Sunburn — The Morning Read Of What’s Hot In Florida Politics — 1.28.22

By Peter Schorsch    

Good Friday morning.

Newspaper industry veteran Skip Foster has launched a new venture.

Hammerhead Communications, a name inspired by the eye-catching headlines found above the front-page fold of a newspaper, is a public relations and crisis communications show that will integrate other pursuits, such as lobbying and advocacy.

As the former publisher for the Tallahassee Democrat, Foster’s connections to media outlets throughout the state will provide his clients with a unique advantage, allowing him to best shape messages in a way that benefits his clients and helps achieve their ultimate goals.

“It’s been three decades since I first got my start in this industry, and I’ve learned a lot along the way about how to best leverage an organization’s message to the media,” Foster said. “My team is ready to help anyone facing challenges with communicating to external and internal audiences, and we look forward to providing targeted help and fresh ideas to those looking for a unique communications strategy.”

At the Democrat, Foster presided over a newsroom that won an array of awards for statewide and national coverage. He also led the paper’s digital marketing team to Top-5 performance in all of Gannett for digital ad growth and earned Gannett’s annual company-wide leadership award in 2017.

Foster has also chaired the board of the United Way of the Big Bend, won multiple awards for his United Way service in Shelby, North Carolina, and served on the boards of the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce, the Florida Press Association and the First Amendment Foundation, among others.

Hammerhead is already serving clients in the for-profit and nonprofit sectors. The firm will be announcing new hires in the coming days and is located at 106 E. Jefferson St. overlooking the Capitol building.

— SITUATIONAL AWARENESS —

—@GeoffRBennett: (Joe) Biden: “The person I will nominate will be someone with extraordinary qualifications, character, experience and integrity. And that person will be the first Black woman ever nominated to the United States Supreme Court. It’s long overdue in my opinion.”

—@PoliticalElle: The President has stated he’s limiting selection for SCOTUS to 2% of the lawyer pool. Ilya Shapiro is getting lambasted for pointing out that this truncating of the pool makes it statistically and highly improbable that the best candidate can be selected. But hysteria > logic.

—@DaveWeigel: The three judges at the center of Biden pick speculation ([Ketanji] Brown-Jackson, [Leondra] Kruger, [J. Michelle] Childs) all have more time on the bench than Coney Barrett did when she was nominated in 2020, and her experience wasn’t an issue, so unclear where this talking point is supposed to lead.

—@AGAshleyMoody: In TX, headed to the border to meet w/LEOs about the uncontrolled flow of unvetted illegal immigrants into our nation. It’s becoming crystal clear, in addition to facilitating open borders, @JoeBiden is now using taxpayer money to implement mass organized illegal immigration.

—@ChristinaPushaw: Evangeline Lilly is right. Everyone deserves the ability to make an informed choice — free of force, coercion or manipulation — about what goes into their body. This should not be controversial.

—@MiddleAgeRiot: Why boycott Kid Rock‘s music for political reasons when you can boycott it for musical ones?

—@JeopardAmy: Going into my first taping, one of the things I told myself was “Just be yourself, and then whatever happens as a result, you’ll be OK with it.” I’m so glad that seems to have come across for everyone!

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