It was interesting and "revealing" (I put "revealing" in quotes because most of us just "know" this, but it's always fascinating to hear it acknowledged out loud on the air) again as this PR / Crisis Management exec laid out how he would attack the situation.I wrote:One segment featured two "crisis management" experts. One had an extensive background with politicians and, probably without even realizing it, admitted that Democrat politicians should always go to CBS' 60 Minutes and The New York Times because they will virtually always be extremely friendly, assist you in getting your "story" out, and help frame the whole thing exactly the way the Democrat politicians or operatives want it framed! Going to those two places is always his first step after deciding on the plan!
Becky -- the little, young, naive, always-defending-every-lefty-that-comes-into-the-news, liberal "journalist" -- actually starts out asking the guy if Eliot can "come back!"
The Crisis Manager explains that he can come back. "There are a lot of variables, here. The biggest variable is the legal issues facing him and what his lawyers will let him do and not let him do, and another variable is whether his wife stays with him and backs him or whether she bolts. You can make it work either way. You know, I say, 'Give me a set of facts, and I'll give you the same story (framed) positive to negative,' which is why our firm hires ex-journalists because it's easier to teach a journalist what PR is than a PR person what news is. It's all about, you know, how you put the news together, and, so, you know, if his wife leaves, he says, 'gee, I paid the worst price and the biggest price of all,' and, if his wife stays with him, as I said yesterday, you take a page out of the Bill and Hillary, and..."
"You are a master," Carl interupts and turns toward Becky. "I mean, that was scary what he just did, right?"
"Yeah," Becky says sheepishly.
"Same set of facts....two different stories," Carl says...as if the idea had never occurred to him before.
The PR guy, as if the last five seconds had been spent in The Twilight Zone, says matter-of-factly, "You do the same thing. Every journalist does the same thing." Carl and Becky then sit quietly.
Joe talks for a while, and Dennis Kneale joins the conversation. Finally, Becky invites Charlie in, and Charlie compliments the PR guy but says, "he rehabs basket cases." The PR guy is entertained, but Dennis Kneale starts wanting to interupt and interject. Charlie gets about 50 seconds of point-making done uninterupted. The PR exec says that, strategically, you have to "humanize" the guy; Charlie, really being journalism's Spitzer expert, explains why that's going to be so hard to do. The PR exec, semi-referencing what he said the previous day about going to the always-friendly-to-Democrats-needing-positive-PR-and-butt-saving-framing New York Times and 60 Minutes, says that's why you need to "force" people to "feel" what he's experiencing and to learn his "story" of "giving up a lucrative career for public service."
Charlie interjects that Eliot did that because his father is a billionaire NY real estate guy and is never going to have to worry about money. Dennis Kneale, still figuratively on the edge of his seat and dying to interupt, jumps in to say that, based on his past work at Forbes estimating people's worth, Spitzer's father may be worth only $40 million. That blows everybody's mind, and, then, this happens....
"You're not Client #1, right?"
And notice "Kristen's" music playing in the background....
Financial news is some of the best TV on TV....!
Personally, I think Charlie -- though really being himself, wanting to bring more real and legit perspective to this thing than anybody else can, and not really doing anything out of the ordinary for him -- might be trying to get himself fired...those who've left CNBC for FBN report being very happy with the environment and freedom they have at NewsCorp.....
