Most of ye in the media know that Sun-Sentinel TV reporter (whatever the hell that is) Raelin Storey recently jumped ship to the City of Hollywood to become its propag-- ... er, "media relations director."
Well, there's grumblings amongst the H-town activist crowd about Director Storey already, seeing as how her job is to serve and protect the absolutely f-ed up Hollywood government. What follows is a letter from a Pulp reader:
I have a question for you, and I think you are the perfect person to ask, since the situation sort of (though not totally) mirrors your own. And, as I hope you know by know, I respect your opinion and the work you do.In your situation, you clearly, plainly and frequently disclose your relationship with your wife, Brittany Wallman, a reporter for the Sun Sentinel. Here is the situation I want to run by you. As you know, the City of Hollywood hired a new “spokesperson”, at the cost of (roughly) $92K/year. (From what I have seen, and this is just my editorial comment thrown in, main functions include squelching
public information, denying any impropriety or wrong doing, and putting a positive glitz on difficult situations such as the water main break on the beach.) The spokesperson was formerly a respected Sun Sentinel reporter. The part that raises “ethical” hackles – only because there has been NO disclosure (unlike your own case) is that Raelin Storey is married to [WPLG-Channel 10] on-camera reporter and newsguy Roger Lohse. What do you think about the implications of this non-disclosure, given her position, all the “stuff” that has/is/will be happening in this little hamlet (Hollywood) given the interest of public interest and right-to-know? A few of us were interested in your own insight.
Well, I wrote back the reader that it was hard to think of a situation where Storey would be obligated to disclose her relationship (where, in a press release?), but Lohse would definitely have to, should he report anything involving Hollywood government. For the record, I haven't seen anything indicating that the couple has had any conflicts of interest at all.
Here's a good story idea for WPLG, though (that would require disclosure): Overpaid government flacks -- are they a waste of taxpayers' money?
