Unsolicited advice for the city manager
Sandy Carmany, a blogger and city council member for whom I have great respect, writes with sympathy and compassion about the resignation of Police Chief Wray. In the comments section she says this:
I have noted in this blog and several others that Mitch Johnson DID NOT CHOSE to release the information about the locked office -- someone unknown leaked that information and Mitch had to deal with the firestorm of inaccurate information that began with that unauthorized release of information....
Unfortunately the leak and ensuing media frenzy led to the publicly humiliating scenario that played out over the last couple of days -- you can thank that "leak" and the media for that unfortunate spectacle. Had that not occurred, this whole action most certainly would have been conducted in the controlled, professional manner we all expect.
I hope Sandy will give Mitch some advice as he learns his new job: As a public official, you should act as if everything you do will be on the front page of the paper because it may well be. If you assume that your actions are going to be leaked, then you won't have to deal with "publicly humiliating scenarios"....or at least you'll be prepared for them.
I'm not sure what Sandy is referring to as "the firestorm of inaccurate information," but we'll correct any mistake we made. Naturally, we aren't the ones who ordered the lock changed on the chief's door, but it certainly was news that it was.
Comments (3)
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John,
The N&R story was accurate - Eric Swnesen does an excellent job in double-checking to make sure he gets the facts and quotes correct.
But four of the five TV/newspaper reporters who contacted me Friday evening told me or asked me to confirm that the chief had been suspended or fired - that's the "firestorm of inaccurate information" to which I was referring.
I agree with your advice to assume anything and everything you do or say has the potential to be made public. I live by the motto "If you wouldn't want your Mother to know what you did or said, don't do it!"
Posted on January 11, 2006 12:40 AM
What strikes me as unusual about the Wray story is how the News & Record played into the piece. When Wray outlined Hinson's connection to illegal activity, the newspaper ran the story without asking the hard questions or digging deep enough to find out that Hinson was cleared of criminal wrong doing in '03 and administrative wrong doing in '04. This is a case of being a recorder versus being a reporter.
I think the News & Record has to accept some responsibility for what happened to Hinson.
Posted on January 11, 2006 2:10 PM
Robin, as a former reporter, you how difficult it is to get to private personnel information when no one involved is interested in helping you. That aside, your point is that had we reported that he had been cleared earlier, Hinson would have been reinstated? And that's why we're partly at fault for his being accused of being part of a drug investigation and being suspended for six months?
Posted on January 11, 2006 2:25 PM