It was August of 2015 when Mayor Bill de Blasio fired off an email.
"New idea from Chirlane: create our own click-bait. Our own topical, lively, unconventional, sometimes fun, sometimes controversial content."
"Our own version of The Onion?" de Blasio's now-former communications director wrote.
It turned out that a top outside adviser to the mayor, John del Cecato, liked the concept.
"On The Onion idea - I at first didn't think you were serious (and maybe you weren't) - but I think it’s worth considering…It could be a funny weekly summary of our accomplishments that week - with a whole lot of satire where we needle the NYPost, Fox News, The Upper East Side Lady from Inner Circle, Donald Trump, etc…The stories would be fake, but they could be centered around a truth. Example…'Scott Walker ‘Appalled’ by Record Number of NYC Jobs; Promises to Make NYC More Like Wisconsin'"
The idea never came to fruition, but shows the extent to which the de Blasio administration was considering out-of-the-box ideas to promote the mayor's work at City Hall.
There was a similar brainstorming session a month later about how to make de Blasio appear more engaged.
"Mayor wants us to think creatively about how to push back on the late and lazy meme," an aide wrote.
"Best thing we have going for us is fact that this man is not lazy," another said. "Therefore, all we need to do is inject some reality into the world. My mind goes to evidence. Visual evidence of his activity. I like that it creates a record, which we control, of how active the Mayor is."
The mayor's outside advisor, John del Cecato, chimed in: "I was also thinking we could have him do his own tweets a bit more often - even if he’s dictating it to someone. Would be great to have some late-night tweets anything that shows he’s engaged & communicating well past dinnertime (and into the night!)"
The mayor's patience with reporters was growing thin. After Vanity Fair wrote a story he didn't like he told his team not to fall for that trick again. "Only trust those who have proven themselves to us," he said.
Read the full emails released
AKPD Part 1