Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda

Submitted by Christian Khabay on Tue, 06/15/2010 - 21:37

The Oxford Dictionary defines propaganda as:

prop·a·gan·da / ˌpräpəˈgandə/ • n. 1.chiefly derog. information, esp. of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view: he was charged with distributing enemy propaganda. ∎ the dissemination of such information as a political strategy:

Hardly news to anyone but probably the most brazen display of propaganda was done by one Adolf Hitler to establish a ministry in its name in 1933 Nazi Germany.

When the Nazis took power the Propaganda Ministry was established almost immediately. It was charged with enforcing Nazi doctrine on the people and controlling public opinion. However, the Ministry became even more important after the outbreak of war.

During the Fuhruer’s reign Joseph Goebbels stage managed the Reich’s Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda. Funny how Germans accepted this, I suppose they really had no choice in the matter and the Fuhruer by namimg it as such let the people know what his intentions were.

Entering stage left: Garvin Nicholas Press Secretary for the Republic. A loser at the polls (even if marginally so a loser nonetheless) Mr. Nicholas’ portfolio clearly a replacement of the now dismantled Ministry of Information is sure to create controversy (already so if you’ve heard Neil Parsanlal). Subtle differences are immediately apparent:

1. Mr. Nicholas is not a Minister and by extension not a cabinet member.

2. The office of the Press Secretary is governed by the Office of the Prime Minister not an entity unto itself.

3. The position is one that is tasked solely with communicating the policies of the government to the public / media and not one that drafts policy.

In a move that can be seen as imaginative if not unique, closer analysis points to a rationalisation of the former Ministry into a simpler component. Without the burdens of policy creation, Mr. Nicholas is essentially communications director of the Republic.

In naming the position one can expect that the general model to be followed will be the White House Press Secretary model.

The Press Secretary is responsible for collecting information about actions and events within the president's administration and around the world, and interacting with the media, generally in a daily press briefing. The information includes items such as a summary of the President's schedule for the day, whom the president has seen, or had communication and the official position of the administration on the news of the day.

The Press Secretary traditionally also fields questions from the White House press corps in briefings and press conferences, which are generally televised.

In crafting and delivering the government’s message care must be taken with regard to content, language and posture. Communications specialists hold this skill and training; content editors if you will.

Public perception and approval is a critical component of this job. Conducting and evaluating polls (daily) that address performance and quantify approval, points to areas that need attention and policy shifts.

Understanding implicitly policies of every ministry, including the techno-speak, industry jargon, and the ability to critically / objectively analyse the data to be presented falls under the directorship of the secretary himself. The ability to guage / anticipate public reaction is crucial in being effective. Having to liaise / advise every minister and having the ear of the Prime Minister makes the job a massive exercise one that is sure to require an equally massive staff that can in short order be sourced from the former ministry.

On the downside being in the frontline of the government means that you will be the one to face fallout from missteps, scandal, controversy and rumors. Being an attorney, Mr. Nicholas is well equipped to think quickly on his feet.

If daily briefings, a press briefing room and unconditional access is part of the package hiding from the press and switched off cell phones will become a thing of the past. If one were to be transparent in governance this would be the way to go.

Supposing the new government is going down this path, it makes itself accountable to the Republic everyday. By effectively and constantly communicating with the public, that so-called campaign rhetoric of serving the people can tangibly manifest itself with this significant policy shift. If on the other hand this is just the same horse by a different name then expect the same. Let’s hope the Prime Minister doesn’t start her own television talk show a-la Chavez with her as the host, singing songs of nationhood and running for days at a time. Imagine the torture. In this modern age of spin doctors, communications specialists and advertising agencies one has to wonder if there is any difference between Public Enlightenment and propaganda.

As a side note if Mr. Nicholas wants I can supply him (at a reasonable price of course, me bing a patriot and all) with a copy of the complete TV series “The West Wing” where he can follow the exploits of America’s most famous if only fictional White House Press Secretay C.J. Cregg (Allison Janey) and learn how a first world communications team works. Mr. Parsanlal can eat his head!

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