Information Filter
Everyone knows a presidential election win incepts an avalanche of hires. Every one of the hundreds (thousands?) of Executive Branch agencies, commissions, boards and departments – get (massively over-)populated.
Campaign staffers become government staffers. Old office staffers become new office staffers. State and local government bureaucrats – get called up to the big show. And, of course, there is the government’s perpetual Friends and Family personnel plan. Oh – and completely unqualified donors become international ambassadors.
All of these are tried-and-true government awful-isms. What follows is one of which you may not been aware. And it is perhaps even more anti-republican, obnoxious and redundant than you are imagining.
There are nearly three million federal government employees. (Ugh.) Included therein? Every agency, commission, board and department – has built-in Public Relations (PR) staff. Actually, many, MANY built-in, redundant PR staffs – made up of many, MANY bureaucrats.
For example: Here is the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s Media Relations page. What does the FCC’s Office of Media Relations (OMR) do?:
“The Federal Communications Commission’s Office of Media Relations (OMR) has primary responsibility for the FCC’s news media programs. The major purpose of these programs is to inform the public – through the media and directly through online resources – about the FCC’s activities.
“OMR coordinates news media requests for information and interviews on FCC proceedings or activities. The office also facilitates the release of all Commission announcements, orders, and other information.”
The Media Relations page lists positions for Director, Press Secretary, Deputy Director, Associate Director and Senior Communications Advisor.
But each of those positions – has staffs of its own. And this Web page has an utterly bizarre “Organizational Chart” – with unpopulated, un-delineated “Audio-Video Services Staff” and “Internet Services Staff” beneath the aforementioned Media Relations positions. Each of which is populated by…un-described and un-numerated additional bureaucrats.
But wait – there’s more. There are (when fully populated) five voting FCC Commissioners (one of whom also serves as Chairman). And guess what each of them have? Their own Media Relations personnel. Separate and apart from the Commission’s Media Relations personnel.
Here are two press releases from two Commissioners (here and here) – listing media contacts separate and apart from anyone heretofore named.
I totally get the individual Commissioners have their own messaging – separate and apart from the Commission’s. But why can’t the five named Commission OMR staffers – and their un-numbered, amorphous staffs – also handle the individual Commissioner work? All it would take is different letterheads – “From the Commission” and “From the Office of….”
All of this not redundant enough for you? Not un-republican and obnoxious enough for you? Not to worry. Get a load of this….
BCW Launches Public Sector Focus:
“Burson Cohn & Wolfe (BCW) on Thursday announced the formation of a new public affairs unit focused specifically on public sector clients.
“‘As the new administration ramps up, many agencies will need to develop and launch compelling strategic communications campaigns to disseminate President Biden’s priorities, policies and objectives to the American public,’ said Dan Doherty, BCW’s executive vice president for North America public affairs and head of its crisis practice, in a statement.
“The new unit is already under contract with a handful of federal agencies including the VA, Commerce Department, Pentagon and HHS.”
BCW is a GIANT, multinational, decades-old New York City PR machine:
“BCW (Burson Cohn & Wolfe) is the world’s third-largest public relations firm by revenue, as of 2018.”
We’re talking Madison Avenue – on steroids. They have about 4,000 employees – and their own Wikipedia page.
And this giant Madison Avenue PR machine is now being paid GIANT amounts of OUR money. To attempt to sell us – on what the Joe Biden Administration is doing to us.
This is government attempting to peddle government awfulness – just like Ben & Jerry’s peddles ice cream.
Except Government Flavor tastes terrible. No matter you sell it. Well, BCW has a lot of experience selling terrible:
“The Bhopal disaster was one of the world’s worst industrial catastrophes. In 1984 a gas leak killed over 2,000 people at a plant in Bhopal, India, and poisoned thousands more. The plant was jointly owned by Union Carbide Corporation, now Dow Chemicals, and the Indian government, and run by local Indian management. Burson-Marsteller consultants were brought in by Union Carbide to organize communications following the leak and provide advice to Union Carbide executives….
“After the Three Mile Island accident of 1979 became the most significant accident in the history of U.S. commercial nuclear power generation, Burson-Marsteller conducted public relations work for Babcock & Wilcox, the plant’s manufacturer.”
Government already has plenty (PLENTY) of in-house shills.
And now we have government using lots of our money – to hire one of Madison Avenue’s hugest shills. With a long history of spinning really terrible things.
Because the Biden Administration knows they have a lot of terrible things to spin.
This first appeared in Red State.