The provincial government headquarters offices in St. John’s will be closed on Wednesday for the annual St. John’s regatta.
There won’t be any news releases most likely.
But so far, there have been three working days in August, the same month when Corporate research Associates will be in the field, and that’s been plenty of time for government’s publicity machine to get to work on its regular poll-goosing agenda
Three working days.
On August 1, there were seven news releases. One was a notice of occupational health and safety charges against a company in the province. Another announced the date of the by-election in St. George’s-Stephenville East.
Of the other five, one was a notice of an upcoming announcement about money while four announced government spending on health and firefighting equipment and facilities.
August 4 brought six releases. One let us know that Felix Collins would be attending a Beaumont Hamel commemoration – at least that’s what the headline said – while the body of the release made it clear Collins was going to the basilica for the privately organized commemoration of the start of the Great War.
Another advisory let us know there was a problem with the lift bridge in Placentia.
Two more advised media there were funding announcements coming on Tuesday and two more were funding announcements themselves.
August 5: seven releases.
There was an update on the bridge.
There was a notice that Dan Crummell would be attending the regatta.
There was a warning to media of a money announcement coming up.
And the remaining four were announcements of government spending of one kind or another.
In other words, of the 20 announcements only four actually had new information in them. Fourteen were money announcements or notices of upcoming announcements that served primarily to get positive political coverage for the minister making the announcement and the party he represented.
Wow.
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