James Heaney, a reporter for The Buffalo News, does great investigative reporting for the News and also authors his own blog for the newspaper. Today he took a look at the New York State Legislature and its rather expensive public relations costs:
Many state Senators, and some Assembly members, have a press spokesman on their office staff. In addition, the Senate spent $1 million last budget year to employ 15 in its central press offices, and another 20 people and $1.3 million in something called the "Senate Communications/Director's Office." The boss, John McArdle, made $180,000 last year. Plus a state car.
...
Both chambers operate a variety of "communication" services. They employ web site designers, graphic artists, photographers, television producers, event coordinators and the like.
The Senate employs no fewer than seven photographers, including four full-timers, who make up to $42,600. I can't imagine there's enough work to keep them busy during the session, much less the other seven or eight months of the year.
The Assembly, not to be undone, has a "Radio/TV and Photography" department. Two of them, actually, one for the Democrats, another for the Republicans. They employ only one photographer, but 26 other people, at a cost of $1.5 million last budget year. Among the job titles: Reporter.
I think not.
Add up all the assorted PR functions and you have 87.5 jobs and $5.3 million in spending on the Senate side and 106.5 jobs and $5.5 million in the Assembly.
(Note: I must say that Heaney did link to us - see McArdle link above - and that is partially why I'm writing about this. The other part is that it's disgusting how much is being spent on PR.)
That doesn't factor in the mail and printing costs Heaney mentions in his piece, which also add up.
Let's think about this for a second. As a blogger, I work for free. I can record video pretty well (especially when I have a tripod in tow) and I have taken literally thousands of pictures of candidates over the last year. That doesn't even take into account my writing. I have contributed hundreds of posts to TAP and have read hundreds, if not thousands, of press releases and have seen the material that is put out. I work for free, except if you count the great readers we have here who always extend their praise, which is worth far more than any dollar amount.
That said, if these jobs pay THAT much money, where do I sign up? That's all I want to know. Where do I sign up? And if the New York State Legislature wants some REAL PR, how about hiring a set of bloggers to help out with online communications, which this state desperately needs. |
