Gov. Twitter: awful relations with the press... by gimleteye

Newer readers may charge partisanship in my acerbic reaction to Gov. Rick Scott's "Town Hall Meeting" on Twitter last week. (click, 'read more')

I've been unsparing though in my criticism of the Democrats, still bleating like little sheep who lost their way. During the governor's race, I couldn't have been more expressive about Democrat Alex Sink, the candidate I supported holding my nose for the awful, horrendous campaign she ran; the worst since her husband Bill McBride. Still, news that Florida's governor has embraced a format of communicating that allows him to limit his exposure to the public at 140 characters is something George Orwell could never have conceived.

Under these circumstances, in a perverse way Twitter matches my speechlessness. Yes the GOP has a hammer lock on the Florida legislature, but @ are u fking kidding!??? It has been pointed out, that the majority of Florida voters do not share my views about Governor Twitter. On the other hand, who knows what feats of persuasion I could accomplish by throwing $70 million plus of my net worth to buy the governor's mansion. (That's what Rick Scott did, in the case of HCA the company he founded that was hit soon after leaving, for the largest civil fine in US history for health care fraud.)

If Governor Scott imagines that his pattern of ignoring every request for interview by editorial boards of state newspapers during the campaign can now be extended to his term in office, he will become an endless source of derision. It is inevitable. These tiny desk, "online town hall meetings" via Twitter will dog Scott for the rest of his term.

Why? Because it is clear that Scott's advisors-- and perhaps Scott himself-- appear to believe that they can get away with anything in terms of managing the press. In a Tallahasee newspaper, a former Jeb! lieutenant raced to Scott's defense: "It can be very intimidating when you're on the other side," said Alia Faraj-Johnson, a former Capitol TV reporter who was communications director for ex-Gov. Jeb Bush. In truth, Bush wasn't intimidated for a second by the press.

The signal moment during his terms was the 25 hour sit-in in the governor's office by then state senators Kendrick Meek and Tony Hill, to protest Bush's educational "reforms". In January 2000, with dozens of TV cameras peering through the plate glass into the anteroom, Bush told eyewitnesses: "Fuck them. They can sit there until Hell freezes over." (Only intervention by Poppy Bush, alarmed by what he saw on CNN, forced Jeb! to change his mind.)

Ah, the good old days. Jeb!, who can be as charming or condescending to the press as it is possible to be, did not govern at a time when it was possible to avoid a single newspaper interview during a political campaign. Of course, next time Jeb! chooses to run for high office, expect a whole new set of behavior modifications for the press when it seeks access. In the meantime, Governor Twitter is going to get as good as he gives from the Fourth Estate, especially blogs blocked out from everything in Tallahassee except the sun.


Scott shakes up politician-press relationship
News media ready to fight for information

BY BILL COTTERELL • FLORIDA TODAY•
January 22, 2011

TALLAHASSEE — The minute Rick Scott became a candidate for governor, he wound up with his back to the wall -- mobbed by Capitol reporters asking about things he had no desire to discuss.

Scott said his first press "gaggle" was quite a culture shock. The wealthy Naples businessman had no idea elected officials are regularly waylaid in elevators, parking lots and lobbies by Tallahassee journalists.

"It can be very intimidating when you're on the other side," said Alia Faraj-Johnson, a former Capitol TV reporter who was communications director for ex-Gov. Jeb Bush.

Throughout his campaigns, gubernatorial transition and first weeks in office, Scott and his top staff dramatically changed the politician-press ground rules. While insisting he runs an open shop, even signing an executive order continuing the Office of
Open Government as one of his first acts, Scott has made it clear he will do it his way.

Reporters and editors across the state, long accustomed to access and zealous about Florida's public-records and open-meeting laws, don't like it. The Florida Society of News Editors discussed access issues with Capitol reporters last week and is
drafting a letter to Scott, coordinating with the First Amendment Foundation and Florida Press Association.

"We'll probably ask for a follow-up meeting with the governor and have some further discussion with the Capitol Press Corps as things develop," said Jim Baltzelle, president of FSNE and Associated Press bureau chief in Miami.

Scott said he hopes for better media relations and will always operate openly.

The physical changes Scott instituted after he took office were immediately noticeable. Two velvet ropes flank the lectern in his conference room, with reporters told to stay on their side so Scott can come and go unfettered. When he met with Republican state senators at a downtown restaurant one evening, reporters were admitted but his motorcade was parked at the side entrance with doors open to whisk him away and escape the post-meeting banter.

Scott, who is selling the state's two executive airplanes, uses a private jet to fly around the state, not making his flight plans or passenger lists public. Documents for the state planes are public record.

Barbara Petersen, president of the First Amendment Foundation, said flight plans filed with the Federal Aviation Administration are public, if Scott chooses to file them. Records of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, whose agents protect him, should be available after his trips.

The FDLE said it doesn't keep records of Scott's private plane trips. The FAA encourages, but does not require, flight plans.

Although he often has extra security around him, Scott is easily approachable, talking and posing for pictures with people he runs into in public places.

He is extremely disciplined and on-topic in everything he says. "I do press conferences. I do gaggles. Anybody can come to those," Scott said. "I feel very comfortable that we're very open."

Communications Director Brian Burgess said Scott wants "decorum," not just message control. Instead of being peppered with questions after Cabinet meetings, for instance, Burgess said Scott will leave 15 minutes for reporters to question the three
Cabinet officers and others after meetings; then, the governor will be available in his conference room.

"I believe in giving people information," Scott said. "I believe the public has a right to know more than what we give them as a government, and I'm going to do that."