Letter to the editor: A career PAO offers a few tips of his own
Hal Glassman, a career federal employee who worked in public affairs, pushes back against Federal Drive’s Tom Temin’s column about public affairs officers.
This letter to the editor is in response to a column by Federal Drive’s Tom Temin.
As a retired Federal career public affairs officer — and former newspaper reporter/editor before that—I am fully aware of the futility disputing anything written by someone with a byline.
You get the first word and you also always get the last word, too! What a deal!
Nevertheless, since receiving my monthly retirement annuity check provides me with a freedom that still-working public affairs officers (PAOs) might not want to exercise, the truth is I initially reacted to your commentary about public affairs officers in wonderment!
Your tutorial about how to operate a federal agency public affairs office seems to be directed either at novices, morons or DC’s overabundance of lawyers who can’t find jobs to match their education and became “flacks” for the government.
With that in mind, would you be open to a few tips?
It probably is not a convincing idea to change someone’s methods of operation by suggesting their “. . . own churlishness or incompetence. . . ” might be why they do things you don’t like.
It probably is not a smart warning to offer tips ” . . .rather than rant. . . ” and then treat your intended audience as though they are unskilled amateurs while you go on a rant you promised not to do.
Just as you should be offended if someone called you a “hack” writer, it definitely is not accurate to call a government public affairs officer a “flack” as you did. A flack is a throwback and old-fashioned nickname for a press agent with show business clients. They fed one-liners to columnists like Winchell and Gardner and Sylvester and Gyson. It would be revealing—enlightening, actually—who in Uncle Sam’s government doing public affairs for any federal agency you know who comes close to being a press agent for an actress or nightclub, a swanky restaurant or movie studio!
It probably is not a winning idea to provide advice to a group of feds who you think ” . . .know how to sandbag, delay, stonewall, obfuscate and hide.” Rereading that, how do you think your thoughts appeal to someone you want to convince needs your advice?
On a personal note, besides my civilian federal career, after nearly four years on active duty I also completed another 28 concurrent years as a deployable Army reservist—where, when I was not engaged in infantry grunt work during hostilities, I served as an experienced—badda-a- boom—public affairs officer. It’s been a long time since I heard the term “charm school” for anyone promoted to flag rank. Your thought that military “stars” learn about media appearances is behind the curve. Soldiers are exposed to media inquiries early on and at every rank. If you still believe that “charm school” for “wanna-be” generals and admirals teaches how to keep “forks and spoons straight,” consider this: Call me sheltered, but I never met anyone—from private to general—who ever used a fork to sip soup. Some important things are learned from mama and no “charm school” diploma is needed.
Finally, unless I missed the point, your entire commentary was based on access so you could get interviews, information, confirmations and generally communicate with public affairs officers who—you used the word, not me—know how to “hide.” As a columnist who writes commentary, would you consider taking your own advice? Readers can tweet you, they can text you, they can Facebook you. But unless someone has your email address from a long-ago previous discussion, you don’t list how to send you an email. For those with computer security concerns or too mature to “friend” strangers or not so lonely that they need to read tweets by celebrities, why don’t you list an email address anymore?
How simple can you possibly get in this computerized world? One could possibly conclude you are trying to “hide” or “stonewall” or “sandbag” reader criticism if you don’t provide your email address.
Naw! Can’t be!
Respectfully,
Hal Glassman
Editor’s note: Tom’s email is ttemin@federalnewsradio.com and can be found at the top of all of his columns as a link in the byline. All of Federal News Radio’s editorial staff email, phone numbers and Twitter handles can be found here.
Letter to the editor: A career PAO offers a few tips of his own
Hal Glassman, a career federal employee who worked in public affairs, pushes back against Federal Drive’s Tom Temin’s column about public affairs officers.
This letter to the editor is in response to a column by Federal Drive’s Tom Temin.
As a retired Federal career public affairs officer — and former newspaper reporter/editor before that—I am fully aware of the futility disputing anything written by someone with a byline.
You get the first word and you also always get the last word, too! What a deal!
Nevertheless, since receiving my monthly retirement annuity check provides me with a freedom that still-working public affairs officers (PAOs) might not want to exercise, the truth is I initially reacted to your commentary about public affairs officers in wonderment!
Your tutorial about how to operate a federal agency public affairs office seems to be directed either at novices, morons or DC’s overabundance of lawyers who can’t find jobs to match their education and became “flacks” for the government.
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With that in mind, would you be open to a few tips?
Finally, unless I missed the point, your entire commentary was based on access so you could get interviews, information, confirmations and generally communicate with public affairs officers who—you used the word, not me—know how to “hide.” As a columnist who writes commentary, would you consider taking your own advice? Readers can tweet you, they can text you, they can Facebook you. But unless someone has your email address from a long-ago previous discussion, you don’t list how to send you an email. For those with computer security concerns or too mature to “friend” strangers or not so lonely that they need to read tweets by celebrities, why don’t you list an email address anymore?
How simple can you possibly get in this computerized world? One could possibly conclude you are trying to “hide” or “stonewall” or “sandbag” reader criticism if you don’t provide your email address.
Naw! Can’t be!
Respectfully,
Hal Glassman
Editor’s note: Tom’s email is ttemin@federalnewsradio.com and can be found at the top of all of his columns as a link in the byline. All of Federal News Radio’s editorial staff email, phone numbers and Twitter handles can be found here.
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