The Executive Connection

The power, the influence, the image and the success of the mayor are dependent to a large extent on the function, personality, and ability of his press secretary and what the secretary conceives as his role in the administration. The author suggests that there is much administrative as well as public confusion concerning this role. Is the secretary an instrument of propaganda, a dispenser of information, or both? Few have recognized the intimacy and close-meshing relation between the mayor and his press secretary or the need for such closeness in an era of instant communications. Dr. Caroline Shaffer Westerhof has delved into the working arrangements and relationships of the press secretaries to the mayors of New York from the administration of John Purroy Mitchel through that of John Lindsay. She analyzes the differing conceptions of the position through the years and concludes with an assessment of the effectiveness of the secretary in light of the stated, or perceived, objectives of the office.