Bob Priddy , guest columnist: State’s stone wall keeps getting higher

Columns

Discussion

January 2, 2010

Anonymous The Joplin Globe Sat Jan 02, 2010, 09:45 AM CST

The rise of the official spokesmen, spokeswomen, spokespersons, spokesones — pick the one that works best for you — for state government agencies is becoming more pervasive and more oppressive with each administration in Jefferson City.

It too often reaches a point where reporters are refused opportunities to speak to those in state government who are most knowledgeable about a subject, a policy or an issue.

It is not a uniform matter in all agencies. Some of the PR people understand one of their functions is to connect reporters to the knowledgeable people in their departments or divisions who are prepared to answer any questions reporters might have. But others have taken the position, or been given the position, of keeping reporters away from department or division directors or others within the bureaucracy who have the specific expertise the reporter needs for his story.

Such was the recent case with the Department of Economic Development’s study called “The Green Jobs Report.” The report was compiled by the Missouri Economic Research & Information Center for the Missouri Division of Workforce Development, a division of the Economic Development Department. The report was signed by MERIC Director Marty Romitti. It had some interesting stuff in its 41 pages.

We shared the section on “Green Farming” with our colleagues on the Brownfield Network, our Agriculture Network, who provided some interesting questions to ask.

It strikes us as naive to think that a department’s public relations person could give the candid answers to questions on that issue and the others than could be given by a person intimately familiar with the compilation of the information and the interpretation of its meaning. We have found PR people pretty good at repeating what’s in a news release or in a report but often not real solid when it comes to probing questions beneath the release.

We called the DED PR person who wrote the news release, Keener Tippin, and asked for Marty Romitti’s phone number. Some time later we got a call from another PR person, John Fougere, who told us we couldn’t talk to Mr. Romitti but we could talk to him or maybe to the department director, perhaps, the next day. We opted for the department director. The next day now has passed and we have heard from neither the second PR guy or from the director of the department.

The concept of elevating PR people to be impenetrable walls between the media and people in state government who can and should provide their expertise and knowledge has been increasing at least since the Bob Holden administration. It got worse during the Matt Blunt administration and has degenerated even more under Jay Nixon’s reign.

It was rare not that many years ago when we called someone in state government directly and were told we had to go through the agency PR person, who in those days mainly wanted to know that the conversation was going to happen, often so the department director would not be surprised to see someone from his or her agency quoted in the press.

Even that was a point of contention from time to time. But it was usually resolved rather quickly.

Not today. The walls are up. The bureaucracy is carefully protected by the department spokesmen who, unfortunately, are not as all-knowing as they want us to believe.

The reporters at the Missourinet don’t think the public is well-served when the people in state government who have the best answers are put off limits by the stone wall builders.

Bob Priddy is the news director for the Missourinet.

Text Only

Columns

Federal stimulus money allows Cherokee County to buy foreclosed houses COLUMBUS, Kan. — A grant through the federal stimulus program will allow the Cherokee County Commission to buy three foreclosed houses from a county bank.

Nancy Lamb, deputy emergency management director for the county, provided information Monday about that grant and other grants on which she has been working.
March 9, 2010
Guest column, Allen Shirley: Copy a winning example Last October, I published a column in The Joplin Globe documenting three failed attempts involving the states of Maine, Massachusetts and Tennessee and their efforts to implement “Obamacare” in their states.
January 11, 2010
Anson burlingame, guest columnist: Living within our means “Mainly, we are going to have to live within our means and be very careful.”

That is the most resounding sound bite I have heard from a politician in a long time. If only that sentiment can grow and resonate, politically, to turn the tide of incessant and extraordinarily dangerous growth beyond our means in government.
January 11, 2010
Jim Stone, guest columnist: Paranoia shouldn’t impede freedom The afternoon of Dec. 30 brought news that eight American CIA agents and four Canadian soldiers at Forward Operating Base Chapman in Afghanistan had been killed by a suicide bomber.
January 9, 2010
Dan Ray, guest columnist: Bills can still be terminated We still have an opportunity to terminate the health care bills that have been passed in the Senate and the House.
January 9, 2010
Dave Woods: Global warming fires up debate on Adams doesn’t believe in global warming.

I have to say, when it’s 3 degrees below zero outside in Joplin and we’re headed for our third week without a thaw, global warming theory is a tough concept to wrap my head around.
January 9, 2010
Jack Kaminsky, guest columnist: Remembering a ‘classic’ Last week Editor Carol Stark asked me to write something about my dad and the Kaminsky Classic, the annual Joplin High School basketball tournament which ended on Saturday.

Even as I started writing, I began crying, and have had tears in my eyes all day.
January 9, 2010
Carol Stark: We all need someone’s hand to hold I was always a nervous little kid and while others my age went through life without a care, I held back, imagining that the worst was about to happen.
January 2, 2010
Dave Woods: Harsh note sounds over parade trip By the time you read this column, the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, Calif., will only be a memory.
January 2, 2010
Bob Steere, guest columnist: Still looking for some answers Don Ray’s frustration in obtaining answers from his leaders in Congress (Globe, Dec. 22) is certainly shared by this letter sender.
January 2, 2010
More Columns Headlines

Water company cites reconnections

Columns

Search Results

Discussion

Bob Priddy , guest columnist: State’s stone wall keeps getting higher

Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr wants the city to distribute weather radios to all Joplin homes that don’t have one. That’s 11,000 radios. Do you think that’s a good use of $300,440?

Site Map

Contact Us