The health and economic crisis caused by the coronavirus has caused the city’s competent and professional well oiled communications apparatus to send out to the residents of Everett by press release and e-mail, on Facebook and through other Internet links, an abundance of up to the day information regarding the city’s response to every situation that comes up as a result of the virus’ impact on our lives.
The mayor writes not a word of what he signs to go out under his signature and with his photograph when it comes to information about what the city is doing to respond to the crisis.
This isn’t plagiarism in its truest form but it is taking credit for something you have not done, that frankly, the mayor would be incapable of doing.
The city’s public face, modeled through the information it dispenses, is created and distributed by his staff.
The city’s media director, its day to day media operations major general is Tom Philbin.
He knows what he’s doing. He’s a straight shooter.
The mayor is very lucky to have Philbin, and now others are working for him and with him who have been recently hired.
It is doubtful the mayor would ever give Philbin a thank you for what he is doing during this time of turmoil.
Philbin is acting as the mayor’s creative media analyst, actually almost as a de facto mayor trying to make him sound like he’s doing something good.
It is the media that is good.
The mayor’s designee signs all the messages going out on the Internet with his name – but the mayor doesn’t write any of them.
His Facebook messages are all created by others and mounted on his Facebook site or any number of the city’s various websites and additional Facebook sites as though he wrote them himself.
At least the mayor shows common sense in allowing others to express themselves for him.
Right now, the mayor’s media department is more important than the mayor.