Interim Detroit Fire Commissioner Fred Wheeler finally meets with reporter Charlie LeDuff. Sort of.
Previous Detroit stories
Above and below are the latest two stories about the woes of the Detroit Fire Department from WJBK-TV. As usual they provide lessons on what not to do when dealing with the news media.
The first story (above) is another Charlie LeDuff special trying to determine, once again, where the money has gone that was supposed to be used to repair the city's fire stations. LeDuff say this includes a paid for, but never installed, sprinkler system at a firehouse that burned.
Interim Commissioner Fred Wheeler, who has been the subject of a number of LeDuff's stories, agreed to meet with the reporter. But the commissioner said no cameras. Wheeler also seemed to be avoiding the cameras in the story below about a City Council hearing Wednesday that had the commissioner on the hot seat.
Unfortunately, the fire commissioner just continues to make bad stories much worse by constantly giving the impression he is running from the press and has something to hide. The reporters, whether you like them or not, are asking legitimate questions of a public official. That's their job. Your job is to be accountable.
If you have a defensible position, defend it and provide the supporting facts. If mistakes were made, get it all out in the open and explain how you are dealing with it and making sure it doesn't happen again. In either case, don't run, don't hide.
In addition, the city may think it is real smart by charging a high processing fee to the TV station for documents requested by FOIA. Instead, Detroit should be dumping all of these documents in LeDuff's lap and finally getting this issue over and done with.
Charlie LeDuff was on the fire station repair story as a print reporter well before he took his act to TV. Isn't it obvious that just because LeDuff can't get his hands on all of the documents it is not going to stop him from doing the story?
As paperwork is leaked to Charlie bit by bit, new stories will pop up, continuing to shine a light on an issue that should now be part of the city's history and not continue to be a part of its future.
Council Turns Up the Heat on Fire Commissioner Fred Wheeler at Budget Hearing: MyFoxDETROIT.com
