RSS
CART
Say watt? Talk about a high-voltage interview [must-watch video]
Watch the video at Fox 4.
This you've got to see. It’s a bizarre interaction between a media relations pro and a TV reporter. It happens just before the four-minute mark in the video, when the spokesperson, who works for an embattled electric co-op in Florida, tells a reporter that her questions — which stem from customer gripes — are driving up electric rates. “I have other work that I should be doing … I do ask for other employees to support working with you, so that's taking them away from their jobs and it does drive the costs up,” she said. (Here’s a partial transcript of the conversation, and here’s a video with even more about the PR disaster.)
This you've got to see. It’s a bizarre interaction between a media relations pro and a TV reporter. It happens just before the four-minute mark in the video, when the spokesperson, who works for an embattled electric co-op in Florida, tells a reporter that her questions — which stem from customer gripes — are driving up electric rates. “I have other work that I should be doing … I do ask for other employees to support working with you, so that's taking them away from their jobs and it does drive the costs up,” she said. (Here’s a partial transcript of the conversation, and here’s a video with even more about the PR disaster.)
Ms. Ryan's comments were silly, and likely borne of frustration. But having watched several of the network's stories, it seems they are very much casting their station in the "underdog" role and torquing stuff pretty hard.
That, of course, doesn't mean Ms. Ryan should get a free pass for the "you're driving up costs" comment.
The "you're driving up our costs" sound bite was as dumb a retort as I've ever heard... the PR equivalent of hitting a hornet's nest with a very small stick.