Interesting ongoing discussion among our county commissioners about whether or not they need to hire a "media officer" to spread the "good news" about all that the county is doing for us. The bottom line seems to be that the commissioners don’t believe they’re getting credit for their positive impact on the county, but they’re getting plenty of blame for bone-headed actions. And they seem to believe that hiring an $8,000-a-month media consultant, perhaps in the form of former Channel 11 reporter and current police chief David Kunkle wife Sarah Dodd, might be the ticket.
Although it pains me to say this, I think the idea of hiring a media officer is a great idea, even if it costs $8,000 a month, if the commissioner’s also agree to do just one thing: keep their mouths shut until they’ve talked with their $8,000-a-month hired hand. The PR problems the county faces have more to do with commissioners who seem to seek out media to talk with, perhaps to boost their own profile at the expense of other commissioners and the county itself. If they agreed to muzzle themselves and conform to a county-paid-for media plan, we’d all be better off and the money would be well spent.
Fat chance.
