Bloggers denied press releases, Part II

Scott White from Scott’s Morning Brew continues to document his difficulty in convincing the Suffolk, VA press office to send him routine press releases. In his follow-up post, he includes email correspondence from Dana Woodson, Suffolk city (and taxpayer-funded) FOIA officer. Since Debbie George (old media communications professional) continues to rely on the crusty “bloggers aren’t real media” argument to escape her duty to send the press releases, Mr. White was forced to request the public information via FOIA.

Scott was able to purchase June pressers for an excessive $15 and can only receive them via snail mail on CD. Additionally, Woodson refused to email the press releases to any blogger. I thought I would check out the city of Suffolk’s website to learn more on their communications policies. This is what I found:

We promote rapport and goodwill between the City and the community we serve through the interchange of ideas and the assessment of public opinion. In addition, we have the responsibility to seek public input and involvement in the affairs of City government and to establish effective two-way communications between the City and its constituents for everyone’s mutual benefit.

Oh really? Rapport? Goodwill? I’m not sure that’s how I would describe Suffolk’s current communication with the public. Now, I’m not in the habit of predicting the future, but it doesn’t take a genius to see “public service” employee difficulties becoming a hot topic next election cycle.

American Majority- you might want to check out Suffolk for some responsive activists…