{"id":551,"date":"2026-09-11T17:34:02","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T22:34:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/?p=551"},"modified":"2026-09-11T17:34:04","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T22:34:04","slug":"gfg_ep114-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep114-2\/","title":{"rendered":"From Journalism to Government Communications (with Trevor Smith) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 115"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this episode of the Ground Floor Government Podcast, host Hugh Plappert interviews Trevor Smith, the communication manager of Meridian, Idaho. They discuss Trevor’s unique career path from journalism to local government communications, the challenges and responsibilities of a communication manager, and the importance of building relationships within the community. Trevor shares insights on navigating limited resources, adapting to accessibility rules, and the passion that drives public service professionals. The conversation highlights the benefits of working in local government and offers advice for those considering a career in this field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ready to explore your own local government career options?<\/strong> Download this free guide on how to transition into a successful career in local government: https:\/\/icma.org\/documents\/breaking-local-government-guidebook-career-transitions<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Takeaways<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Local government careers offer unique opportunities for growth.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Transitioning from journalism to communications can be rewarding.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Communication managers play a vital role in community engagement.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Building relationships is key to effective communication.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Limited resources require creative problem-solving in communication.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Understanding diverse stakeholders is crucial for project success.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. Career growth in government communications is achievable with the right mindset.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. Accessibility rules impact communication strategies significantly.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  9. Passion for public service drives effective communication.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  10. Working in local government provides meaningful community impact.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Sponsored by Switchboard.Live<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Summary In this episode of the Ground Floor Government Podcast, host Hugh Plappert interviews Trevor Smith, the communication manager of Meridian, Idaho. They discuss Trevor’s unique career path from journalism to local government communications, the challenges and responsibilities of a communication manager, and the importance of building relationships within the community. Trevor shares insights on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[36],"class_list":["post-551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technolgies","tag-audiopodcast"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nFrom Journalism to Government Communications (with Trevor Smith) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 115 | PhoneLive Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Host Hugh Plappert interviews Trevor Smith, the communication manager of Meridian, Idaho. They discuss Trevor's unique career path from journalism to local government communications, the challenges and responsibilities of a communication manager, and the importance of building relationships within the community. Trevor shares insights on navigating limited resources, adapting to accessibility rules, and the passion that drives public service professionals. The conversation highlights the benefits of working in local government and offers advice for those considering a career in this field.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep114-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"From Journalism to Government Communications (with Trevor Smith) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 115 From Journalism to Government Communications (with Trevor Smith) | Ep. 115\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Host Hugh Plappert interviews Trevor Smith, the communication manager of Meridian, Idaho. They discuss Trevor's unique career path from journalism to local government communications, the challenges and responsibilities of a communication manager, and the importance of building relationships within the community. Trevor shares insights on navigating limited resources, adapting to accessibility rules, and the passion that drives public service professionals. The conversation highlights the benefits of working in local government and offers advice for those considering a career in this field.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep114-2\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PhoneLive Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PhoneLive.io\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-09-11T22:34:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-11T22:34:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/PL_Site.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"630\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Hugh Plappert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"From Journalism to Government Communications (with Trevor Smith) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 115\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@PhoneLive_io\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@PhoneLive_io\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Hugh Plappert\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":[\"Article\",\"BlogPosting\"],\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep114-2\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep114-2\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Hugh Plappert\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f45f58a0a738f6be4e4ef0519f99d117\"},\"headline\":\"From Journalism to Government Communications (with Trevor Smith) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 115\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-11T22:34:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-11T22:34:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep114-2\/\"},\"wordCount\":217,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Podcast\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Technologies\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep114-2\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep114-2\/\",\"name\":\"From Journalism to Government Communications (with Trevor Smith) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 115 | PhoneLive Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-11T22:34:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-11T22:34:04+00:00\",\"description\":\"Host Hugh Plappert interviews Trevor Smith, the communication manager of Meridian, Idaho. They discuss Trevor's unique career path from journalism to local government communications, the challenges and responsibilities of a communication manager, and the importance of building relationships within the community. Trevor shares insights on navigating limited resources, adapting to accessibility rules, and the passion that drives public service professionals. The conversation highlights the benefits of working in local government and offers advice for those considering a career in this field.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep114-2\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep114-2\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep114-2\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"From Journalism to Government Communications (with Trevor Smith) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 115\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"PhoneLive.io Church Tech Blog\",\"description\":\"Turn your live stream into a phone call. Phone streaming for churches and local governments \u2014 reach seniors and offline members, no internet needed.