By DAN VALENTI

PLANET VALENTI News and Commentary

(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, WEEKEND EDITION, JUNE 27-29, 2014) — THE PLANET said we would obtain a copy of the “Press Protocol” issued by Mayor Dan Bianchi June 24 (Tuesday) to all department heads. Today, we once again deliver, despite the fact that this was an “eyes only,” internal memo. You, the public, weren’t supposed to know about it.

We received a copy of the document from source within city hall. As best as we can determine, this is the first time in city history that a mayor has attempted to limit free access of the press to city managers.

We The People need to know about this. Your rights are under assault. Question now becomes: Will you allow it?

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Opera, Anyone?

THE PLANET showed a genuine copy of the “secret” memo and discussed it (and its implications) at length on Planet Valenti Television (rebroadcast Friday 6/27 at 11:30 a.m., 3 p.m., 6:30 p.m., and 10 p.m. plus soon on YouTube, search “Planet Valenti”). Here on the website, we shall quote the pertinent parts of the policy.

It’s not all that exciting on the face of it, but when you ponder what this policy means for the already difficult process of trying to get straight information out of an increasingly recalcitrant city hall, it should make the hairs of every decent citizen stand on end and perform the first act from either Tosca (Puccini) or La Traviata (Bizet). Both would be in the running and certainly on the short list for most tragic opera of all time.

Citizens’ right to information about the government they pay for and own is under attack by the mayor.

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Bianchi Gag Order on Department Heads Latest Chilling Action

This policy  instructs department heads, and by extension their underlings, to immediately contact the mayor’s office when providing something other than “routine topics” (even then, department heads are told to report to the mayor’s office on the “routine topics” in what is essentially a debriefing … or interrogation?).

Ah, but what about matters that are other than “routine” — in other words, news! You know, the stuff that draws nosy reporters and commentators. The policy instructs city employees managers, “When asked for information about a new or unresolved topic, please first call or email Julia Sabourin for guidance. You can also direct the reporter to contact Julia Sabourin.” (PLANET’s italics).

And what are Sabourin’s qualifications for this important job, other than political loyalty? Can’t say. The mayor did not make that part of the policy.

The policy provides instruction on how press releases are to be handled, phone calls, and dealing with those blown-dried TV reporters. Department heads contacted for interview are instruction to “contact Julia Sabourin.”

Then, in italics, the policy closes this way: “If you are ever in a position in which you do not feel comfortable speaking with a reporter, or you would like my direct input, contact Julia Sabourin for assistance.”

Gee, we can’t imagine to whom, if anyone, that might be referring.

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Citizens, As City Owners, Have Right To Free Access

THE PLANET reminds everyone, though — particularly the mayor and our colleagues in the press — that the city of Pittsfield is a public corporation, chartered by the state. Every citizen of the city is a stockholder in the corporation. These citizens are represented by their elected officials, of which Bianchi is one, but also by The Fourth Estate. The press serves as necessary watchdog on government, not less at the local level than on any other level. In fact, a vigorous and aggressive local press is needed perhaps even more so, because of the very nature of local government, particularly in a town with the incestuous politics of Pittsfield.

This policy was instituted after the mayor blocked access within city hall to this website. THE PLANET quickly found out and — after determining that other news and commentary websites were not blocked — wrote about it. The move raised serious cutting edge questions that walk the new frontier of journalism in cyberspace, which, like print and broadcast, is covered by the provisions of the U.S. Constitution.

In the first paragraph contains fluff about the department heads’ and the press:

“Over the last 30 months I have been impressed with the determination and ambition that departments have illustrated in promoting their important work to the public by way of local media. While not everything makes it into the newspaper, or on a local station, the effort you demonstrate on a daily basis underscores your commitment to your job, your department and the residents of Pittsfield. With that said, I am hoping that by establishing a more formal press protocol within City Hall we can streamline our process and become more efficient about reaching our residents using the press and social media.”

COMMENTS, IF WE MAY: As far as that last statement is concerned, it’s clear the opposite is true. The city’s leaders will not “become more efficient” in being transparent with citizens. They will be “more controlled” — by the mayor, terrified about providing any “discouraging word.” Note that the mayor describes the department heads’ job not as one of sharing news but one of “promotion.” Moreover, if the mayor trusts his department heads with the press, as he clearly lays out in the first paragraph, then why does he have to handcuff them and make sure they are vetted by The Party first. Bianchi took this one right out of Josef Goebbels’ playbook.

PLANET Calls Mayor’s Office; The Fun Continues

The kicker to this story came in the mid-afternoon yesterday, when THE PLANET called Sabourin at city hall.

After THE PLANET referred to the document and described its contents in detail, Sabourin said, “This [the press policy] isn’t something I can confirm.” We told her we had a document with the city’s seal, the mayor’s initials on his personal letterhead, and read the section headings. She repeated, “I can’t really confirm what you have in front of you.” No kidding. That’s was her story, and she stuck to it. THE PLANET wonders if her memory was refreshed after we showed the document on TV last night.

She then told THE PLANET the mayor hadn’t made his press policy public, thereby confirming the existence of the memo.

Sabourin said the document was for internal consumption. You see, no one, least of all a member of The Fourth Estate, least of all this journalist, was supposed to know of the memo’s existence. She also confirmed that the mayor would be meeting with department heads on the policy.

We then asked Sabourin to make an appointment for THE PLANET so see the mayor. She put us on hold, and we were mildly disappointed not to hear Samuel Barber‘s Adagio for Strings. After a minute of so, she came back and told us, “The mayor does not see the need to meet with you.”

We then asked why the mayor felt that way. She repeated the statement, reminding us of a robot spewing out a pre-programmed set of syllables. “The mayor does not see the need to meet with you.”

Okay, we said. We tried. THE PLANET gave the mayor the courtesy of knowing when we would be calling. It was our hope that Bianchi would take this latest attempt for THE PLANET to reach out to him to discuss whatever issues he has. Again, for the umpteenth time, the mayor has refused our attempts at rapproachment, and they have come by every medium available: Phone, e-mail, letter, TV, radio, smoke signals, carrier pigeon, and psychics.

The mayor can makes his own choices. THE PLANET shall persist and make ours.

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“You say you’ve seen certain wonders, and your bird can swing, but you can’t see me.” — The Beatles, “And Your Bird Can Sing,” (1965).

“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”

LOVE TO ALL.