Memo to the White House Press Corps

In the media/communications world, the historic timeline can be divided into two very distinct eras: before the internet (BI) and after the internet (AI).

In the BI world, established mainstream entities had the ultimate control over what we read, saw or heard, and the media controlled access to the President through the White House press corps.

When Obama ran for President, his campaign embraced the AI world, and he was able to directly reach voters of all ages by combining new and traditional communications efforts. Obama continues to use the same AI ideas while he governs.

Despite accusations that Obama was becoming “overexposed” due to the increased number of live prime time news conference he demanded from media executives, the White House press corps is now complaining that he is bypassing mainstream media sources for news conferences streamed on YouTube and interviews with the Huffington Post.

“It’s a source of great frustration here,” said Chip Reid, CBS’s White House correspondent. “It’s important for us to hold the President’s feet to the fire.”

NBC White House reporter Chuck Todd called the situation a “shame,” saying the administration is trying to control the message rather than allowing Obama to be seen “unscripted.”

“What’s lost is the ability to get beyond talking points,” said Michael Shear, a White House reporter for The Post. “This is a President and a White House that know how to be very scripted and very on message. . . . Frankly, we make our living studying and following details of these issues so we can zero our questions in on where the real tension lies in a particular issue.”

The White House press corps needs to come up with a strategy to counter Obama’s effort to bypass them. There is a real public policy concern when any elected official can ignore questions from people who have a deeper understanding of an issue than the general public. We need informed debate to understand the significance and context related to issues like health care and the national debt.

Elected officials do need to engage the public, and social media makes this process easier. Mainstream media also needs to join the conversation; they just have yet to find their niche in the AI world.

Read more here.

Climate (and Journalism) Change

Matt Ridley in the latest issue of The Spectator hails the difficult, pioneering work of grassroots journalists in the recent exposure of corrupt “climate change” science:

Journalists are wont to moan that the slow death of newspapers will mean a disastrous loss of investigative reporting. The web is all very well, they say, but who will pay for the tenacious sniffing newshounds to flush out the real story? "Climategate" proves the opposite to be true. It was amateur bloggers who scented the exaggerations, distortions and corruptions in the climate establishment; whereas newspaper reporters, even after the scandal broke, played poodle to their sources.

Mature, skeptical investigative journalism is thriving outside of the mainstream media.

Read the whole piece here.

Starting the 2010 Session at the Chamber

Goff & Howard kicked off the legislative session yesterday by attending the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce’s Session Priorities dinner. This annual event features speeches by lawmakers and a lot of networking among the more than 1,500 fellow business leaders from across the state.

This year, the Chamber’s legislative priorities are focused on making sure that Minnesota creates policies that support job growth and sustainable economic development as the state continues to recover from the recession.

Goff & Howard is a proud member of the Minnesota Chamber, and several team members are active on the Chamber, including Jennifer Hellman, who is a member of the 2010 Leadership Minnesota class, and Patty Dunn, who is on the Energy Policy Committee.

Staying Informed during the 2010 Session

At noon today, the 2010 session of the Minnesota Legislature officially began. Our legislators are tackling key issues important to all Minnesotans – including a multi-billion dollar deficit. Most of us don’t have the time to go to the Capitol to listen to committee hearings, floor sessions, or conference committees, but there are easier ways to stay informed about legislative proceedings.

Here are some useful digital tools to stay informed about legislative activities:

• MyBills: A personalized bill-tracking application that allows people to track the status of bills through an RSS feed that is updated daily.

• House and Senate webcasts: Live video and audio streaming feeds of all floor sessions and high-interest committee hearings.

• Session Daily and Session Weekly: Nonpartisan newsletters about House floor and committee activity. Currently, there are no publications for the Senate due to budget restrictions.

• Twitter: You can receive up-to-the-minute breaking news about legislative activity by following the House, Senate and Capitol beat reporters on Twitter. Here are some that we recommend following:

• @MnHouseInfo

• @MnSenateMedia

• @RachelSB (Star Tribune)

• @PolAnimal (Pioneer Press)

• @tomscheck (Minnesota Public Radio)

• @stowydad (Associated Press)

Rock Head PR Move

While we GH Spin bloggers love to point out Rock Star PR Moves, we’re sometimes so moved by a media gaffe that we must comment. Let’s just say we’re feeling for Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood’s media handlers today as they try to stuff the words “stop driving your Toyota” back into their boss’s mouth. It seemed only seconds after LaHood made the statement that he tried to undo it. And he’s quickly learning how difficult – impossible? – that can be.

Click here to read more.

A social media “offer he couldn’t refuse”

We at Goff & Howard work hard to bring the latest thinking and savvy to clients’ social media applications. But even we are sometimes surprised at the innovative uses some people make. Here’s an astonishing news story alleging that Colin Gunn, one of Britain’s most dangerous gangsters, has been using Facebook to run his criminal syndicate from prison. Apparently not all real-world Mafiosi live by the cinematic Don Corleone’s axiom: “I spent my life trying not to be careless.”

Paula Howard completes sixth year on Saint Paul Chamber

Goff & Howard is committed to making our city a vibrant community that supports all types of businesses and people. To help accomplish this, numerous Goff & Howard employees have been active members of the Saint Paul Chamber of Commerce for the past 15 years.

Chief Operating Officer Paula Howard recently completed her sixth year on the Saint Paul Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and her fifth year on the Executive Committee. While volunteering on the board, Paula was active in membership campaigns, the Republican National Convention Task Force, and the Strategic Planning Task Force.

Mike Zipko and Bob Goff have both served on the Chamber’s Political Action Committee, and Patty Dunn, Heidi Larson, and Jennifer Hellman are alumnae of the Chamber’s Leadership Saint Paul. Most Goff & Howard team members continue to be active members of the Chamber.

Our involvement with the Chamber helps us contribute to a conversation on city and state issues, network with area business leaders, and enhance our knowledge of trends and issues that impact our clients. Goff & Howard is proud to be involved in Saint Paul civic life, and we hope you join us to make our city an even better place to live and work.