PR

Spin from the spun

by Seth Gitell

When Massachusetts Turnpike Authority chairman James Kerasiotes defended his management of the Central Artery/Tunnel Project in a Boston Globe op-ed March 1 (headlined WE HAVE NOT BEEN HIDING A BUDGET SHORTFALL AT THE BIG DIG), observers noted that the Pike chief had successfully gone on the offensive. What those observers didn't know is that Kerasiotes photocopied the piece and distributed it to the 1700 members of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce and other opinion leaders. Kerasiotes even attached a nifty "This may be of interest to you" card with his name and the Mass Pike logo.

Asked about the PR move, Ed Pignone, the chamber's director of communications, said it didn't "originate" with the group: "It was not mailed out of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce."

So how did the mailing end up going out to members of the chamber? The group's Web site provides a clue. "Take advantage of the Chamber's comprehensive database of member businesses for your next promotion. Mailing labels are provided for the entire membership for a low price," it reads. (The Turnpike Authority, of course, is a member.)

Big Dig chief-of-staff Jeremy Crockford says the mailing was intended to get the project's message out above the noise of daily headlines and television reports. "We're on the front page every day and we're on TV every night, but we only get a sound bite," he says. "No one's blaming anybody for that. This is a way to explain at length something that is very complicated."

"He's finally got a media strategy," adds Democratic political consultant Michael Goldman -- not usually one to praise a Republican. "If he's going to stay on there, he's got to be incredibly aggressive in getting his message out."

But at what price? Those in the know estimate the cost of the database at between $300 and $400. Add on the costs of first-class mail at 33 cents a pop (for a total of about $561), and you have a nearly $1000 PR campaign.

The money was well spent, says Crockford, who notes that the project generally keeps the public updated on its progress through newsletters and the like. "We do owe people information," he says.

True. But how about giving us that information before reporters beat it out of them?