Did the media create the governor's image or just report it?

Frontiersman editorial board

Apparently Gov. Frank Murkowski's administration is in the process of improving its public relations image. The move will include some notable changes in the governor's public relations team, and the addition of PR people in every department.

It seems administration officials are concerned that the administration suffers from image problems. One concern is that broadcast and print media have not sufficiently covered the "good news" coming out of the administration. One possible solution was to go directly to the public. How that would be accomplished without the inclusion of professional media is not clear, and how the information would be balanced is even less clear.

If the administration were concerned about its relationship with Alaska news media, we wonder if the governor's public relations and press people thought about sitting down with media representatives to identify where potential stumbling blocks arise, and how they might be overcome. We have not received any calls.

We wonder if the governor's advisors are clear about the role of media in its relationship with government. While most serious media news sources provide news that could be characterized as either good or bad, those are not legitimate labels in most newsrooms. News is news. Often, something that reads like good news in one household, is received like bad news in another.

If someone did call and ask us how to improve their public image, some of the following ideas would be among our advice:

The first thing you've got to realize is that the media are responsible first to their readers and viewers. Along with that, you've got to understand that our readers are a pretty sharp bunch, and they want accurate, balanced coverage so they can make up their own minds.

Second, the news that gets first billing is the news that affects the most people for the longest time. Reading books to a classroom of kids is nice, but it doesn't carry the long-term impact of cutting the longevity bonus. We cover them both, but we're likely to get more letters about the latter.

Third, say it in English. It doesn't sound any better when you dance around the potholes. It just makes it sound like you don't want to talk about the tough issues. If you believe in what you're doing, then just say it, and people will either agree or not. If they don't, you'll have to live with that.

Last, don't blame the media for bad news. You're making the news, we're just reporting it.