MMMM # 107 -- Alabama's Gibbs

     Obama Press Secretary Robert Gibbs is increasingly being given the bum's rush...this weekend by NY Times columnist Maureen Dowd.
     It wasn't the Auburn native's blast of liberals and progressives last week that got to her...she actually thinks Gibbs was correct in blasting the left for blasting The President. She just thinks he's in the wrong job (that's Gibbs, not Obama.).

     We had a newsroom conversation about a "Media Relations" person here in Montgomery the other day, and that particular one was described as someone who sees the job as a media controller rather than a media enabler. It's hard to be both, that's for sure.
     Should a Public Relations person actually help the media? Or block the media from doing unflattering stories about his boss? How about trying to make sure stories that are written are accurate and balanced...if necessary, after the fact?
     I've had PR people lie to me, and go out of their way to make my job difficult, but those are more the exceptions than the rule. I understood what they were trying to do, but always felt their's was only a short term gain. After all, in the long run I wouldn't trust them again.
     Then there are the media people who cross over to become PR types. You would think they would be the best of all, knowing how reporters work. But crossing over also means getting your check from a completely different source, and like it or not, that eventually becomes a driving force in what you do and don't do.
     But now may not be the best time to make that switch. While the media has seen drastic cuts during The Great Recession, so have PR firms. Reuters reports 64% saw their revenue delcine last year.