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March 05, 2007
A Tale Of Two LTE's, Part 1: The Ringer
I wonder if you read the Letters to the Editor of the Chattanooga Times Free Press on Friday, March 2. If you did, you were privileged to read the very sane, organized and literate thoughts of concerned citizen and recycling advocate Sarah Phifer. The same letter appeared on the Chattanoogan.com four days earlier.
It seems Ms. Phifer, just so happened to be attending to her weekly groceraterial needs at the Lupton City Bi-Lo when she encountered, let me quote the very quotable Ms. Phifer, "the most unusual thing: a raccoon inside the store. [Imagine! The very thought of it! Right here in RiverCity! BB] "Naturally, my curiosity got the best of me and I could see that others were drawn to this raccoon, as well." [Oh, mesmeric Procyon lotor, unspool thy web! Say, Sarah, you wouldn't happen to know the name and purpose of this critter, would you? BB] "This raccoon was Rocky the recycling raccoon with the recycling education team. I hung around for a bit and listened to the volunteers talk to people about recycling as I watched the raccoon give coloring pages with information about recycling to children and information cards to their parents [I'm with ya, go on...BB]. Several people had questions that the team was able to answer (and answer quite well, I might add) [Oh, do! Please do add! If you could, have a remarkable grasp and encyclopedic knowledge about the program, as well. BB] about pickup schedules or drop off centers or recycling correctly. I learned a lot about why it’s important for Chattanooga to recycle just by listening in. Like myself, both kids and adults were initially drawn to the raccoon [Well, it is a genius marketing tactic costing a hundred thousand dollars--you're only human, you can't be expected to avoid its moon-like gravitational pull! BB] but were roped in by the recycling information. I think this is a great way to get people’s attention and spark interest in recycling.
Sarah Phifer
Wow! And all from a simple trip to the grocery! Perhaps, you've sensed my skepticism about the authenticity and nature of this letter. I spotted a plant from the get-go, but it wasn't until I received an email informing me that Ms. Phifer is, in fact, the manager of Rock Point Books, Chattanooga's best new book store, of which I am a frequent visitor [Billy Blades Identity Alert!]. Nothing unusual about that, other than you'd think someone that literate wouldn't really need to be educated about recycling, but whatev.
No, it's not unusual until you Connect The Dots (TM Missy Crutchfield) that Albert Waterhouse co-owns Rock Point Books. The same Albert Waterhouse of Waterhouse PR that is being paid by Ron Littlefield to handle PR for the city's recycling 'efforts.'
Now, I think my readers are hipper to the political scene than most, but for those who aren't I need to drop a little knowledge on you: 80% of the LTE's (letters to the editor) that you read during a political campaign are arranged, and often written by, the campaign being endorsed. This practice is certainly not illegal, and it's only borderline shady in the ethics department. It's shady because an LTE presents itself as an organic, spontaneous opinion generated by an excited, engaged or enraged citizen who simpy had to communicate his or her feelings to their fellow citizens via their local paper or news website. That is not the case most of the time where politics is concerned, and I really doubt it's the case here. I'm guessing a staff member at Waterhouse PR wrote that letter.
On the other hand, this ghost-writing tactic is legit to the degree that you can assume the letter writer, whether the campaign got them to agree to write the letter, or just sign their name to a letter composed for them, does in fact endorse the ideas and/or candidate in question.
LTE's have become a tactic so common, that they are a bit passé. But they can still be effective among certain audiences--namely, naive readers and the person that the campaign benefits.
I don't fault Ms. Phifer for her involvement. It's not a stretch to assume she's a recycling advocate, as am I, as are you, most likely. I'm quite sure she endorses every word in the letter. I just doubt she wrote it unprompted and unaided. I suppose there is a chance that the employee of the PR guy hired by the city just. so. happened. to be at a Rocky The Recycling Raccoon in-store appearance and was moved so deeply that she just had to write such a well-constructed, talking-points-perfect letter. But I doubt it.
And I don't fault Albert, if he is behind the letter, for using this hoary old tactic, because, well, it's inexpensive and a client likes to see this kind of thing on the editorial pages.
And I actually think an informational campaign to promote recycling is a good idea, even if it is 10 years too late. In fact, a mascot is a drop in the bucket of what should be done to educate on the topic. I just think it's important for everyone to see through the scrim--the man behind the curtain, as it were.
The letter itself is hardly the point. Littlefield decimated a very important recycling program and replaced it with something so unworkable, that even those who are eager to use the program can't. I refer specifically to the fact that the main drop off is closed Wednesday's and Thursdays, but also the whole once-a-month pickup thing.
I won't let Littlefield get away with spin, whether it's about his Homeless Hilton (TM Billy Blades) or Rocky Raccoon (TM The Beatles).
Does it feel to you that the recycling situation is improving in Chattanooga? Because that letter was intended to lead you to that conclusion. Or does it feel to you that our mayoral leadership is so abysmal that this is what they are willing to do to try to spit-shine the reputation of this failed, flailing campaign. Because this post was intended to lead you to that conclusion.
Next: A Tale of Two LTE's, Part 2: The Heartbreaker.
Comments to: worstmayorever@aol.com
| By Billy Blades | 08:45 AM
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