QUINCY SCHOOL BOARD: DEAL OR NO DEAL?
Interesting exercise in press relations by new Prez Bemis. Tell one news organ that you in fact made a deal with Bud Niekamp to make him VP if he would vote for you for Prez. No problem so far, perfectly appropriate. It's what legislative bodies do. It's really the way it should happen. Good on ya, mate!
And then, he started stepping on body parts. He told another news organ there was no deal.
Two questions. Which is it? Why would he change his story?
First one's easy: good deal, nice deal, well done. There was a deal.
Second one's not so easy. Did he just choke? Did the dreaded "advisors" get to him? (I have one particular advisor in mind here.) Does he just have a really bad memory?
If I were his advisor, I'd tell him to clean it up. Admit he told two different stories, give a reason why he gagged, own up to the deal (about which he should have been proud anyway) and move on. Otherwise he's calling one journalist or another a liar and journalists always get the last word.
Oh, one other thought. One guaranteed way not to get to the truth: ask Bud.
posted by UMRBlog @ 08:37
8 comments
8 Comments:
There is a third possibility: one or the other of the news agencies might have gotten it wrong.
That seems just as probable to me as "oops he forgot" or whatever.
UMR........really now....remember it's the Herald Whig....are you sure they got the info correct????
wouldn't be the first time they miss quoted someone.
1240,
Of course it's a theoretical possibility. I've been misquoted and I've been "false or misleading lighted" and I've had words attributed to me that I just didn't say but never about the CENTRAL ISSUE of a piece.
These folks have pretty much one job while they're in the contact with the subject--write down what he says. Most of the experienced ones doe that effectively.
So, I have experienced reporter, experienced reporter and rookie officeholder. The likelihood is he told two stories.
Gives deal-making a bad name. It was a cool deal. He should have shouted it from the rooftops. Maybe his handler will call me up and explain the nuances of what REALLY happened. It's 217 228-TONY.
TYFCB
Or just as plausible
"I misunderstood."
Roger Clemens "misremembered"
TYFCB
In Quincy, you ain't shit unless you've been misquoted by the Whig.
Two misquote stories:
Once, many years ago, I claimed in a speech I had been misquoted. I later checked with someone who had been present when I made the quoted utterance and learned that I had actually been quoted accurately. I sought out the reporter and gave her my heartfelt apology which was wrapped around the still-active story. She did a piece on the story and my apology. She misquoted my apology: perfect.
A really smart guy who had too many brain cells working to be bothered with actually writing out quotes interviewed me on a serious topic. I liked him but I knew he was a butcher. I asked him to tape the interview, offered him mine: Naw, don't need it.
Of course he comprehensively misquoted me on two small aspects of the story. I have to admit I called him and ripped on him for it (Not normally my style. Same two teams play next week.)
Next time he came to interview me, as a joke and a token of apology, he brought three great big blunderbuss tape recorders. We laughed but I made sure he turned one of them on when we did the interview.
Human error's part of any profession. No one news outlet has a corner on perfection.
I will say this: The folks in the local media here, now will get you correctly on the central theme of a given story. There are downstate markets where you can't say that.
TYFCB
We share your distress that fellow news organizations report carelessly. We at Quincy News. Onion strive for fairness, balance and accuracy.
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