Newhouse Speaks: David Almacy

Guest speaker David Almacy talking about his experience o f working in media for the White House and for founding CapitalGig (Photo by Ashley Britton).

On September 16, 2020, my PRL 215 class had the opportunity to listen to guest speaker David Almacy: founder of CapitalGig and former White House Internet and E-Communications director. Almacy spoke to our class about his experience navigating through the communications and political arenas and how both have transformed his experience based on the knowledge he’s gained and the opportunities he’s received.

Because of my dual majors in political science and public relations, I immediately felt intrigued to listen to Almacy’s story of how he started in these two fields, as well as any potential advice he had for students like me. One statement he made that resonated deeply with me was when he stated “We need to be better educated about what’s being said and who’s saying it when receiving our news.” I found this particular comment to be very interesting yet also incredibly important, because it highlights certain concepts that I’ve learned separately in my two majors, yet these concepts also strongly parallel one another. Additionally, Almacy commented how we shouldn’t primarily be concerned about fake news, but that the concern should instead be about “the news that social media companies are pulling out of our feeds to paint a certain narrative.” This comment also reflects many important concepts that I’ve learned recently in my studies, and to hear a professional like Almacy further stress these statements based on his personal experience felt rewarding to hear.

One part of Almacy’s speech that I didn’t expect to leave an impact on me was when he elaborated more on his experience of founding CapitalGig. Before speaking to our class, I only realized that Almacy and I are similar due to our interests in media and politics, yet I didn’t expect another similarity to be sharing experiences in start-ups. For example, Almacy founded his company as a startup with the mindset of preferring to “try and fail rather than not try at all,” and that his failures are what allows him to grow. He started by working and meeting with employees in Starbucks and didn’t start to see results until three years after creating the company. As someone who’s worked as a public relations associate for a startup for two years, I not only resonated with Almacy’s example of the struggle of working remotely, but I also resonated and felt inspired by his mindset of continuing to try and fail. This statement perfectly illuminated how the public relations field functions in the real world, in that it’s almost never consistent (e.g. working in communications at the White House to working remotely for a startup), yet the work being done will prove itself worthy if you continue trying.

Overall, I feel honored to have been introduced to an inspirational, hard-working professional with experience in the two fields I’m interested in pursuing after college, as well as grateful to have learned the advice shared with our class. Hearing Almacy bring to life and stress important concepts that we learn as public relations (and political science) students serves as a reminder about how interchangeable yet critical these two professions are for anyone seeking to serve as different roles in either field.