What people think about us
We are taught, from childhood, that our reputation is our most important characteristic. Nobody wants to be seen in a “bad light” by others, and we secretly hope that if someone is going to talk about us, well. If someone. You see, that’s the other part of the equation (which is zero sum); it’s good to be the subject of someone else’s thought. It applies to individuals and, if today’s newspaper is an indication, it also applies to cities.
Our local paper devoted a cover and three pages to the “kind” of press that the city receives elsewhere. When a place depends on the tourist, a fickle species, the deciding class want those lines in the press to reflect well. Self image. And, after careful analysis, there is angst, because the city isn’t getting very much mention.
There’s a big birthday celebration in the works, with a year-long series of events, and if nobody comes the party will be rather disappointing. Especially if you have paid a team of people to guarantee that “the word gets out”. Now, I’d never much thought about the behind the scenes efforts of a public relations firm. I’d clipped old newspapers for the Information Office at my university a long time ago (anything for a few dollars), but other than googling my own name occasionally, after Homer Simpson suggested it as a useful pastime, I’d not thought much about how a city must wave its own flag, beat its own drum, stir its own waters.
So, if you haven’t given the City Of Quebec a thought, then take a moment and do so. They’ll be grateful.
