Brian Burgess: Worst Media Communication Person Ever
This is no exaggeration. I have corresponded with Burgess on Twitter. I can't believe a man this immature would be hired to handle traditional and new media communications for Gov. Rick Scott. Miami Herald reporter Marc Caputo inquired about a coffee get together Scott was having with members of the legislator. Burgess sent him back this e-mail.
"Coffee with 10 legislators - purely social," he said by email. "But thanks for ruining a perfectly good Saturday with my family so you could be first to report the non-story."
Burgess told me on Twitter that I was wrong about Scott staffers using using private e-mail accounts to avoid Florida's Sunshine law. Yet that is what Burgess did in forwarding Caputo's inquiry. Burgess also fires off more passive aggressive snark at Caputo.
Burgess wouldn't or couldn't say. He then forwarded the correspondence from his public email account to his private email account and asked this of Scott higher-ups, Hayden Dempsey and Spencer Geissinger: "Do we have the names of the people who will be enjoying a smile and warm cup of coffee with the Governor on Tuesday morning? Mr. Marc Caputo, copied on this email, believes Floridians will be clamoring for this information and hopes to attract dozens of hits to his blog. I would like to accommodate him in the spirit of openness, transparency and friendship."
This is the guy that is suppose to win the media over and get Scott good coverage. Keep attacking the media, Brian. That is bound to help your boss' low approval ratings.
Update: below Burgess worked for Scott he worked for District Attorney Phil Kline. It was Kline's personal quest to prosecute Dr. George Tiller. Burgess said this about the Kansas media in an e-mail.
“I really don’t miss some of you dipshits at all. Have fun in your world of make-believe.”
I say again. This is the man hired to garner Rick Scott positive media coverage.
Update: Burgess is paid $$110,000.04-a-year for his tactful skills with the media. Burgess' title is (I'm laughing as I type this) Director Of Press Relations.
Labels: brian burgess, george tiller, marc caputo, media, sunshine law
posted by Michael Hussey @ 8:17 PM
1 Comments
1 Comments:
Hell yes. I follow Burgess on Twitter as well - he is, in fact, the only reason I HAVE a twitter account.
I'm not so naive to think that the press and PR people never have problems; on the contrary, based on the few PR people I have known, it seems that PR people typically hate the press.
What makes Burgess special is that he is tactless and immature enough to take what - in a simpler time - was typically muttered under the breath and post it for the world of outsiders (like myself) to see.... Effin' Priceless.
I read some of the comments he directs towards Caputo - who he apparently hates with an unrivaled passion - and think: a) why would a press secretary be stupid enough to post this on something as public as twitter, and b) why does this man make 100k a year, and how do I get a similar job for myself?
As a penniless public employee, it is really B) that matters more to me, I must say....
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