The Pima County Communications Office continues to grow almost as fast as the property tax rate. Former Inside Tucson Business editor Mark Evans will take his spot in the large department beginning June 2.
Jeff Nordensson, the Office’s propagandist-in-chief, responded in an email that he and Evans “agreed that he will start in the Communications Office on June 2 with the title Senior Editor. I believe that answers your questions.” Nordesson ignored questions regarding rate of pay and the hiring process used to employ Evans.
Evans was recently let go at Inside Tucson Business when Wick Communications sold Tucson Weekly and Inside Tucson Business to 10/13 Communications, a Colorado – based company, according to Real Estate Daily News.
Evans and other employees were told they would be required to reapply for their positions. In April, 10/13 Communications acquired the Marana News, Foothills News, Desert Times and related websites from Tucson West Publishing, Inc. a division of News Media Corporation.
Earlier this month, on a noon-time Tucson radio show, Evans claimed that he was no longer going to work for a publication like Inside Tucson Business that was not committed to journalism, but focused instead on the bottom line. Lo and behold, a spot opened in Pima County.
During his tenure, the struggling Inside Tucson Business turned into a propaganda resource for Pima County cronies. Evans allowed Inside Tucson Business to be used as a tool for one of Pima County’s most notorious thugs to beat up on political enemies. Evans gave wide berth to Emil Franzi, who wrote dishonest and disingenuous hit pieces on opponents of Pima County administrator Chuck Huckelberry and Pima County Supervisor Ray Carroll.
The hiring of Evans came as no surprise to anyone. The Office had been planning to hire Marana City Councilwoman Roxanne Ziegler as a full-time office administrator in order to lure her away from a part-time spot she had in Supervisor Ally Miller’s office. However, according sources, when 10/13 let Evans go, another position in the County was found for Zielger, and a spot in Communications opened for Evans.
Evans joins Nordensson, a former owner of a small advertising agency, who replaced Sam Negri. Negri had been an editorial writer at the Arizona Daily star before coming to the County. Prior to being hired by Pima County, Nordensson’s firm had previously held the contract for Pima County’s media buys.
Including Nordesson, Pima County Communications Department employs 9 ½ full-time and part-time employees, yet it still has the need to farm out work.
In a March newsletter, Supervisor Miller advised residents that the County’s Communications has a $900,000 annual budget. “Yet on February 18, 2014, the Board of Supervisors approved with a 4-1 vote a $100,000 contract with an outside Public Relations firm to perform public relation services related to the Arroyo Chico/High School Wash project,” wrote Miller. The County employs the Bolchalk Frey Marketing Agency for media buys.
County-friendly writers are rewarded with jobs in the County. According to Nordensson, he had planned to hire Inside Tucson Business editor’s former editor Dave Hatfield, but after it was reported in the AZDI, Hatfield took a job with the Tucson Airport Authority. Former Arizona Daily Star reporter Rhonda Bodfield regularly cranks out press releases about exciting news from the County’s animal pound and bike path.
As earlier reported by the AZDI, Nordesson says the writers spend “a lot of time trying to figure out what is going on at different departments and also make what Pima County is doing more transparent.” As an example, he explained that one of his writers; Diane Luber, did not mention in a press release that the Pima County Board of Supervisors gave $10K to the Borderlands Theater Group because it would not be “of general interest to the public,” but did mention that the County would be able to keep its lease with the Tucson Padres for a little bit more time until the team leaves town for good.
“Lots of things go on that before I took this job that I was not aware of. We determine whether something is noteworthy, by whether it is in the general interest,” wrote in an email to the AZDI. Nordensson said that despite being a government entity, they were making “subjective decisions about general interest, and we depend on media to take a look at what they think is of interest. There is a difference between what is available to the public and what we think is important for wider distribution.”
Evans had overseen the slow death of the Citizen after it went out of print. Hatfield, not known for his accuracy, had overseen Inside Tucson Business through its steady decline in readership and relevancy. Hatfield was contacted by at least one other publication for its practice of using their material and not citing the source, otherwise known as plagiarism.
The Communications Office’s website claims that it “proactively supports Pima County’s mission and strategic objectives. The Office provides creative services including editorial support, graphic and web design, logos, photography, publicity, and media relations for all departments. Our communications products enhance the County’s visibility, image, reputation throughout the state, U.S. and internationally.
In July of 2013, Hatfield wrote in Inside Tucson Business, “By and large, language is a tool for concealing the truth…” and then advised his handful of readers that “more of us should question what we’re being told.”
Pima County residents can expect the Communications Office to continue to increase as steadily as the tax rate.