Communications coordinators employed by ministers and parliamentary secretaries have the duty and responsibility to be the link between their master and the media. In other words, they are the connection between the government and the people.
As such, their task is to promote whatever their ministry or secretariat is doing, and to defend it each time it comes under attack, be it from the Opposition, other political parties or organisations, and the media in general. One of their jobs is to check what is being said and written in the media about their minister or parliamentary secretary, and take action accordingly, the quicker the better to mitigate any negative effect.
In my many years of dealing with communications coordinators, I have learnt to divide them into three categories – the pro-active, the reactive and the dormant.
The pro-active ones are those coordinators who maintain regular contact with editors and journalists, those who give the media ideas (which are not necessarily taken up), those who go out of their way to help and those who keep in touch even when they have nothing much to say. Sometimes, a brief chat about football is all we have.
Reactive coordinators are those who regularly reply to statements made by anyone about the ministry or secretariat that employs them or simply draw up press statements about activities presided over by “their” minister or parliamentary secretary. They live between two parallel lines which they never overstep – they are diligent in their work, do what they have to do within a reasonable amount of time, but otherwise stay away from making contact with the media.
The dormant coordinators are not doing their job properly. They never propose, hardly ever reply or take long to do so.
It may not be their fault. Generally speaking, communications coordinators are a reflection of the minister or parliamentary secretary who employs them – if he or she is hard-working, believes in the power of the media and the need to use it to pass on the message, and understands that relations with journalists need to be enhanced even when they write against you, then the communications coordinator is among the pro-active ones.
If, on the other hand, the minister or parliamentary secretary despises the media and/or is one who needs to be pushed into doing something, rather than take an initiative, or simply is not doing much, then the communications coordinator is dormant.
In between there are ministers and parliamentary secretaries who take the job as it comes – that is, they stay within the parameters of their tasks, do what they have to do with responsibility and care, but find little time for anything else. In this case, their communications coordinators are reactive.
It’s time to be more specific.
The ministries of Foreign Affairs, Justice and Home Affairs, Infrastructure, Transport and Communications, and the parliamentary secretariats for tourism and the elderly have coordinators who are pro-active. Well done.
The Finance (PS included), Gozo, Resources and Rural Affairs, and PS for Public Dialogue communications coordinators are of the reactive kind, and they can do much more. Perhaps the ministers and parliamentary secretary should allow them more leeway in which to operate. Being cautious is good, but being extra-cautious can be undermining.
The health secretariat has no official filling the post.
This leaves the Education (PS included here as well) and Social Policy ministries, and here I am in no doubt that they are dormant.
It is a known fact that Social Policy Minister John Dalli dislikes the media (well, maybe not all the media) and therefore it is no surprise that his communications coordinator has his hands tied and, perhaps, is not allowed to be neither pro-active nor reactive even if he would like to be.
What is surprising is that the Education Ministry’s coordinator is the one with the most experience and who has worked in the media for many years. Therefore one would expect that he, more than others, understands the exigencies of his former colleagues. Again, this could be a reflection of his “dormant” ministry, which did not even bother to replace the coordinator when he was on holiday last month. And questions sent by mail, an editorial in The Malta Independent and a story in The Malta Independent on Sunday (all on school uniform expenses) remained unanswered for more than two weeks… until last Friday.
I left the coordinators’ chief for last. He has a tough task managing his underlings, and is known to be quite severe in his assessments. But apparently, he has not done enough to bring everyone in line.
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