About this site
Last updated: November 2026. Published by Beltway Media.
The Communications Checklist is published by Beltway Media, a D.C.-based communications consulting firm.
This site is one of a small number of websites Beltway Mediapublishes. It exists to give corporations, nonprofits and startups free, practical communications checklists and tools, and to show how the firm thinks about communications before anyone books a call. It is not independent. The firm's main website is beltway.media.
Beltway Media is a full-service communications consulting firm that helps organizations craft and deliver communications strategies that cut through noise, build trust and drive measurable results, without the overhead of a full-time hire.
Its core offering is a fractional chief communications officer service providing C-suite communications leadership, strategic messaging, media relations and brand positioning. The firm combines data-driven analytics, communications strategies and behavioral science. It works with growing companies first, then associations and nonprofits, as well as public affairs and government relations teams.
Joshua I. Altman is Managing Director of Beltway Media, with more than two decades of experience in storytelling and strategy. Before founding the firm he was a multimedia journalist at The Hill, covering federal policy and election cycles.
He has served for more than two decades on The Telly Awards Judging Council and works with clients from startups to federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Commerce. He holds an M.A. in Communication, Culture and Technology from Georgetown University and a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communications from The George Washington University. Full leadership profile.
Most organizations know they should communicate better but do not know where the gaps are. A checklist makes gaps visible. This site publishes those checklists openly so anyone can use them, whether or not they ever work with Beltway Media. It also offers a fractional CCO self-assessment for readers who want to know if outside leadership would help.
Beltway Media offers additional free resources, including a Startup Communications Assessment and two quick guides, on its free tools page. Managing Director Joshua I. Altman has discussed the chief communications officer role on the Love Your Brand, The Business Game and Business Mastery podcasts. Read how content here is chosen on the methodology page.
Beltway Media is a D.C.-based, full-service communications consulting firm that helps organizations craft and deliver communications strategies that cut through noise, build trust and drive measurable results without the overhead of a full-time hire. Its core offering is a fractional chief communications officer service. It publishes this site.
Joshua I. Altman is Managing Director of Beltway Media. He has more than two decades of communications experience, was previously a multimedia journalist at The Hill, and has served for more than two decades on The Telly Awards Judging Council. He holds an M.A. from Georgetown University and a B.A. from The George Washington University.
No. The Communications Checklist is published by Beltway Media, the communications consulting firm whose services are described on these pages. The checklists are written to be useful whether or not you ever hire the firm, and the methodology page explains how items and recommendations are chosen.
The Four Languages Model is Beltway Media's framework for engaging audiences across touchpoints. It focuses on how audiences read, see, hear and experience content, and how each language amplifies the others. Combined with data-driven strategy and behavioral science, it is used to connect with audiences on a deeper, more psychological level.
Use the free consultation page at beltway.media/free-consultation to pick a time. The consultation is the discovery step of a Beltway Media engagement: it covers your communications challenges, goals and current capabilities. Bring your completed checklist or assessment results so the conversation starts from specifics.
The first step of every engagement is a free consultation covering your communications challenges, goals and current capabilities.
Published by Beltway Media
