Handling the Media --the 'parade of horribles'

These attorneys did everything wrong.

The bar official finally agreed to speak to me and another reporter about allegations of a possible scandal at the bar association.

Our publication had broken the story. The scandal had begun with some minor allegations that could have been minimized if handled properly.

But the official and his fellows had curtly stonewalled us and the media in general for weeks. Their steadfast refusal to cooperate or comment had created a "what are they hiding" question and growing concern in the effected legal community.

Now the bar officials had created an over-dramatic showdown: we the long-frustrated now-suspicious reporters on the one end of the phone versus a roomful of defensive bar officials on the other end. All on an open conference call. All on the record. All on tape. All with their prior written permission to us that everything was "on the record."

They couldn't have handled the situation worse than that. Or so we thought.

Our call went to a staff person who then placed us on speaker phone to include the bar officials and some staffers.

The call was tense. The officials were [to our ears] curt and arrogant. They lectured us. They asserted that the whole affair was merely cheap rumors circulated by yellow journalists and --in truth-- involved issues far too complex for mere reporters or the public to understand. Their advice: We really should just go away and trust them to take care of it.

They refused to answer even simple questions. They denied any wrongdoing or even honest mistakes. We were frustrated at the waste of time and their attitude. Apparently they had arranged the interview just to assure us they were all firm supporters of "Truth, Justice and The American Way."

After about fifteen minutes of this thrust-and-parry the lead bar official declared the interview completed. We were free to leave them alone now. They had spoken. The official's staffer thanked us and put her phone receiver on the cradle, "click!"

But the call was still live. The speaker phone was still turned on in that room full of bar officials.

On our end the newsroom tape recorder was still running.

We listened with amazement as the roomful of bar association officials and staffers broke out in loud self-congratulatory conversation. They laughed at having stonewalled us, and made snide comments regarding how their room full of lawyers outsmarted "those reporters." [The reporters listening on the other end were also attorneys and so this just added to the sense of amusement]

The assembled representatives of the bar association proceeded to make many statements that contradicted the statements made moments before. [Recall both the previous and current statements were made with our tape recorder rolling and their written permission to use the comments. Lovely!] They ridiculed the investigation and our publication. Eventually this cover-up coffee-clach lost steam and broke up leaving only the bar executive and his staffer.

Then the situation became even more surreal.

The bar executive and his staffer proceeded to have another enlightening conversation filled with even more and sharper critique of the reporters who were listening, as some amusing insights regarding their fellow bar officials who had just left the room.

This went on for over 20 minutes. All on tape.

On our end I brought in my editor and some other reporters to listen. All were aware of the bar association scandal and were able to appreciate the exquisite joy of listening to snide, arrogant officials involved in a cover-up admit --on tape-- to having lied to the reporters conducting the investigation while those self same reporters were taping the call.

It was an investigative reporter's wildest dream come to life.

Eventually the conversation on the other end of the line ended. The staffer picked up her phone to make another call and the line went dead.

On our end the room was filled with people sitting in stunned silence.

The rest of that unfortunate drama unfolded as you might expect and nothing good came of it for those officials or the bar association.

So. If you ever wonder "what is the worse thing that could happen" if you are not prepared for dealing with a PR crisis and handling the media --now you know.