INDIANA PARLEY

Somebody will be able to write a thesis about how the communication process here got messed up. I hate to say this, being a spokesman for elected [officials], but I think this is the disastrous result of a new trend in which elected [officials] swoop into disaster scenes and take over the communications. The mining company never announced this, the governor and the Congresswoman did (over and over again), granted they did it after hearing the story from family members.

Reporters know this better than anyone - you don't say something like this until you know it for yourself or you have it confirmed and re-confirmed.

Rudy Giuliani made this an art form by showing up at every bad accident, fire and crash and taking over communications from the professionals. They're quotable, they exude leadership in tough situations, but they don't always know what "confirmed" means.

It's an issue that really bothered me a great deal during Katrina, as well. Some of the most horrible, unfounded rumors (like dozens of bodies in the Convention Center freezer) were launched by electeds seizing the mic and passing along things someone told them on a street corner.

There is a great deal of implied credibility that comes with being an elected leader. Things that would be checked and re-checked from any other source go straight onto air or into print out of the mouth of a mayor, governor or Congressman. This is a fact that I don't think most elected [officials] realize, but one that they need to become cognizant of.

# posted by Mitch : 7:40 AM