PM's press posse: Epitome of ineffectiveness

THE media in Bangladesh is used to taking broadsides from high-ups in the government from time to time. And that includes the PM, who perhaps surpasses some of her more voluble colleagues in having a dig at us. And only on Sunday, while speaking to the press, she made a rather snide comment about The Daily Star. She feels the paper distorts whatever she says because, according to her comments as reported in this paper, "that is the character of the paper."
We also find very surprising the PM's comments at the same press meeting that in spite of so many new TV channels that the government has permitted to operate during its tenure they are running it down with their criticism. Is that a condition for granting TV licenses, that these channels should only wax eloquent of the party and the government? Is this her idea of a free media? Are we then to understand that these licenses were awarded on partisan consideration alone?
The attitude of the PM, and indeed most of her colleagues, towards the press in general is exemplified by these two remarks of hers. Does the government want a pliant media that would sing the praise of the government only, instead of telling the truth and reflecting public opinion?
Every government and every PM has the need for a good PR. But for that the PM needs to have a bunch of good professionals around her who should not only be efficient in interacting with the media but also offer her correct advice as to how she should deal with it.
We understand that there is a new deputy press secretary (DPS) to the prime minister. This has brought the total number of DPS to the PM to four. And very recently a senior journalist was appointed media advisor to the PM, a new post. We understand that, apart from these gentlemen gracing the PMO, there is a PM's press secretary and special assistant (media) to boot. And this does not include the plethora of staff they have.
If the PM feels that she is getting a bad press it her posse of pressmen that she should ask why. The fact that these persons are being paid from the public exchequer obliges one to ask what they are actually doing. What has been their input and what have been their achievements. Two recent media/PR exercise of the government, one of which was an unmitigated disaster, compel one to ask whether these people are up to the task.
Look at the billboard 'madventure.' Had her media advisors been in sync with reality, they would have advised the PM differently. Surprisingly, everyone in the party who can speak, spoke of how good the idea was, without owning up as to who actually did it. However, I see a positive side to it. The speed with which the billboards were filled up and the promptness with which those were removed only a few days later, speak volumes of the 'efficiency' of the hordes of these workers. One wishes the government would do some of the repair works on the streets of Dhaka with similar alacrity.
And take for example PM's Sunday's press conference. While the nation was expecting the PM to speak on the political impasse, she talked about the genome decoding of jute. While a very important matter was revealed to us, why should the PM take credit for what is a normal function of the government -- providing money for research and development? Does the US president have press conferences with all the Nobel Prize winners? Were her press team been thinking and an efficient lot, their advice to the PM would have been otherwise.
And that leads us to ask whether the PM has ever taken stock of what her press team is actually doing. It is not their job only to put up press cuttings to the PM every morning. We ask how often has the PM's press advisors engaged the media or interacted with those at its policy level. And lack of regular interaction is what has caused the de-link between the PM and the public.
And how fair is the comment of the PM that this paper distorts whatever the PM says. We have no example of the PMO ever taking up issue with us on any so-called distortion, or proving our points wrong.
If one looks at the makeup of the PM's press team one would find a very important adjunct missing -- a spokesperson. We have been consistently harping on the need for a spokesperson at the PMO, who should be well informed on national, and international issues, and who can brief the media on government policies instead of the ministers speaking in different tones on the same matter.
Regrettably, the PM's press wing has been ineffective in linking and communicating with the public and the media, and that is because of its inefficiency, ineptitude and bloated makeup. And that is where we suggest the PM should focus her attention on.
The writer is Editor, Op-Ed and Strategic Issues, The Daily Star.