Hazel O’Leary

* In an era when the names of White House press secretaries like Mike McCurry or Marlin Fitzwater appear on the front page of every daily newspaper almost as often as their bosses’, it should come as no surprise that government offices put great stock in media relations.

In the current flap over Energy Secretary Hazel O’Leary’s expense of $46,500 to monitor press coverage of her department (Nov. 11), has anybody asked how much of the overall federal budget (for both the Administration and the Congress) is spent on press relations, media consultants, press junkets and the like? The Energy Department’s contract with Carma International would look like a nit, which is exactly what it is.

BYRWEC ELLISON

Lakewood

* Forty-six thousand five-hundred dollars spent by O’Leary for someone to evaluate news coverage of her agency and to rank reporters, and McCurry says “she’s been an effective member of the Cabinet and this matter should not detract from that record.”

O’Leary says she only learned of it after the contract was signed and that she was never told there was to also be a ranking of reporters. This raises two questions: If she is considered “an effective member of the Cabinet,” where does that place the rest of the Cabinet on a scale of one to 10? And, if they had to pay someone to read and evaluate their coverage, does this mean O’Leary and no one on her staff can read with comprehension and understanding?

This should not be an issue of Republican or Democratic politics. The issue here is common sense, and the lack of it costing us uncommon cents. My free evaluation: Things must change.

JEAN LEWIS

Los Angeles