As leader of the council, it's important to be pictured with the right people, helping to celebrate Birmingham's successes.
But for members of the opposition Labour Party, it seems Mike Whitby's face is cropping up more than it should in the local authority's free newspaper, Forward.
Last month's edition featured no fewer than seven pictures of the Tory leader in the first eight pages.
Now this has been seized upon by Labour councillors, who fear blanket coverage of Mr Whitby, delivered to more than 380,000 homes in the run-up to the May council elections, could be in breach of the statutory duty to keep party politics out of local authority publications.
Matters were not helped by the attitude of council lawyers, who refused to publish in Forward a Labour article on the council budget on the grounds it was 'too political'.
Labour councillor Kath Grundy has reported Coun Whitby to the district auditor, claiming the newspaper is a misuse of public funds. She called it a "blatant political use" of taxpayers' money.
A brief flick through Forward suggests Coun Grundy may have cause to complain.
A budget wrap-around features a 10-year-old picture of a beaming Coun Whitby, introducing the "Conservative-Liberal Democrat Progressive Partner-ship" spending plans for the next year, under the headline 'The Road Towards Excellence'.
On the front page of For-ward, it's that same grainy by-line picture, this time introducing an article where he talks about his vision for the future and his promise to build a global city with a local heart.
On the same page, a large picture of Coun Whitby and Stephanie Hightower, chairwoman of the USA track and field team. Both are draped in the Stars and Stripes.
He's back again on page seven, this time shaking hands with Sports Minister Richard Caborn.
Page seven has Coun Whitby and Chinese Government official Jia Quinglan shaking hands during a walkabout.
And on page eight, Coun Whitby is pictured enjoying a refurbished gym at a city leisure centre.
The explanation, according to the council leader, is quite simple. Forward is printing the "good news" stories that abound in Birmingham.
"We have a duty to communicate what we are doing," Coun Whitby said, adding that people who didn't like Forward must have a "distorted sub-conscious".
