After following the State Department and its messages for some time now, I have made myself knowledgeable of powerful people in the organization. Therefore, it is ironic that my post today concerns one of the top public relations secretaries of the State Department.
P.J. Crowley, the Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, has resigned. Comments made while speaking to a small M.I.T. group in Boston sparked the resignation. When Crowley was asked about the Department of Defense’s holding of an alleged Wikileaks informant, Bradley Manning, and suspicion of torture, he called his colleagues’ actions, “ridiculous, counterproductive and stupid.” This doubt from a high official demonstrates just how sensitive a topic WikiLeaks is. Read more about the controversy in my earlier post.
All aspects of the media covered this issue. Mainstream media, global and local, mostly stuck to the facts and history of the incident, rather than opinion. They delved into Mr. Crowley’s history with the State Department and Bradley Manning’s role as an informant. In all of my research, I did not find an article that concurred with Crowley’s resignation. Most of the articles I read expressed strong opinions, such as this one from AllVoices and this one from The Boston Globe. They support Crowley’s statements and are angered by his resignation because he spoke of (what they believe) is the truth.
The blogosphere is the main channel of polarized viewpoints. Debates include human rights in relation to torture and humiliation, the assumption of innocence until proven guilty, and “uncomfortable truths.” Many journalists thanked and applauded Crowley for bringing this matter into the spotlight, such as The Economist, even though he risked his job and demonstrated divergence of opinions in government behind closed doors. Many people accused the White House and Obama Administration of pushing Mr. Crowley into resigning and question the President’s hypocritical standpoint on government transparency.
It should be noted that M.I.T affiliates that were present at the talk petitioned Secretary Clinton in a letter to voice their disappointment of Crowley’s resignation. Finally, I came across a journalist’s blog post. Philippa Thomas attended the lecture herself when this incident occurred. She had the opportunity to ask if his comments were “on the record” and he replied yes. One can only imagine if he would still be working for the State Department if he had answered “No.”
Media & Messages 