John Marttila on “Story in the Public Square” August 19, 2017

Storytelling is at the heart of political campaigns. Guest John Marttila has studied those stories as part of a four-decade career in American politics.

For more than forty years, Marttila has been a leading political strategist and advisor for political candidates, elected officials and ballot campaigns. In 1972, he co-founded his first company, which oversaw the strategy and produced advertising for Vice President Joe Biden’s upset senatorial victory.

Marttila was a senior advisor to John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick’s 2006 campaign. In 1996, Marttila’s company became more active internationally, conducting research and advising political campaigns in Russia, Israel, Hungary and Greece.

“Story in the Public Square” airs on Rhode Island PBS in Rhode Island and southern Massachusetts on Sundays at 11 a.m. and is rebroadcast Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. An audio version of the program airs Saturdays at 8:30 a.m. & 9:30 p.m. ET and Sundays at & 12:30 p.m. ET on SiriusXM’s popular P.O.T.U.S. (Politics of the United States), channel 124.

Story in the Public Square is a partnership between the Pell Center and The Providence Journal. The initiative aims to study, celebrate, and tell stories that matter.