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#organization\"},\"alternateName\":\"PL - Church Tech Blog\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"PhoneLive.io\",\"alternateName\":\"PL\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/New-Logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/New-Logo.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"PhoneLive.io\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PhoneLive.io\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/PhoneLive_io\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/phonelive\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@PhoneLive\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f45f58a0a738f6be4e4ef0519f99d117\",\"name\":\"Hugh Plappert\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/32555a63035a9b779ebc61330c883b660034bf089be5a5d0cac05919ea27b117?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/32555a63035a9b779ebc61330c883b660034bf089be5a5d0cac05919ea27b117?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Hugh Plappert\"},\"description\":\"Hugh Plappert co-founded PhoneLive with his son David, building the phone-streaming platform now used by 1,200+ churches and local governments to reach members and residents who cannot get online. Drawing on 41 years in ministry and operations, Hugh leads PhoneLive's operations and customer success, keeping the technology simple enough for any volunteer to run so homebound and offline members are never left behind. Based in Saint Paul, Minnesota.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/plappert\/\"],\"jobTitle\":\"Co-founder & Chief Officer, PhoneLive\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"From Journalism to Government Communications (with Trevor Smith) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 115 | PhoneLive Blog","description":"Host Hugh Plappert interviews Trevor Smith, the communication manager of Meridian, Idaho. They discuss Trevor's unique career path from journalism to local government communications, the challenges and responsibilities of a communication manager, and the importance of building relationships within the community. Trevor shares insights on navigating limited resources, adapting to accessibility rules, and the passion that drives public service professionals. The conversation highlights the benefits of working in local government and offers advice for those considering a career in this field.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep114-2\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"From Journalism to Government Communications (with Trevor Smith) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 115 From Journalism to Government Communications (with Trevor Smith) | Ep. 115","og_description":"Host Hugh Plappert interviews Trevor Smith, the communication manager of Meridian, Idaho. They discuss Trevor's unique career path from journalism to local government communications, the challenges and responsibilities of a communication manager, and the importance of building relationships within the community. Trevor shares insights on navigating limited resources, adapting to accessibility rules, and the passion that drives public service professionals. The conversation highlights the benefits of working in local government and offers advice for those considering a career in this field.","og_url":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep114-2\/","og_site_name":"PhoneLive Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PhoneLive.io","article_published_time":"2026-09-11T22:34:02+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-09-11T22:34:04+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":630,"url":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/PL_Site.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Hugh Plappert","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"From Journalism to Government Communications (with Trevor Smith) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 115","twitter_creator":"@PhoneLive_io","twitter_site":"@PhoneLive_io","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Hugh Plappert","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":["Article","BlogPosting"],"@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep114-2\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep114-2\/"},"author":{"name":"Hugh Plappert","@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f45f58a0a738f6be4e4ef0519f99d117"},"headline":"From Journalism to Government Communications (with Trevor Smith) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 115","datePublished":"2026-09-11T22:34:02+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-11T22:34:04+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep114-2\/"},"wordCount":217,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#organization"},"keywords":["Podcast"],"articleSection":["Technologies"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep114-2\/","url":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep114-2\/","name":"From Journalism to Government Communications (with Trevor Smith) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 115 | PhoneLive Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-09-11T22:34:02+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-11T22:34:04+00:00","description":"Host Hugh Plappert interviews Trevor Smith, the communication manager of Meridian, Idaho. They discuss Trevor's unique career path from journalism to local government communications, the challenges and responsibilities of a communication manager, and the importance of building relationships within the community. Trevor shares insights on navigating limited resources, adapting to accessibility rules, and the passion that drives public service professionals. The conversation highlights the benefits of working in local government and offers advice for those considering a career in this field.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep114-2\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep114-2\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/gfg_ep114-2\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"From Journalism to Government Communications (with Trevor Smith) | Ground Floor Government Ep. 115"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/","name":"PhoneLive.io Church Tech Blog","description":"Turn your live stream into a phone call. Phone streaming for churches and local governments \u2014 reach seniors and offline members, no internet needed.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#organization"},"alternateName":"PL - Church Tech Blog","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#organization","name":"PhoneLive.io","alternateName":"PL","url":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/New-Logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/New-Logo.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080,"caption":"PhoneLive.io"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PhoneLive.io","https:\/\/x.com\/PhoneLive_io","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/phonelive","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@PhoneLive"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/f45f58a0a738f6be4e4ef0519f99d117","name":"Hugh Plappert","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/32555a63035a9b779ebc61330c883b660034bf089be5a5d0cac05919ea27b117?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/32555a63035a9b779ebc61330c883b660034bf089be5a5d0cac05919ea27b117?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Hugh Plappert"},"description":"Hugh Plappert co-founded PhoneLive with his son David, building the phone-streaming platform now used by 1,200+ churches and local governments to reach members and residents who cannot get online. Drawing on 41 years in ministry and operations, Hugh leads PhoneLive's operations and customer success, keeping the technology simple enough for any volunteer to run so homebound and offline members are never left behind. Based in Saint Paul, Minnesota.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/plappert\/"],"jobTitle":"Co-founder & Chief Officer, PhoneLive"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=551"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":552,"href":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/551\/revisions\/552"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/phonelive.io\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}