The Goodfriend Group represents the Communications Workers of America, including its division of journalists, The NewsGuild-CWA.  For years, the NewsGuild’s new, young President, Jon Schleuss, had been warning that hedge funds and private equity funds were undermining local journalism in the U.S. by buying local newspapers, laying off most of the reporters, and then selling the real estate and other assets.  But the union was unable to persuade antitrust enforcers to stop any such transactions involving print or digital media.

Among America’s Olympic athletes, women are treated as second-class citizens–given lower pay, worse training conditions, less medical attention, and subpar travel and lodging arrangements. The Goodfriend Group, representing a non-profit we founded, Sports Fans Coalition (“SFC”), and SFC’s board member, Women’s World Cup Champion Hope Solo, set out to change that. 

… Ready for it? Sports fans know All Too Well with the miserable ticketing process that Ticketmaster puts us through whenever we want to buy tickets to a game. They jack up prices with fees, restrict our right to transfer our tickets and make the general buying process frustrating. On behalf of Sports Fans Coalition, we’ve spent the last several years educating lawmakers and the public about this, and last week our efforts reached a boiling point. Call It What You Want; bad luck, Karma, or unchecked monopoly power run amok, Ticketmaster is no longer Untouchable.

An American consumer electronics manufacturer faced unfair competition and network security issues from a foreign-owned company. Realizing they needed a creative solution that also protected their identity they came to us. The national security concerns were alarming and we sprang to work.

In May 2018, the Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, releasing the floodgates for the introduction of dangerous sports betting legislation in the states. The sportsbook and casino industries finally had their opportunity to expand nationwide. Sports Fans Coalition witnessed the casino industry's aggressive tactics and knew that the outcome, left unchecked, would be detrimental to fans, consumers, people with gambling addiction problems, and even states seeking revenues from legalized sports betting.

FUSE Media, one of the Nation’s few remaining Latino-owned and managed independent television programming networks, had just completed its Latino management-team buyout when AT&T (including DIRECTV, U-Verse, and streaming platforms) refused to renew FUSE’s distribution agreement at financial terms that would allow the network to continue successful operations. What had been a victory celebration of Latino media ownership looked like it might become a funeral... bankruptcy at the hands of the largest Pay-TV/MVPD provider in the U.S.

COVID-19 and the resulting recession hammered workers across the economy but few were harder hit than the journalists and other employees of the local news industry. The News Guild-CWA, the largest labor union of media workers, historically had stayed out of any public policy advocacy due to the unique role of the Fourth Estate. But this was different. News Guild President Jon Schleuss believed that with local journalists losing jobs, and projected revenue losses for newspapers topping 70% in 2020, the Guild had to ask Congress for funding to keep journalists employed. They reached out to us for help.

Sports Fans Coalition is no stranger to the underbelly of American sports. However, they weren’t prepared for the shadiness of the 2018 US Soccer Presidential Election. When they discovered the conflicts of interest, mistreatment of women, and exclusionary practices, SFC had no choice but to get involved.

When the International Brotherhood of Teamsters was organizing shuttle bus drivers in Silicon Valley, they asked us to develop support from major technology companies whose vendors employed the drivers. We persuaded eBay and others that an alliance with the Teamsters would help the companies’ own advocacy in state capitols from California, to Illinois and New York. The companies agreed and publicly supported the Teamsters’ organizing efforts. The Teamsters have provided critical support in return.

Starting back in 1975, the Federal Communications Commission’s Sports Blackout Rule required cable, and later satellite operators, to black out any game that a local broadcaster in any given market had to black out under league rules. The leagues, especially the NFL, imposed particularly anti-consumer local blackout policies. The NFL said that if a stadium did not sell out a few days prior to kickoff, the local broadcaster had to black out that game. This was designed to force fans to buy more tickets. The FCC’s regulation put the weight of the federal government behind extending the obnoxious league rule to cable and satellite TV providers.

In order to pay for the bill's tax cut and "FirstNet" national wireless network for first responders, Congress sought to raise revenue from FCC wireless spectrum auctions. Among other things, the Senate bill included a requirement that satellite licensees in certain frequency bands who wished to transition their wireless spectrum to terrestrial, cellular networks first would have to put up the licenses for public auction. DISH Network had bought billions of dollars worth of satellite licenses in hopes of transitioning those obsolete satellite frequencies into a modern, nationwide terrestrial wireless network. DISH's would-be competitors, like AT&T and Verizon, gladly would have paid a lot at auction to acquire the satellite licenses and prevent a new competitor from entering the wireless market.

