White House Launched Massive Public Relations Campaign to Look Responsive to Gulf Disaster

[amborin]

White House Lauched Massive Public Relations Campaign in Response to the Spill:


WASHINGTON — In the days after an oilrig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico , the White House faced not only a looming environmental catastrophe, but also a potential public relations disaster.

Aides feared that a story line would take hold that President Barack Obama had responded too slowly to the spreading oil slick, which could damage him politically much as the slow federal response to Hurricane Katrina in 2005 discredited former President George W. Bush .

So as the federal government began reacting to the spreading oil, the White House message machine swung into action, too.

Within hours, it was cranking out a sustained barrage across the broad spectrum of modern media — statements, reports, e-mails, tweets, photos and videos — all punctuated by a high-profile presidential visit to the Gulf followed by an incendiary speech at the White House and a video recap with exclusive behind-the-scenes views of Obama in "West Wing Week," the White House's new online program at www.whitehouse.gov .

Whether it's Obama sitting with one reporter or a statement sent via Twitter, nothing happens by accident. The White House message machinery is a crucial element of the ever-expanding presidency, and like his recent predecessors, Obama uses it to shape public opinion, drive the mainstream media's agenda and minimize political blowback.

The White House bureaucracy devoted to managing public imagery has been growing since President Richard Nixon created the first office devoted to broad communications strategy in 1969. Obama's version uses a blend of old and new techniques and technology in an effort to cut through a polarized partisan landscape and a dizzying array of modern mass media that abbreviate attention spans and fracture public attention.

Obama's White House message machine employs more than 60 people directly, at a cost to taxpayers of at least at least $4.3 million a year.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/mcclatchy/20100514/pl_mcclatchy...

[Name removed]

1. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[boppers]

2. Obama saves world, McClatchy calims it was un-presidential to do so.

Hugo Chavez's team, for comparison has 200 people for *just* his twitter feed.

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Cant trust em]

4. You mean that our government would tell us waht they were doing...

so as not to appear that they had their thumbs up their asses?

I don't have any problem with the facts of this story.

I have a problem with bullshit spin.

[saltpoint]

5. This post doesn't work for me.

Unrec'd.

[bluestateguy]

6. The corporate media does not like it when their monopoly is challenged

I take "West Wing Week" much more seriously as news than I would any crap that comes from corporate media.

[dmr]

7. This WH isn't doing anything any other WH hasn't already done. Here's a working link:

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/05/14/v-print/94191/white-house-message-machinery.html

Sure, he increased the PR staff, but who can blame him, his administration began in multi-crisis mode before the man even took the oath.

I don't see what the big deal is.

:hi:

[Forkboy]

8. "So as the federal government began reacting to the spreading oil,"

That IS being responsive. The rest is nothing new in any way, shape or form than any presidential staff would do.

I think Obama could get out in front of this story publicly a little better than he has, but this story is weak stuff. If all they had done was swing the message machine into action the story might be worth it, but the part of the sentence I quoted undermines the premise the story tries to establish in the second part of the sentence. Even I unrecced this one.

[Aramchek]

9. they looked responsive because they were

[Name removed]

10. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[NYC_SKP]

11. How dare the president of the United States have 60 people in a Public Relations Department!

-- s a r c a s m --

Los Angeles Unified School District employs more than a dozen.

The President of the United States, with a population of 309,315,442+ may need more than just a few people in PR.

:patriot: