Homeless in Arizona

Does the Arizona governor really need a speechwriter???

  Do the taxpayers of Arizona really need to hire a speechwriter for the governor of Arizona???

I suspect a better title for this job would be the governor's spin-master or propaganda specialist, or perhaps the taxpayer paid re-election specialist for the governor!

A job title like that is probably needed for the royal rulers of monarchies, dictators and communist countries, but do we really need a job title like that in democracies????

Source

Brewer’s new speechwriter discusses change in career

By Yvonne Wingett Sanchez The Republic | azcentral.com Mon Feb 4, 2013 10:02 PM

Hal DeKeyser, a longtime Valley journalist and public-affairs consultant, joined Gov. Jan Brewer’s administration this week as her new speechwriter.

Formerly chief of staff for Phoenix Councilman Sal DiCiccio, DeKeyser said he’s excited to pen remarks for the state’s chief executive, whom he’s known for years.

At 62, this is a new adventure for DeKeyser: While he’s known for his columns and editing, this is the first time he’ll be writing high-profile speeches. Mark Genrich, who worked as Brewer’s wordsmith for three years, retired last fall.

DeKeyser sat down with The Arizona Republic to talk about his new job.

Question: What are your favorite aspects of speech-writing?

Answer: Actually, speech-writing is somewhat new to me. I’ve been a writer for 20, 30 years and I’ve written columns, which are very conversational. But I haven’t as a primary assignment, been a speechwriter, so I’m going to have to learn the format. Like anything else, it’s all about … finding who the audience is and telling the story in such a way that people can get their arms around so it means something to them in their own life. Every newsroom I’ve been in, I’ve had this sign on the wall: What does it mean to me? My assumption is there will be a lot of that coming into play.

Q: Do you have a favorite speechwriter?

A: The American writer that I like the best is probably John Steinbeck. I don’t have a favorite speechwriter because I haven’t studied that discipline. But if you look at, like, favorite speeches, they tend to be things that come at real powerful moments and have phrases that you really remember: “I have a dream;” “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall;” “Ask not what your country can do for you;” or “Four score and seven years ago.” So, the events, a lot of times, and the times and the crucial moment of change in the time are part of what sticks in your head with a particular speech.

Q: How do you develop a voice for speeches or writing columns for someone else?

A: That’s very different than doing it for yourself because this is not my voice that I’ll be writing for. It helps that I’ve known the governor for some time. I knew her when I was an editorial-page editor. I will have to pay a lot more attention to how she speaks and what she thinks and try to accommodate that.

Q: How would you describe her speaking style?

A: The governor, she speaks in a way people can understand fairly easily. You don’t speak in really long sentences. You try to mak

e a connection early. Q: Why did you accept this gig?

A: When I was doing editorial pages, I was interested in policy and state policy. It’s an opportunity to be a part of something that I haven’t done before. And, also, ... it looks like going forward, there’s some very interesting stuff going on that I think will be fascinating to be a part of.

Q: What are some of your personal favorite speeches?

A: I don’t know that anything can top the “I have a dream” speech. I think it’s probably the most powerful speech ever.

Q: The governor occasionally stumbles over her words. How cognizant are you of that and her strengths and weaknesses when you write?

A: I think my role will be in putting together the story line. The governor’s perfectly competent in being able to deliver it.

Q: Does she have a speech you liked more than others?

A: I watched her State of the State speech and I think she did a good job on that. She did a good job the last time, too, when she had to throw everything out and do the speech after the Gabby Giffords shooting in Tucson — I thought that was a good thing for a governor to do and somewhat healing.

Q: How closely do you expect to work with her on speeches?

A: From what I’ve heard, they talk about working very much as a team and I hear that over and over again. Her team, I think, will be probably the prime resource in what’s trying to be accomplished, how we want to get the word out, how to describe in ways that people can understand and see what it means in their lives.

Q: How important are speechwriters to the success or failure of public officials?

A: The most important element of success or failure of public officials is how they perform and what happens. So far, under Gov. Brewer, we’ve taken a state that was $3.5 billion short and developed some stability. It’s not about what I do, it’s about what she and her team does.

Q: How much political writing do you expect to do?

A: In some sense, almost everything you do with the governor has some political element to it.

I’ve worked for an elected official in between being a journalist and ... this. In a way, it’s similar because you’re still telling a story and as an editorial writer or columnist, you’re still thinking about policy and what’s the best thing and what’s the best way to go ... and how do you get that across to people so they understand what it means in their own life. The difference … is that writing a column is my voice and writing speeches is the governor’s voice.

Reach the reporter at yvonne .wingett@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4712.

 
Homeless in Arizona

stinking title