By Pepper Parr
August 31st, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
Municipal World is a trade magazine that caters to the municipal sector in Canada.
Members of Burlington city council either get a personal copy or have access to a copy.
An article in a recent edition may have been written just for Burlington.
The story is based on Los Angeles where some life guards were reported to being paid $200,000 a year – which ws an abuse of the system they had in place.
The County of Los Angeles was being hammered in the media
“For Los Angeles County, the cost of not being pro-active meant that their “heroes” narrative was barely present next to the “taxpayer waste” narrative – and, sometimes, entirely absent. This was true even in local media, which means the county had not effectively engaged media outlets that most influence their target audiences: the region’s taxpayers, politicians, and community leaders.
In the short run, this lack of foresight meant bad headlines. In the next few months, it could turn into lost trust with target audiences. And in the long run, it could mean budget cuts or income ceilings for lifeguards.
Building a trust reservoir before you need it provides several critical advantages:
You are bulletproof against all sorts of attacks, criticisms, and accusations because media outlets will come to you first for your perspective.
You can activate community, industry, and other influencers who support your organization, its goals, and its place in the market.
People outside of your immediate circle will quickly find your narrative and, if necessary, be able to use it in their conversations and coverage.
The emotional support built over time will likely outweigh out-of-context facts from critics.
What Does Your Trust Reservoir Look Like?
Every organization needs to build a trust reservoir, but each organization will have a unique message to its target audiences.”
In the four years Tim Commisso has been City Manager the Gazette has never had an opportunity to meet personally with him – there have been telephone conversations.
The Mayor has yet to hold an open press event.
The interaction with the Director of Communications for the city has been a disappointment. The Gazette had a very good or at worst a satisfactory relationship with previous city managers.
The final lines in the article read:
“Your side of the story may be the right one, but nobody’s going to believe you if the trust reservoir isn’t full and constantly refilled.
Municipal World Insider and Executive Members: You might also be interested in Julie Rogers’ article: Good public relations defines a municipality’s character, values, and purpose”
The headline: Getting ahead of bad press
That quote about trust is so true. If there is anything on the school board that I learnt, that quote fits it to a tee.