Experts on Data Centers, Media Strategy, Research Speak at SPN Meeting

ORLANDO, Fla.—Attendees of the State Policy Network Annual Meeting held in Orlando, Florida, this week were treated to dozens of informative breakout sessions in which experts spoke on data centers, navigating the media landscape, and the role of research in effecting change, among other topics.

While SPN’s meeting featured influential keynote speakers who spoke on topics such as the U.S. Constitution and federalism, the policy group’s various breakout sessions throughout the week focused on a variety of important issues that Americans face across all 50 states.

Data Centers Can Flourish

On Tuesday, a panel session entitled “Powering Prosperity: The Promise of Data Centers” included speakers such as Vance Ginn, president of Ginn Economic Consulting; David McGarry, research director at Taxpayers Protection Alliance; and Jen Springman, coalitions manager at the Goldwater Institute.

McGarry commented on the trend of regulating data centers, saying, “They [data centers] do not operate by different economic laws from those that govern other industries. If we apply the same tried-and-true principles with the same kinds of legal barriers against abuse that apply to every other industry, data centers will flourish.”

Ginn offered his perspective on regulation, saying, “We don’t need a whole bunch of new laws and taxes and other things that come in place to deal with data centers because the legal system already exists out there.” He continued, “One of the things that’s so important is that people in markets tend to find out better uses of those resources over time than government does.”

Ginn added that people tend to “hate AI” and “they don’t like these AI CEOs.” However, he argued that instead of government taking control over technology, “we want to pass it along to someone else.”

“The more we do of that, [the more] we reduce our independence and become more dependent on government, the worse off we’re going to be,” he said.

Today’s Media Landscape

Another panel entitled “Traditional Media Strategy in Today’s Political Climate” featured Corey Burres, SPN’s senior director of communication strategies, and Camille Walsh, SPN’s director of media relations.

Burres opened the panel conversation by discussing how citizens should be “navigating the modern media landscape.” He asked the audience if they consider the media in their home state to be biased. Following the question, he said he routinely hears complaints about the problem of media bias.

“Oftentimes, media is biased against us because they have a preference, they don’t care about our topics, or they have a specific perspective,” Burres said.

However, he added that while the biggest news outlets in states “do lean to the left” by a 2-1 margin, many are actually centrist and do not have a leaning, according to the media watchdog group All Sides Media.

Burres and Walsh went on to discuss the reality of media not caring “about the issue that our organizations talk about.” He carried forward that discussion by asking Walsh if there is a strategy that is best suited for getting the media interested in an issue.

Walsh replied, “It’s hard … but it speaks to the importance of having relationships with reporters and building those relationships over time, so they trust you.”

Burres followed her comments by asking her the best way to build good relationships with reporters. Walsh said that it takes time to build those solid relationships. “I think of it a lot as how you make friends; You’re very personable, you ask people about themselves. … [So], really focus on the other person.”

The Role of Good Research

Another panel entitled “From Research to Impact: How to Turn Thought Leadership Into Real-World Change” featured David Blair, chief operating officer of the Informing America Foundation; James Fitzpatrick, director of the Center to Advance Security in America; Tom Jones, president of the American Accountability Foundation; Debbie Myers, chief executive officer of the Informing America Foundation; and Scott Walter, president of Capital Research Center.

Myers moderated the panel and opened it by asking the question: “How do you analyze the research that’s submitted to you?”

Blair answered the question by saying, “What I’m looking for is kind off the ‘holy heck’ moments … what am I going to see as outrageous or compelling.”

He continued to say that he asks himself, “Is this something that I can put into a story?” He then said that he looks to see if the topic is being covered by the news.

Myers echoed Blair’s sentiment of looking for those sensational moments in research reports that would “drive the media narrative.”

Myers then proceeded to ask Jones about a similar moment he had regarding China. Jones described a China project that he had worked on, saying, “The front page of our research report is an Indiana University professor holding a hammer and sickle flag with his colleagues in China.”

Before the panel opened up for questions, one of the panelists described how “woke nonsense” is prioritized “over everything else, over their religion. These are the records to back it up, and we have it, and we continue to expose them.”