An audit of Kansas City’s communications practices found that the department was slow to respond to records requests, prioritized branding over public information and at some points threatened to revoke access to reporters who published stories that were unfavorable to the city.
All of that happened under former City Manager Brian Platt, according to the audit. Platt was fired in March, after the city lost a whistleblower lawsuit that cost it nearly $1 million. In the lawsuit, Chris Hernandez, the city’s former director of communications, alleged he was forced out of his job for resisting Platt’s suggestions that it’s OK for city officials to lie to the media.
Council member Johnathan Duncan said this audit, made public last week, is the first step in understanding how to better respond to city issues…