Mark Bisnow

Mark Bisnow (born August 1952) is an American entrepreneur, author and former presidential campaign aide. In 1980, he was press secretary for presidential candidate John B. Anderson. In 2005, he founded Bisnow Media, a commercial real estate news and events company. He has written two books on American politics.^[1][2]

Early years

Bisnow grew up in Van Nuys, California. He has a BA and MA from Stanford University and a JD from Harvard Law School. Prior to starting Bisnow Media with his son Elliott in 2005, Bisnow worked in politics (US Senators Hubert Humphrey and John Heinz, US Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole^[3] and US Representative John B. Anderson), law (Latham & Watkins), transportation (assistant to the Chairman of US Air^[4]), technology (MicroStrategy and WebMethods), and business journalism (weekly columnist for the Washington Business Journal and daily business commentator for DC news radio WTOP).^[1]

1980 presidential campaign

From 1978 to 1980, Bisnow was press secretary and political advisor to Rep. John B. Anderson (R-IL) in his campaign for the 1980 Republican presidential nomination.^[5][6] The Wall Street Journal called him "the symbol of the Anderson campaign," and the LA Times identified him as Anderson's closest aide and the model for the campaign spokesman featured in the cartoon strip Doonesbury.^[7][8][9]

Books

Bisnow's 1983 memoir of the Anderson campaign, Diary of a Dark Horse, was widely reviewed.^[9][10] The New Republic called it "the best book to come out of the 1980 campaign, addressing in a more engaging and revealing manner than any other questions about the power of personality in politics, the decline of the parties, and the influence of the media."^[5] The Washington Post called it "funny, gossipy, and provocative."^[6]

A second memoir by Bisnow, In the Shadow of the Dome, published in 1990, chronicled his experiences as a Capitol Hill aide in the 1970s and 80's. It was named by Washington Monthly as one of the top political books of the year.^[11][12]

Digital media enterprise

In 2005, he founded Bisnow Media, focused on commercial real estate.^[2][13] By 2016, it grew to 75 employees in 29 cities in the US and Canada, publishing 40 different editions and holding 300 conferences a year for 80,000 attendees.^{[2][13][14][15]} In 2016, it was sold to Wicks Group private equity for $50 million.^[2][13]

Personal life

Bisnow has been married since the early 1980s to former FTC Commissioner Margot Machol. They have two grown sons, Elliott and Austin Bisnow.^[1][16][17]

References

1. Milk, Leslie (August 1, 2006). "The Unsinkable Mark Bisnow". Washingtonian. p. 70.
2. Heath, Thomas (May 14, 2016). "Bisnow Sells Its Multi-Media Enterprise for $50 Million". Washington Post.
3. Mathews, Christopher (May 20, 1990). "Who really runs the U.S. Congress?". Washingtonpost.com.^{[dead link]}
4. . Washingtonpost.com. February 22, 1988. Archived from the original on 2019-07-23.
5. Balz, Dan (December 23, 1983). "Idealists, Insiders, and Anderson's First Run". Washington Post Style Section. p. 1.
6. Blumenthal, Sidney (December 31, 1983). "Dr. Pangloss for President". New Republic. p. 33.
7. Perry, James M. (July 28, 1980). "An Odd Combine Tries for Political Precedent in Anderson Campaign". Wall Street Journal. p. 1.
8. Ostrow, Ronald (April 13, 1980). "Anderson's Campaign a Happening". Los Angeles Times. p. 10.
9. Boyarsky, Bill (January 1, 1984). "The Course of a Political Pilgrim's Progress". Los Angeles Times, The Book Review. p. 2.
10. Bisnow, Mark (1983). Diary of a Dark Horse. Southern Illinois University Press.
11. Bisnow, Mark (1990). In the Shadow of the Dome. William Morrow and Company.
12. "1991 Political Book Awards". The Washington Monthly. March 1991.
13. Griffith, Erin (May 5, 2016). "Here's Proof Media Startups Can Succeed Without Venture Capital". Fortune Magazine.
14. Heath, Thomas (January 5, 2014). "Mark Bisnow's Business is Buzz". Washington Post. p. A8.
15. Clark, Patricia (July 22, 2013). "The Guys Putting Jet Packs on Commercial Real Estate Brokers". Bloomberg Business Week.
16. Cohen, Mark (2009-07-08). "A Mutual Aid Society for Young Entrepreneurs (Published 2009)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-12-28.
17. "Margot Machol Bisnow and Parenting Entrepreneurs". L.A. Parent. 2017-02-13. Retrieved 2020-12-28.