Shame on the Richmond County Board of Education Department of Communications. That office has a reputation for limiting media access to schools, teachers and information to which the public is entitled.
On Monday, Nov. 28, the office exceeded its usual ploys to limit access with a rather clever trick.
At 10:33 a.m., Keisa Gunby, a senior member of the staff, sent out a press release announcing a recognition program for the nearly 100 Richmond County “high school students designated as Advanced Placement Scholars by The College Board.” The recognition ceremony was schedule for 5:30 p.m., but media groups were required to submit the name of reporters who would be attending no later than 2 p.m.
One would think that a school system would welcome an opportunity to have its students recognized for excellence and would work in advance to notify press representatives who could shine the spotlight on those deserving students. But no. The notification was sent out at virtually the last minute possible, giving most media outlets no time to shuffle assignments or reporters to get someone there to cover the event.
MORE: Documents show overlap in Columbia County officials’ work for other counties
MORE: Columbia County managers quietly earning big bucks in other counties
Worse, board members only received notice of the event at the same time the press did, according to one member.
The best any of the outlets can do is publish a story announcing that nearly 100 students have been designated as Advanced Placement Scholars by The College Board, but we have to add “according to a news release” because we were not given time to plan to attend the event.
Let’s hope that our students are learning better planning and time management skills than what the communications office employees demonstrated today. This wouldn’t be so frustrating if it were only a one-off event – it can happen in any office, that something important gets overlooked until the last minute. But, the RCBOE communications department does this sort of thing consistently, as well as limiting access to schools, teachers, students and board officials. Trying to get public documents out of that office is like the proverbial trying to get blood out of a turnip.
For example, the “Media Planning Advisory” stated “Your designee must be accompanied by a representative designated by RCSS while on RCSS property.”
Members of the media who cover the school system are not allowed in schools, not allowed to talk to administrators and not allowed to talk to teachers unless supervised by someone from the communications department. This gestapo approach is designed to stifle communication and prevent the media from learning what is going on in schools. Staff should not be afraid of being fired if they talk to the media, and public relations professionals need to remember that their job is to facilitate relationship building via the free flow of information between an organization and its publics. That’s called two-way symmetrical communication, and there is absolutely no way that anyone in that office got through college-level public relations studies without being familiar with those concepts.
MORE: Lap dances in industrial zones: Augusta to tweak adult entertainment rules
MORE: Probation term terminated early for former personal care home owner
Media “must be accompanied by a representative” written in bold in the release makes it clear that if the reporter strays off and asks a question the communications department doesn’t like they can shut it down. If reporters can’t walk around an event and ask questions, they cannot cover the event adequately.
Now, instead of a positive story about students’ achievements, parents get to wake up and read this editorial calling out the RCBOE staff. Our students, teachers and administrators deserve better.
The RCBOE’s communication office staff need to pull out their old college textbooks and review the chapter on the roles and functions of public relations professionals. Or, maybe they need to stand up to whomever at the board office is requiring them to obstruct the media’s ability to cover schools adequately – good news and bad. Good PR people work hand-in-glove with the press to ensure the public’s right to know is respected. And they aren’t afraid to remind the higher ups in their organizations that hiding information is one sure way to look really bad to the public and the press.
