Larry Ceisler: A Man Who Has Done It All

Larry Ceisler, and the figure he presents in Pennsylvania politics, served as a big part of the inspiration for this series. A Western PA native, he started by working in broadcast television in Pittsburgh, later got involved in Philadelphia politics by managing Mayor Wilson Goode’s reelection campaign, and now runs the highly respected public relations firm Ceisler Media & Issue Advocacy.

I first found out about his firm through my friend Ron Henry, a senior consultant and lobbyist with Capitol Strategies Group. Given the nature of his job and years of experience, I wanted his advice to see where would be a good environment to combine my studies with my work experience. I was studying public relations and politics, and I had experience in journalism and government relations.

Up until this point, I was unsure if a place that allowed me to merge all of my skills existed. Ron had suggested Ceisler Media because their client base contained government agencies and a variety of non-profits with different missions. The firm’s services help clients effectively communicate their message and handle media relations to get their voice out to the intended audience.

Ron was able to arrange a meeting between Larry and I. From that first interaction, he convinced me to apply to intern with the firm and I quickly saw it met all of my needs. In a short amount of time, I have been trusted to work on projects ranging from checking for media hits for Councilmember Michael Driscoll’s Roosevelt Boulevard Subway Line public hearing to conducting research for Comcast Spectacor.

Based on my start to life at the firm and knowing the amount of work Larry put into growing it, I knew I needed to tap into the wisdom behind the figure and see what he was able to learn from all his experiences in politics.

Usually in these conversations, I tend to focus on a certain aspect of a person’s life or career, but for a guest with this grand of a journey, it is only fair to try to capture his whole story.

Photo courtesy of Larry Ceisler.

Ceisler grew up surrounded by politics with a father who was a lawyer in Washington County who ran for judge in the early 1960s.

He studied political science at American University in Washington D.C., being heavily involved with Democratic presidential campaigns during the 1976 primary. After this, he came back home to pursue a J.D. at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. He was getting tired of taking law classes at night and prepared to switch to daytime classes, but a unique opportunity in television made him decide against it.

“I was bored of having so much free time during the day. My father's law partner in Washington County was involved in a very close election for District Attorney, where there had to be a recount and they got covered by Pittsburgh TV stations. I got to be friendly with a reporter from KDK-TV. It somehow morphed into a part-time job for me at the TV station and then became a full-time job that I learned I was good at.”

The broadcasting group he was a part of was trying to compete with CNN and this led to the setup of an affiliate station in Philadelphia. They wanted some of their young talent to kickstart this operation and Ceisler agreed to move, even completing his final year of law school at the University of Pennsylvania.

The young media expert thought he would be staying in Philadelphia for no more than two years but he was then approached by Mayor Wilson Goode to help with his 1987 reelection campaign.

“I was a deputy campaign manager but we were a small staff so I handled some press relations too. Working in that campaign, and then working for a couple years in Mayor Goode’s Administration really set me up for my career, and the credibility that I have now in Philadelphia.”

Following in the footsteps of his father, Ceisler ran for office in 1992. He wanted to represent PA’s 182nd legislative district, a liberal area in Center City Philadelphia. Most would be sad to lose but he views it as a blessing.

“It was a really positive experience where I made lifelong friends but like I tell everybody, if you ever had a hankering or an interest in running for office, you should. You should get it out of your system and if you're lucky, you'll lose the election. I was very fortunate that I lost my election because I don't know what I would have done if I would have won what that could have led to.”

As a well-known political operative today, he remembers the hard work that running that campaign took and takes that into consideration when being asked to host fundraisers or donate to different candidates.

Once the election was over he went back to practicing law but never fell in love with it because he still had a political itch to scratch. After a venture as a political consultant, he realized that his true niche and passion was in issue advocacy.

Ceisler saw a gap in what services were being offered in the Keystone State. Firms focusing on issue advocacy are more common in referendum states and in Pennsylvania, lobbyists would do it as a side project when they needed a communications or grassroots aspect to what they were doing.

The public relations firm founder humbly explains why he felt ready to fill this gap across Pennsylvania.

“I live and have credibility in Philadelphia, but I have worked in the media in Western Pennsylvania, and no one had done this statewide,” he said. “I was a so-so political consultant. I was a so-so TV producer, and I was a so-so lawyer. But if you put the three together, around advocacy, understanding politics, understanding communications, knowing how to make an argument from a legal perspective, and just knowing Pennsylvania, you put them all together, and you get to be pretty good at advocacy.”

One of the first projects that put the firm on the map was ironically their work against Comcast, given that they are Ceisler Media’s biggest client now. The media conglomerate wanted to receive state subsidies and be labeled a Keystone Opportunity Zone, but the firm went against it by helping real estate companies that did not want Comcast to get this designation.

The firm started in Philadelphia but has quickly grown to have offices in Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, and Trenton. They recently celebrated over 20 years of business and serving clients in multiple industries.

Ceisler Media’s staff reflects the various segments of public relations and seeks to meet the diverse needs that a client might have across their campaign. In my time here I have met former journalists, communication specialists for government offices, political campaign managers, and social media experts.

Lastly, although Ceisler claims that his firm does not explicitly do political communications, he recognizes the close relationship and has tips for young people looking to enter the field.

“The basis of everything we do is knowing how to write. AI is going to change a lot of that but even AI still makes mistakes. So if you know how to write, how to research and you're diligent, the breaks will come to you. People are always looking for people to work in campaigns. We're always looking for people to work here. There's not a lack of opportunity. I would tell anyone going in the field to understand the news, know how to research, and know how to analyze the news.”