Department of Commerce

www.doc.gov

What is the Department of Commerce?

The mission of this agency is to “foster, serve, and promote the Nation’s economic development and - technological advancement.” The department goes about this mission by promoting and assisting international trade, improving the international economic position of the United States, promoting domestic business and assisting communities and individuals with their own economic concerns. It also houses agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a scientific agency involved with resource conservation and weather monitoring, among other things.

More about Commerce

Obviously the Census Bureau is a key part of the department’s work; that’s being handled in its own section. Here, we’ll look at some of the less known, but still important, reasons regional reporters should pay attention to Commerce.

Commerce is the keeper of some statistics that should be a boon to any regional reporter looking to buttress a story with facts and analysis, particularly an economics piece. Check the sidebar for the Office of Public Affairs contact information.

Location

Each of the department's ten administrations and bureaus also has its own press shop. Below you'll find the chief bureaus and administrations of interest and points of contact:

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

As any sailor knows, NOAA provides wonderful weather-reporting services. As the agency designated to forecast environmental shifts, NOAA can be helpful on any weather-related stories. NOAA also has gobs of data on space weather, global warming, ozone layer conditions, weather and ocean research.

http://www.noaa.gov/media.html has a lengthy list of phone numbers and emails addresses for media contacts for every NOAA area of responsibility.

Economic and Statistics Administration

This includes the Census Bureau. It also includes the Bureau of Economic Analysis. BEA should be a helpful place for any economics story. Its website rivals the Department of Labor website for quality and quantity of useful macro-economic information. Besides the all-important GDP figures, the BEA collects data on regional and industrial economic development, helpful for reporters with interests in a particular industrial sector or geographic area.

Office of Public Affairs

Joanne Caldwell
202-482-2405
jcaldwell@doc.gov

Jane Callen
202-482-2235
jcallen@doc.gov

Bureau of Economic Analysis
Office of Public Affairs
202-606-2649

Ralph Stewart
ralph.stewart@bea.gov

Thomas Dail
thomas.dail@bea.gov

BEA Congressional Affairs Office

Lucas Hitt
202-606-9223

Census Bureau

Kenneth Meyer, chief public information officer 301-763-3100 
301-763-3100

Additional media contacts are listed at:
http://www.census.gov/contacts/www/c-communications.html

Patent and Trademark Office

You can use the link to look up patents (but not pending ones as they are kept confidential), which could be useful for a number of business-related stories. The office has a useful search engine on its website that allows you to search for patents by locale.

Click the link for patents: www.uspto.gov

Patent and Trademark Office of Public Affairs

Ruth Nyblod
571-272-8334
ruth.nyblod@uspto.gov

Jennifer Rankin Byrne 571-272-0422 
571-272-0422
jennifer.rankin_byrne@uspto.gov

Minority Business Development Agency

This agency works for and monitors the success of minority-owned businesses, and its website (www.mbda.gov) is a good repository for reports along those lines in various industrial sectors; other than that, the website is designed mainly for minority-business owners trying to get business with the government. The press contacts can also give you information on guidelines the government uses to gauge success.

National Public Affairs Office

Lahne Mattas-Curry
202-482-4690
lmattascury@mbda.gov

Bridget Gonzales
202-482-5061
bgonzales@mbda.gov

Follow on twitter at usmbda.

International Trade Administration

One helpful piece of information this agency has is annual trade data, including export data by state – a boon to any regional reporter at http://tse.export.gov/. The administration also monitors trade issues and disputes, making it a good resource for reporters concerned with region-specific sectors, such as manufacturing. Its magazine, Export America, is worth keeping an eye on in case issues of local interest – or local companies are mentioned.

Office of Public Affairs

202-482-3809

Tu-Trang Phan, acting director
tu-trang.phan@mail.doc.gov

Tim Truman, acting deputy director
tim.truman@mail.doc.gov

Lorri Crowley, public affairs specialist
lorri.crowley@mail.doc.gov

Economic Development Administration

EDA provides grants and other types of assistance to state and local governments in an effort to help areas hit hard by calamity or which are just generally poor to get on more solid economic footing. It breaks its grants down by states in its annual report, which can be found on its website at www.eda.gov. More info on specific projects can be gotten from the flacks. There are good stories buried in here.

Office of Public Affairs

Bryan Borlik, acting director
202-482-4085
bborlik@eda.doc.gov

John Atwood, senior public affairs specialist
202-482-4085
jatwood@eda.doc.gov

National Institute of Standards and Technology

The National Institute of Standards and Technology administers the Malcolm Baldridge Quality Awards, given annually to businesses. Always worth a feature if a local business wins one.

Office of Public Affairs

Gail Porter, director
301-975-2762
gail.porter@nist.gov

Ben Stein, media director
301-975-3097
ben.stein@nist.gov

Bureau of Industry and Security

BIS regulates the export of sensitive products and technologies.

Office of Congressional and Public Affairs

Eugene Cottilli, public affairs specialist
202-482-2721
ecottilli@bis.doc.gov

National Telecommunications and Information Administration

This agency works to spur innovation in telecom industry.

Office of Public Affairs

Bart Forbes, public affairs specialist 202-482-7002 
202-482-7002
bforbes@ntia.doc.gov

Mark Tolbert III, focuses on broadband issues
202-482-8176
mtolbert@ntia.doc.gov

Does this agency's information need updating? programs@nationalpress.org