NAGC Names Fillichio Communicator of the Year

Media Contact: Dawn Shiley
NAGC Communications Manager
[email protected]
571-481-8657

Fillichio was selected for the award by a NAGC panel of judges for his
unwavering commitment to protecting the integrity of the department’s sensitive
economic data; making the data available and accessible to the media in a
secure and embargoed environment; and ensuring a level playing field in the
transmission of market-moving data to the public. He did so by leading a
more than two-year, painstaking review and transformation of the Labor
Department’s media “lock-up” policies and procedures. Lock-ups allow
credentialed news organizations to prepare informed summaries and analysis of
economic data for transmission to the public as soon as embargo periods
conclude. His biggest challenge was to balance the conflicting issues of
security responsibilities, the critical role the press plays in disseminating
information to the public, and rapid technological change.

According to Fillichio, “a few years ago, a few seconds here or there would not
have had much of an impact. Today, fractions of a second can equate to millions
or even billions of dollars in market movements.”

In the end, Fillichio achieved compromise among all parties, and successfully
implemented his plan. The changes he advocated and carried out have made the
U.S. Department of Labor the leader throughout the federal government in
protecting embargoed data from premature release and maintaining a level
playing field among the press corps and on behalf of the public.

“NAGC is proud to honor the U.S. Department of Labor’s Carl Fillichio as its
Communicator of the Year,” said NAGC President Glen Thomas. “Among his many
accomplishments was establishing groundbreaking new policies and
procedures for releasing sensitive economic data to the public.
Fillichio successfully navigated a number of challenges throughout this
process, and established himself as an industry leader in government
communications.”

The NAGC Communicator of the Year Award is given annually to a government
communicator who has helped instill public trust by effectively presenting
accurate, timely and meaningful information, sometimes under exceptional
circumstances.

The National Association of Government Communicators (NAGC) is a national
not-for-profit professional network of federal, state and local government
employees who disseminate information within and outside government. Its
members are editors, writers, graphic artists, video professionals, broadcasters,
photographers, information specialists and agency spokespersons.