City councillors in the dark on ‘Business Post’ advertisement
Bradley Bytes - a sort of political column with Dara Bradley
Last autumn, officials in City Hall decided that councillors should be alerted to positive coverage in the Business Post.
On Sunday September 27, the newspaper carried what it described as ‘commercial content’ as part of a ‘Focus on: Galway 2020’.
The title referred to Galway in the year 2020 rather than anything explicitly to do with Galway 2020, shorthand for the European Capital of Culture designation of the city and county.
Among the Galway feature pages or ‘special report’ was an article based on an interview with the Chief Executive of Galway City Council, Brendan McGrath.
Headlined ‘Galway continuing to build on its core strength’ the article was circa 1,000 words, and was accompanied by a colourful photograph of Galway Hookers at the Claddagh. A head-and-shoulders pic of Mr McGrath, smiling, also adorned the page.
The day after it appeared in the newspaper, Conor Kelly, Acting Senior Executive Officer at the Department of Economic Development and Culture, emailed a soft copy to management colleagues, including its media relations people, Gary McMahon and Stephen Healy.
Mr Healy was asked to share the soft article on the City Council’s social media; Mr McMahon told Mr Kelly that he could ‘fire ahead’ and send it to councillors.
That’s what he did.
“Dear Councillors,” began Mr Kelly. “Please find the attached Sunday Business Post supplement on Galway including an interview with the Chief Executive. Please feel free to share across your networks,” he said in an email to elected members with a PDF of the article attached.
What Conor Kelly did not tell elected members in the email was that Galway City Council had taken out a paid-for quarter-page advertisement in the Business Post supplement in which Brendan McGrath’s positive interview appeared.
Nor did he attach a copy of the ad (pictured); and he didn’t tell them how much the local authority paid for the ad.
Bradley Bytes is happy to clarify that – following a protracted Freedom of Information process, which included an appeal to the Office of Information Commissioner – the advertisement in the Business Post cost the local authority €3,025, according to invoices. That’s €2,500 for the ad, plus VAT.
Explaining the cost to the Council’s Finance Department, an internal email released under FOI shows Mr Kelly said: “This is for payment for an Ad in their Galway Supplement (Containing an interview with our CE Brendan McGrath).”
The article itself was positive. So positive in fact that Brendan McGrath could’ve written it himself and wouldn’t have changed anything. We know this because the interviewer emailed Mr McGrath’s secretary a week before it was published, with a first draft.
“Feel free to make any edits or changes to the piece but I will need a final copy back by midday on Tuesday. We also need to keep to around 1,000 words,” she said, according to emails released under FOI. Another minor detail that councillors were not made aware of.
Three grand for an ad, in a supplement that just happens to contain positive PR for Brendan McGrath and Galway City Council. Money well spent, councillors?
(Photo: Brendan McGrath, Chief Executive of Galway City Council) This is a shortened preview version of Bradley Bytes. To read more, see this week's Galway City Tribune. You can buy a digital edition HERE.