FEMA's fake press conference spreads like wildfire.

In October 2007, the deputy administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA), held a news conference to address the agency’s response to the California wildfires. Its inept handling of Hurricane Katrina had recently tarnished the agency, and it appeared that FEMA had recorded a stunning success in response to the wildfires.

What was more damaging to the agency’s reputation was it’s press conference. And it wasn’t the deputy administrator’s response to reporter’s questions, because there were no actual “reporters” at the conference. 

FEMA announced the conference only 15 minutes beforehand and when, not surprisingly, no reporters could make it to the conference FEMA used its own employees to pose as reporters and ask “fluff” questions.

Rightfully, the Bush Administration was unforgiving calling the conference an “error in judgment” and insisting that, “It is not a practice that we would employ here at the White House.” And the Homeland Security Director claimed, “ I think it was one of the dumbest and most inappropriate things I’ve seen since I’ve been in government.”

The fake press conference was a huge embarrassment for the agency and for the government as well. Although I don’t think that there is anything wrong with coaching newsmakers on what they should say before an interview, allowing them to know the questions beforehand defeats the purpose. As you can see here, this type of press conference did more harm than good. It made FEMA laughable and removed any success that they had achieved with their attention to the wildfires.

Public Relations people are not reporters. They never will be. Reporters should want the story, regardless of its effects on the entity that they work for. 

That’s what keeps news unbiased and allows the public to be informed. A public relations professional’s job is to mediate between a company and the media, not to become the media. Their job is to persuade opinions, not to make them.

There would be no point in holding new conferences if they were only attended by public relations people. That’s what the company’s press releases are for. And that’s how it should remain.