COMMERCE and Employment minister Carla McNulty Bauer (pictured) has refused to discuss who was responsible for placing an ‘independent’ article praising her department which was actually written by one of her own staff.
The glowing tribute to the minister and her department is presented as an impartial news item in the latest Chamber of Commerce Contact magazine.
But it was actually written by a new recruit to the C&E team who has extensive experience in local PR and ‘spinning’ copy.
Two things raised suspicions: the by-line of the author and the positive way it portrayed C&E’s investigation into the operation of the GTA University Centre.
It opens with: ‘The business community in Guernsey has many strengths, but our man at Contact would argue they’re nothing without the well-informed.
‘Therefore, it came as a bit of a surprise to Charles Edwards that Commerce and Employment’s review of the island’s training capabilities for the workplace seemed to receive such a negative response.’
The review, part of which focused on the former GTA’s funding, has been heavily criticised in many quarters for being unnecessary and actively hostile to the organisation.
Guernsey Press enquiries have established that ‘Charles Edwards’ is a fictitious name and that the article was penned by a senior civil servant whose day job is promoting local industry.
It is unclear whether it was commissioned by Deputy McNulty Bauer, although she is quoted extensively in it.
‘We gave Contact magazine an article. It’s up to the editor, or editors, of any media to determine how they will position the article when it goes out,’ she said.
Asked whether the department had asked for the pseudonym to be used, she simply repeated that statement.
A Commerce spokesman said that it had been a long-time contributor of editorial, interviews and comment relating to industry and business related issues.
‘Communicating with the business community directly and through the media is an integral part of Commerce and Employment’s work. This work is about generating awareness on important issues, stimulating debate and engaging with stakeholders.’
He added that had been noted as key to good corporate governance within the Wales Audit Office report.
‘Editors without exception reserve the right to the editorial content that is actually published and to deciding how the feature or comment is positioned.’
Article posted on 16th November, 2009 - 2.29pm
One Article Comment
People sound as if it’s a surprise about this; this Staff letter:
Why the surprise; it goes on all the the time
“You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours”
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