Don't Tweet: In D.C., a New War on Public Safety Information

Local news reporters here in Washington, D.C. have been up in arms for a couple of weeks now over the sudden disappearance, then (somewhat castrated) reappearance, and now finally removal and reassignment of one of the city's most useful sources of information: former D.C. fire department spokesperson Pete Piringer, a veteran of regional public safety PR and, up until recently, the voice behind the prolific @dcfireems Twitter feed.

The hiring and firing of individual public information officers is the kind of story that only journalists care about. These are the people who reporters rely on to get back to us quickly with accurate information, and when they appear to lose their jobs for over-sharing with the media, it naturally rankles. Not only is it a sign that the current administration is interested in making it more difficult for reporters to do their jobs, but the best PIOs, like Piringer, tend to have personal relationships with the journalists they talk to everyday. Nothing can set off a wave of resentment across an entire press corps like the removal of a decent flack.