WE’VE heard a lot about Ipswich City Council’s media policy and the recent attempt by Paul Tully to change it, then retreat by moving further discussion with councillors behind closed doors.
To gag or not gag the Mayor was central to media coverage.
As a former council media manager, what surprised me most was the misstep by Tully in not anticipating media and public backlash. I agree the current policy is flawed, but his flagged changes would not improve it.
This situation is an embarrassment for Council. For example, the media received two releases a week apart about population increases: one from the Mayor’s office quoting Teresa Harding, and the other from Council’s media branch with Andrew Antoniolli quoting the same numbers.
A ridiculous situation and waste of resources.
A media policy was introduced under administration with revisions made by councillors during the previous term.
Prior to this, there was no policy.
Media branch operated under a less rigid procedure authored by the branch manager and approved by the department head.
While not perfect, it worked well, particularly for Tully, who generally ranked number two for media coverage each month after Paul Pisasale.
On Ipswich Today, Harding told me last week that Council-issued media releases with her name only accounted for 15 per cent.
Look for changes to the current policy when it eventually returns to the chamber.
Contact Inside Ipswich [email protected].
