Even with everyone focused on “the worst fiscal crisis in the state’s history,”
Governor Rod Blagojevich continues to be obsessed with his public image. Some
state employees were required to monitor local TV news broadcasts for any
mention of Blagojevich, until bad publicity forced the governor to reconsider
the practice this week. In one instance, a prison psychologist was ordered by
his warden to review videotaped newscasts “on a daily basis.”
Someone gave me a May 14 memorandum from the warden of the East Moline Correctional Center, Ian Oliver, which spelled out these duties for Dr. Keith Frainey. I published the contents in my newsletter last week, and several media outlets picked up the story. A few papers outright stole it, including the Chicago Sun-Times, not bothering to say where they found it. Unfortunately, most of them didn’t get the whole story, so here it is.
Dr. Frainey was informed in the memo that newscasts were currently being taped from Quad Cities channels 4, 6, 8, and 18. According to the memo, channels 4, 6, and 8 “are taped at 5:00 pm, 6:00 pm, and 10:00 pm.” Channel 18 “is taped at 9:00 pm.” That would be at least five hours of tape every day, seven days per week. “Mr. Frainey has been appointed to review these tapes . . . for any news casts concerning Governor Blagojevich,” the warden wrote. “Where there is information on a tape complete the attached form and route the tape to the Warden’s Office by 9:15 am.” Two prison counselors, Mike Weaver and Jeff O’Brien, “have been appointed as back ups,” according to the memo. Their union complained about the new duties, and the orders were changed. Management personnel were then told to tape the broadcasts.
Blagojevich spokesperson Cheryle Jackson defended the videotaping, though she did agree that requiring a psychologist to review at least five hours of TV newscasts every morning was probably not the right move. Despite the specific wording of the warden’s memo about tracking TV stories “concerning Governor Blagojevich,” Jackson denied that state employees were being used to watch broadcasts solely for mentions of the governor. The employees were looking for coverage about all state agencies, she insisted. Jackson reasoned that using state employees to monitor the broadcasts actually saved the state money because video-clipping services charge “thousands of dollars a month.” The governor, she said, “is trying to do more with less.”
The other option, of course, would have been to not tape the programs at all. Jackson claimed the Department of Corrections “already monitors their media around the state, so we thought we would partner with Corrections to monitor the coverage.” A spokesperson for the DOC confirmed the department has checked its own coverage “for years,” but, when pressed, admitted it was not a daily, ongoing project. Broadcasts were usually taped only when the department knew a specific story would appear, the spokesperson said. The practice of daily monitoring started after Blagojevich took office.
Why was the governor doing this? Jackson explained it away as normal business practice. “Any company does this,” she said. Video clips give the governor’s office “one means of knowing what state agencies are doing, what’s getting covered. . . . When the media raises an issue, sometimes it’s the first we’re learning of it.” Jackson added that the practice of regularly watching the TV news reveals “a wealth of information for us.”
She also pointed out that the state has collected newspaper clippings on a daily basis “for eons.” Those duties are handled by the Illinois Information Service. Jackson acknowledged that public-relations officers could monitor the broadcasts, but she said many regional offices don’t have PR people. She didn’t know how many state employees were monitoring news broadcasts seven days a week, but Illinois has several downstate TV markets besides the Quad Cities and Quincy. Rockford, Peoria, Metro East (via St. Louis), Carbondale, Decatur, Springfield, Blooming-ton, and Champaign all have television stations. And then there’s Chicago.
In my first report, I suggested that the practice of having state workers
watch TV news shows might be of interest to the auditors recently hired to find
waste in government. But once this story came to light, the governor’s office
did what it usually does: change enough to deflect criticism, and find another
way to get what it wants. After considerable pressure, it was announced that
state employees would no longer be required to videotape TV news shows; volunteers
will handle the task on their own time.
This article appears in Jul 31 – Aug 6, 2003.
