Snubbing the Public

Posted on April 12, 2006
Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

Here are two examples of poor public relations by public officials who truly should know better. Working as public servants requires officials to be mindful of how the public expects them to interact in a timely, empathetic manner.

• Mayor Kirk Wilson of Carlisle, Pa., couldn’t understand why a federal/county task force swooped into three neighborhoods (with hovering helicopters and concussion grenades) in apparent drug raids, but didn’t have anything to say about the commotion that was witnessed by residents until a press conference three days later. Mayor Wilson noted that the raiders’ silence could give rise to potentially dangerous rumors.

“People need to know that everything is OK. The last thing we need is people speculating on what went down.” So true, and so baffling to have an information blackout when communities are disrupted in such a way.

• Up in Frackville in Pennsylvania’s coal country, 10 officials of the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration arrived from a 6 P.M. public meeting, then turned around and left when they found a documentary movie maker was on hand to film the meeting.

“MSHA’s goal was to share information and offer compliance assistnce to miners and mine operators,” the agency said later in the week. “Although this was a public meeting, it was not an open press event and the MSHA officials present evaluated the situation and determined that cameras would be disruptive to the event.”

Does anyone believe that? What’s more disruptive than walking out?

Recently


Categories


Archives