Brian went on local news in Colorado to discuss Ticketmaster’s ticketing bill and how it fails consumers.

In 2017 the Denver Broncos callously revoked the season ticket licenses of several fans because they resold their own season tickets to games they couldn’t attend on NFLTicketExchange.com, a website promoted and endorsed by both the NFL and the Broncos. Such anti-fan conduct was thankfully outlawed in 2018 when Colorado passed a law protecting a consumer’s right to freely use, sell, or give away their purchased tickets by transferring them to someone else if they wish. But all of that is at risk today. Ticketmaster is once again playing its game of monopoly and state lawmakers should not be deceived by it.

When the Senate Judiciary Committee holds a hearing on Jan. 24 and questions Live Nation/Ticketmaster’s management about market competition and consumer protections, senators should prepare for an Oscar-worthy performance in finger-pointing and deflection.

"I'm honored to be included as one of the Hill’s 2022 Top Lobbyists alongside such influential advocates. The work we’ve accomplished at the Goodfriend Group and Emmer Consulting is nothing short of extraordinary. I’m lucky to represent the kinds of clients I do — non-profits, labor unions, and mission-driven companies that help people connect in meaningful ways with one another. I can’t wait to see what 2023 has in store for us.”

Something historic happened on June 22nd: The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee unanimously voted for the Equal Pay for Team USA Act. Republicans and Democrats joined together to tell the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee that it’s time to treat women equally.

Successful advocacy depends on adapting to changing political realities, not trying to relive the glory days by scuffing up leather shoes. Democracy only thrives when the entire citizenry can easily engage with lawmakers and staff. A virtual Congress must be the backbone of the United States' 21st-century democracy. Capitol Hill should reopen to the public, but the only way to live up to the government the Founding Fathers envisioned is to create systems and provide the infrastructure necessary for everyone to participate; that is how we truly achieve "for the People, by the People."

“The ranks of policy experts, influencers and advocates run deep in Washington, but these are the people who stand out for delivering results for their clients in the halls of Congress and the administration.”

Today, Brian Hess was named one of the National Institute of Lobbying and Ethics (NILE) 2021 Top Lobbyists.

In announcing the formation of their union, the Alphabet workers called on Google to live up to its values, and I realized that I also need to live up to mine, so I am no longer a registered lobbyist for Google. But I have not given up hope that tech companies will update their thinking and encourage their employees to join unions.

Brian argues in the Richmond Times-Dispatch that college athletes deserve a bill of rights.

Jordan Pedraza is the director of support at Handshake, a digital college career network that connects employers to diverse talent at HBCUs and other colleges. Through its easy-to-use mobile app, college students connect with recruiters at companies like Airbnb, Deloitte and Amazon to start meaningful technology careers. As a former Googler and board member at Pomona College, Pedraza has dedicated her career to education, technology, and improving opportunities for college students.

Donnel Baird is the CEO of BlocPower, a proptech startup that is greening American cities by helping residential building owners modernize their heating and cooling units. Using renewable energy and smart monitoring tools, BlocPower is creating better health and environmental outcomes for the inner city.

We caught up with activist DeRay McKesson to talk about the importance of tech in building up the Black community.

“On the roof of a luxury building at the edge of Central Park, 585 feet above the concrete, a lawyer named David Goodfriend has attached a modest four-foot antenna that is a threat to the entire TV-industrial complex.”

The midterm election that propelled Democrats to a majority in the House of Representatives revealed voter sentiment on a number of fronts that should inform the House Judiciary Committee’s first 100 days under its likely new leader, New York Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), including on antitrust and competition policy.

The lecture series is designed to help participants work across deep political divisions in order to foster productive deliberations about pressing issues.

Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats should continue their truth-out tradition when the Subcommittee on Antitrust holds an antitrust hearing October 3rd. Here are a few recommended questions:

David joined BTIG to discuss the expansion of Locast and what the future of the non-profit looks like.

David Goodfriend, of counsel to Weiner, Brodsky, Kider and former deputy staff secretary to President Bill Clinton, discusses the New York Times op-ed by an unidentified senior administration official that said some of President Donald Trump's closest advisers are working in secret to thwart his "more misguided impulses." He speaks with Bloomberg's David Westin and Shery Ahn on "Bloomberg Markets: Balance of Power."