Gov. Beverly Perdue has been pretty clear that she doesn't want to be surprised by news stories about her administration.
She has said that she wants to hold her staff accountable, which means she wants to know immediately when something goes wrong. She also wants to know what reporters are working on.
With that directive in mind, Diana Kees, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources has reminded the department's staff about the "no surprises" rule.
In an e-mail to staff members, Kees said all contacts with the media need to be reported:
Transparency and customer service are paramount as we do our jobs. As we've discussed before, the theme we all need to remember is "no surprises." Keeping this in mind, I ask you that you please let Jamie and me know when you have any kind of media contact, even the routine. We don't need a lot of detail, but just drop us an e-mail and let us know reporter/media organization/topic of interview/possible date of publication. I ask that you also remind your staff of the need to communicate to you when they have media contacts as well.
Kees message goes on to tell staff members that each cabinet agency is being asked to provide submissions weekly for Perdue's blog.
Gov. Mike Easley had a similar policy.
