11-22-2010/11-23-2010 KC STAR EXAMINES $234K PR CONTRACT The Government Services Administration did not care for the way the news media was covering serious issues surrounding its Bannister Federal Complex, so it decided to retain outside public relations assistance. It is a common practice. And generally the PR firms they call on for help are ones such as Kansas City's Jane Mobley Associates, which advertises itself as being "certified as a Small Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and/or a Woman-owned Business Enterprise (WBE)." However, this common practice blew up in the government's face when it was revealed that JMA received $234,000 to manage PR for the Bannister issue. KSHB's dogged reporter Russ Ptacek then did a story about the contract, which was opposite what the GSA had hoped for when it retained JMA. And now the Kansas City Star has reported that Missouri Senator Claire McCaskill is very upset with the hiring of the PR firm. (In fact, Steve Vockrodt of the KC Business Journal is reporting (11/22) that McCaskill has now called for an investigation.) “I’m talking about hiring someone to help them spin," said McCaskill. "This is ridiculous. What did they do for this money?” If you ask local PR practioners, not much. Publicity about the Bannister Complex has been overwhelmingly negative. Mobley charged the government at a rate of $124.00 per hour, which the GSA spokesperson said was the lowest bid for services. PR folks will tell you that $124.00 an hour sounds very much like one of those quotes you give so that you come under someone else's bid of $125.00 an hour. One PR wag said it could not have been more obvious if it had been $124.99 per hour. And how many PR hours were billed to the GSA at that rate? About 1,887. That's 40 hours a week for 47 weeks. "I think this story is a real black-eye for the PR profession," said a local freelance writer. "To me the rate, which was probably a blended rate that included the hours of assistants and interns, was not as big of a deal as the number of hours it would take to earn it. "That’s a lot of time to write a plan, produce a half dozen releases and talk with a dozen reporters."
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