional experience in a way that has never been available to the public before. A representative in congress could tweet about something going on, and I could be learning about it in real time. Now that’s a digital revolution, I mean, can you imagine what some of our founding fathers would say about that one?

In conclusion, Gobush believes the experience and knowledge he gained working in politics has allowed him to stand out and hold a higher regard in the communications world. Politics not only created a strong foundation for Gobush’s work, but also a sense of reliability, trust, and confidence in those who he works with. The integrity and passion for communications he established during his time working in politics will reign true for the rest of his career and time in the communications field.