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Midlands media big hitters open public affairs agency

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By The Drum Team, Editorial

March 29, 2012 | 2 min read

A new public affairs agency has been opened in Birmingham as the city prepares to decide whether it wants an elected mayor.

RJF Public Affairs is the brainchild of three well-known regional figures who between them have worked as editor of the Birmingham Post, regional head of public affairs for ITV Central and deputy chair of Marketing Birmingham.

Marc Reeves, Kevin Johnson and Martin Field formed the consultancy following a year of planning as the Coalition’s policies on economic development and localism saw the creation of Local Enterprise Partnerships and set the scene for May’s elected mayor referenda.

Former Birmingham Post editor Reeves said: "We believe there is a clear need for a public affairs agency that is firmly rooted in the fabric of the city that can help all kinds of organisations understand what the new political environment means for them and how they can best find their way through it.”

RJF’s first major client win was The University of Warwick, which commissioned the firm to provide secretariat services for the Warwick Commission on Elected Mayors and City Leadership.

The idea for the commission was developed by RJF and taken up by the university as a way of bringing academic rigour to the debate around elected mayors. The Commission is due to report on April 16.

The firm has also launched its own political blog dubbed The Chamberlain Files.

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