As a veteran media officer for the United States Government, it deeply pains me to see how official government communications channels are being used: to inflame division, advance partisan narratives, and to scapegoat members of our society rather than strengthen public trust.
My colleagues and I took seriously our sworn oath to the American people, as well as our commitment to a government communicators code of ethics that required our work to “represent the highest standards of professional excellence.”
We were equally committed to ensuring that our communications served the public interest as a whole, and not just the portion of the public we happened to agree with. Personally, I’m proud to have served during the George H.W. Bush., Bill Clinton, George W Bush, and Barak Obama Administrations.
We treated the trust placed in us by the American people as sacred. We understood ourselves to be stewards of that trust, and we worked hard to put aside our personal beliefs, prejudices, and emotions in the performance our duties.
These are principles that those who currently control the communications channels of the U.S. Government would do well to remember and to return to before further damage is done to the credibility of institutions that belong to all of us.
Media Consultant | Clean Energy & Transportation