(Grand Haven, MI) – The Ottawa County commission has voted 9-to-1 to approve a resolution to become a constitutional county this morning. Commissioner Roger Bergman called into Good Morning Grand Haven.
Bergman spoke about the seven and a half hour meeting and touched on a piece written by Marcia Mansaray, Deputy Health Officer/VP at Ottawa County Department of Public Health. In the piece that appears in the Holland Sentinel, Mansaray says that the new county administration announced to just five county departments — Public Health, Community Action Agency, Department of Strategic Impact, Community Mental Health, and Parks and Recreation — that all media releases must be submitted to county administration for review and approval 24 hours in advance of release.
“A short time later, these same departments were informed that their social media accounts would be moved under a social media monitoring platform for review, approval, and scheduling of all posts and activity. On May 10, almost all county departments were informed that they no longer had autonomy to respond to media inquiries about their departments’ work. Going forward, all reporter requests now must go through county administration for approval. A list of reporter questions and the departments’ answers must also be submitted for review and approval.
Decades of intentionally established trust and respect between departments and local media are now being eroded, and it is the residents of this county who will bear the harmful outcomes of what will likely become censorship and discrimination.”
Mary Ellen Murphy host of Good Morning Grand Haven told Bergman that she values her relationships with the various departments and has always appreciated how quickly they can be available for interviews.
Hear the interview below.
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