Darien Employs PR Firm To Get Word Out

DARIEN, IL — Representative of Darien's public relations firm say they are making progress in reaching out to the community. Downers Grove-based Metro Strategies started working for the city in January. It receives $4,000 a month from Darien, according to city records. Its representatives gave a report at Monday's City Council meeting.

Darien's Facebook page has seen an 18 percent increase in followers and page likes since January, according to the company. Meanwhile, its Twitter page has experienced 35 percent growth.

"Part of that is driven by the coronavirus pandemic and part of that is driven by residents finding value in the content we're sharing," said Kaitlin Cernak, Metro's communications manager.

A recent survey of Darien residents drew 347 responses, said Jennie Vana, a Metro vice president. The results showed 85 percent were satisfied overall in Darien's Direct Connect, an online newsletter that Metro redesigned. Meanwhile, 84 percent said the city's social media content met or exceeded expectations.

"People are turning to local government as a trusted source of information because they are being inundated by information from so many sources," Vana said. "They don't know what to trust."

Alderman Joseph Kenny asked whether Metro monitored Patch's stories about the city government. The representatives said they did.

He said a recent Patch story indicated he "shot back" at the mayor during a council discussion.

"There was no shot back. I've been noticing things at Patch. Things get taken out of context," he said.

He said the Patch reporter does not attend meetings and, instead, watches them on YouTube. He said the reporter fails to practice "old-fashioned journalism," calling up people and asking them questions.

Vana said she is a former news reporter and has worked with reporters many times in her life. She said she calls reporters when there are problems with stories.

"I agree they should be picking up the phone and calling to get a quote to write their story," she said.

City Administrator Bryon Vana, who is not related to the Metro vice president, said the firm has done a good job, praising its quality of writing, timeliness and responsiveness.