As reported by http://northjersey.com Palisades Park and Clifton are the latest in a trend of local governments that have hired professional publicity companies to handle their municipal communications.

Clifton hired a communication manager earlier this month for a salary of between $80,000 to $100,000. The goal, councilmembers said, was to more effectively get information out to city residents.

Palisades Park hired Vision Media in November for $3,500 per month through the end of the year, with a plan to move forward with a longer-term agreement, said Philip Swibinski, the chief operating officer for Vision Media Marketing.

The trend to hire professionals to do the talking began at the state level and has spread to counties and municipalities to better control their message, said Marc Pfeiffer, assistant director at the Bloustein Local Government Research Center at Rutgers University.

https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/bergen/2024/12/12/why-more-nj-local-leaders-communicating-public-relations-firms/76889621007/: Why are more and more local governments communicating through public relations firms?