“A Grassroots Strategy to Beat the Feds,” bylined article, Fall 1995. PDF Download. In 1984, the Reagan Administration determined that Conrail should be privatized by a sale to one of its largest competitors, the Norfolk Southern Corporation. Conrail’s management decided to oppose that decision publicly, and was given permission by its board of directors to lobby actively for a privatization solution to preserve Conrail as an independent company.
In this article, Steve described his role in orchestrating a grassroots communications campaign that generated more than 600 newspaper editorials supporting an independent public stock offering for Conrail, and led to the largest IPO in US history up to that time, when Conrail was privatized in 1987.
[...] got accused of misrepresenting or hiding who we were. You can read more about this campaign in my 1995 article in Public Relations Strategist [...]