When Podcasting Just Isn’t Enough

Tom Menino introduced the City’s very own podcast last summer and called it Citycast. It hasn’t even had a dozen episodes yet. The weekly column published on the City’s website might not have the depth of reach that Menino is looking for. What about CityLine, the email and website magazine touting the new initiatives and successful programs in the Hub? You can find that on the website too. But Menino is tired of relying on the Globe, Herald, Phoenix, Dig, and a handful of super local print publications to carry the good word from City Hall to the streets. His solution: write your own. Yesterday the first issue of what should be a quarterly publication called The Boston Communicator hit the streets. The Mayor’s office describes it in a press release:

The inaugural publication also includes articles about in-coming Boston Public Schools Superintendent Manuel Rivera, new Police Commissioner Edward Davis, the city’s recent adoption of a new green building zoning article to Boston’s Zoning Code, as well as the widely-anticipated plans for a new skyscraper at Winthrop Square. Mayor Menino added that the Communicator will serve as an effective vehicle for highlighting the achievements of city departments and employees throughout the year, pointing to the example of the story about a 15-year veteran of the Boston Transportation Department that is included in this first edition.

The folks at the Herald read it and talked to a couple of city councilors. The verdict: pretty much all Tommy all the time. The Boston Communicator is yet another arm of the City’s public relations team. As the Herald article points out, the tens of thousands of dollars the city is spending on the publication may be better spent with actual outreach and community initiatives, rather than creating a publication that touts the Mayor’s administration. The publication, to be included as an insert in some weeklies will also be available at area banks. No doubt as the publication is made possible by the “generous sponsorship” by the East Boston Savings Bank and Eastern Bank.

Photo of how comfortable news can be from Flickr user dodeckahedron