As protests rage on, city of Ferguson hires PR firm

Critics have noted that the firm, Common Ground PR, appears to have an entirely white staff.

Ragan Insider Premium Content
Ragan Insider Content

Though the atmosphere calmed briefly last Thursday night, tensions have once again escalated in Ferguson, Missouri, between police and people protesting the police shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown. Monday night’s events included the arrest of more journalists, as well as a 90-year-old Holocaust survivor.

Presumably to stem the tide of the intense criticism of the St. Louis County and Ferguson police’s handling of the protests and the shooting of Brown, the city has hired a PR firm to field questions from the press. Common Ground PR announced its role on Twitter on Monday:

We are providing short-term assistance to the City of Ferguson’s media relations dept. in fielding media inquiries during this tragic time.

— Common Ground PR (@CommonGroundPR) August 18, 2014

​That tweet led to a barrage of questions, none of which Common Ground had answered as of early Tuesday.

To read the full story, log in.
Become a Ragan Insider member to read this article and all other archived content.
Sign up today

Already a member? Log in here.
Learn more about Ragan Insider.