Richfield Web company makes political sites

Working for a cause profitable, inspiring
Campaigns are on the Internet now

By Paula Schleis
Beacon Journal business writer

February 22, 2008 - Last year, Mike Connell found himself on the border of Thailand, teaching young people how to safely use technology to spread the word of human-rights violations against Buddhist monks in neighboring Myanmar (Burma).

''You have these incredibly brave individuals who, in spite of the potential dangers, are willing to blog . . . and tell the rest of the world what's going on,'' Connell said.

Helping people in oppressed countries and emerging democracies is one area where Connell's company, New Media Communications, sees growth.

But right now, the bills at this small Richfield company are primarily paid by some very high-profile customers in the United States.

Connell's team helped develop the John McCain for President Web site, just as it helped develop the campaign Web sites for the last two Bush presidential races.

New Media Communications was founded in 1995 by Connell, who was bitten by the political bug in 1984 and never recovered.

After graduating from the University of Iowa, he worked on campaigns and ended up on Capitol Hill as press secretary for former U.S. Rep. Martin Hoke, R-Cleveland.


Connell made the journey to Northeast Ohio in 1994 after accepting Hoke's offer to work in the district. An Illinois native, Connell preferred to raise his young family in the Midwest rather than in Washington, D.C.

Meanwhile, Connell was watching with interest some wild advancements in technology.

''I had the sense that there was something on the horizon,'' he said. ''I didn't know exactly what it was.''

''It'' turned out to be the Internet, and in 1996, Bill Clinton and Bob Dole became the first presidential candidates with campaign Web sites.

They weren't very interactive. Connell called them ''billboards in the sky.'' But it was clear this new form of media had forever changed the game.

In 1998, New Media Communications was chosen to design the campaign Web site for Jeb Bush — son of a former president, brother to a future president — who went on to win the governor's race in Florida.

''That's the race that put us on the map,'' Connell said.

In 2000, the Bush family went to New Media again. The company built George Bush's presidential campaign Web site then, and four years later for his run at a second term.

In between presidential elections, the company has built Web sites for a variety of Republican candidates, for organizations like the National Rifle Association and the American Center for Law and Justice, even a companion site to the film The Case for Christ.

Connell said there is great personal satisfaction that his business also serves causes he believes in.

''The one thing that I've learned about myself is if I don't get excited about something, it's tough for me to do the work,'' he said.

That doesn't mean everything has gone smoothly.

At one time, New Media employed more than 40 people, an upstart that made Inc. magazine's list of the country's fastest-growing companies.

But the tech stock crash of 2001, followed by the terrorist attacks that year, led to a slow but steady downsizing of the company.

New Media now employs 18 and Connell said that painful period ended up making the company leaner and meaner.

Among other reasons, it now has the luxury of being picky about what projects it takes on.

When New Media was twice its size, it couldn't say no to a project. There was a payroll to meet and people who needed to stay busy.

But Connell said he wouldn't mind growing in the international arena.

New Media has done work overseas since the late 1990s, starting with former communist countries that were learning about democracy.

Connell found that people who had never run free elections before were far more open to high-tech experiments than here in the United States, where old habits die hard.

When Slovenia went to the polls in 2000, New Media organized a get-out-the-vote effort using cell-phone text messaging. In a country with poor infrastructure, wireless technology had leaped ahead of the Western world and 80 percent of the country's youth was texting.

That kind of work eventually led to Connell's interest in helping people communicate in closed societies, where governments censor the Internet and imprison people who speak their minds.

The risks were made clear to Connell last year when he met a young man on the Myanmar border who had spent much of his adult life in prison for circulating lyrics to a song critical of the government.

In addition to training groups and individuals on how to use technology without getting caught, Connell hopes New Media will contribute to adapting that technology as governments learn how to close old avenues down. He compared it to a game of cat and mouse.

''Part of the strategies in a lot of these areas is to prevent people from letting the rest of the world know what's really going on in the country and how bad the conditions are and what the human-rights violations are,'' Connell said, ''so the Internet becomes a megaphone for telling the rest of the world, 'Hey, this is what's really happening here,' and send out your cry for help.''

Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com.

Last year, Mike Connell found himself on the border of Thailand, teaching young people how to safely use technology to spread the word of human-rights violations against Buddhist monks in neighboring Myanmar (Burma).

''You have these incredibly brave individuals who, in spite of the potential dangers, are willing to blog . . . and tell the rest of the world what's going on,'' Connell said.

Helping people in oppressed countries and emerging democracies is one area where Connell's company, New Media Communications, sees growth.

But right now, the bills at this small Richfield company are primarily paid by some very high-profile customers in the United States.

Connell's team helped develop the John McCain for President Web site, just as it helped develop the campaign Web sites for the last two Bush presidential races.

New Media Communications was founded in 1995 by Connell, who was bitten by the political bug in 1984 and never recovered.

After graduating from the University of Iowa, he worked on campaigns and ended up on Capitol Hill as press secretary for former U.S. Rep. Martin Hoke, R-Cleveland.


Connell made the journey to Northeast Ohio in 1994 after accepting Hoke's offer to work in the district. An Illinois native, Connell preferred to raise his young family in the Midwest rather than in Washington, D.C.

Meanwhile, Connell was watching with interest some wild advancements in technology.

''I had the sense that there was something on the horizon,'' he said. ''I didn't know exactly what it was.''

''It'' turned out to be the Internet, and in 1996, Bill Clinton and Bob Dole became the first presidential candidates with campaign Web sites.

They weren't very interactive. Connell called them ''billboards in the sky.'' But it was clear this new form of media had forever changed the game.

In 1998, New Media Communications was chosen to design the campaign Web site for Jeb Bush — son of a former president, brother to a future president — who went on to win the governor's race in Florida.

''That's the race that put us on the map,'' Connell said.

In 2000, the Bush family went to New Media again. The company built George Bush's presidential campaign Web site then, and four years later for his run at a second term.

In between presidential elections, the company has built Web sites for a variety of Republican candidates, for organizations like the National Rifle Association and the American Center for Law and Justice, even a companion site to the film The Case for Christ.

Connell said there is great personal satisfaction that his business also serves causes he believes in.

''The one thing that I've learned about myself is if I don't get excited about something, it's tough for me to do the work,'' he said.

That doesn't mean everything has gone smoothly.

At one time, New Media employed more than 40 people, an upstart that made Inc. magazine's list of the country's fastest-growing companies.

But the tech stock crash of 2001, followed by the terrorist attacks that year, led to a slow but steady downsizing of the company.

New Media now employs 18 and Connell said that painful period ended up making the company leaner and meaner.

Among other reasons, it now has the luxury of being picky about what projects it takes on.

When New Media was twice its size, it couldn't say no to a project. There was a payroll to meet and people who needed to stay busy.

But Connell said he wouldn't mind growing in the international arena.

New Media has done work overseas since the late 1990s, starting with former communist countries that were learning about democracy.

Connell found that people who had never run free elections before were far more open to high-tech experiments than here in the United States, where old habits die hard.

When Slovenia went to the polls in 2000, New Media organized a get-out-the-vote effort using cell-phone text messaging. In a country with poor infrastructure, wireless technology had leaped ahead of the Western world and 80 percent of the country's youth was texting.

That kind of work eventually led to Connell's interest in helping people communicate in closed societies, where governments censor the Internet and imprison people who speak their minds.

The risks were made clear to Connell last year when he met a young man on the Myanmar border who had spent much of his adult life in prison for circulating lyrics to a song critical of the government.

In addition to training groups and individuals on how to use technology without getting caught, Connell hopes New Media will contribute to adapting that technology as governments learn how to close old avenues down. He compared it to a game of cat and mouse.

''Part of the strategies in a lot of these areas is to prevent people from letting the rest of the world know what's really going on in the country and how bad the conditions are and what the human-rights violations are,'' Connell said, ''so the Internet becomes a megaphone for telling the rest of the world, 'Hey, this is what's really happening here,' and send out your cry for help.''

Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com.