I don’t know about you, but when I saw that Gil Spencer interviewed Mayor Butler, I cringed. Before reading a single word, I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty.
Usually Spencer puts a spin on his topics that can turn an otherwise ordinary subject into something that ranges from thought provoking to controversial but this time he let the interview do it on its own.
I’ve bit my tongue for a long time and have kept my opinions mostly to myself but Spencer has finally exposed, in the worse way possible, that our mayor is not good at interviewing.
There have been times in the past where the mayor has been on WURD, NPR, and even recently at the press conference announcing the end of the state of emergency where he says things that made me say....’huh?’
Those of us in Chester who know the mayor accept the fact that he is an awfully nice guy whose heart is in the right place so we politely give him a pass for his public gaffes. But it’s about time that he steps away from the mic.
Chester has a horrible pubic image and unfortunately we don’t have a strong voice to counter the bad with some semblance of hope. Even those who wish to see Chester come out of its doldrums recognize that it starts with strong, forceful, smart, articulate, self assured and effective leadership. In my opinion, that Spencer interview set Chester back considerably on all those counts.
I conducted a few dozen interviews during my Chester Spotlight days. Since I’m not a real journalist, I probably broke every rule imaginable by ‘cleaning up’ many of the quotes to reflect what they meant as opposed to sharing exactly what people said. Many times they’d thank me after the story ran because I made it a point to make them look good without compromising what they said.
Spencer gave it to you raw and if the mayor had it to do over again, I hope he’d reconsider speaking to Mr. Gil. Sometimes it’s okay to say no. Sometimes it’s okay to not answer questions you’re not comfortable with. I would have never printed those responses verbatim but the Daily Times isn’t a Chester Spotlight.
There is too much drama in Chester to not have someone responsible for speaking to the press from City government. Please pass the mic to someone who will make the mayor look good. Please!
Click HERE to read Gil Spencer's interview with video and reader comments.
I read it and I was actually glad that Gil was able to talk with him regarding the issues currently plaguing our city and especially on the subject of police-community relations. As far as the Mayor's responses, I say yeah, he really needs a PR spokesperson. I actually plan on re-reading it and I also planned on emailing Gil to inform him of what is really going in our "hoods" and how the police are really relating to the members of this community. Profiling, unnecessary searches and threats are just a few things that have been taking place since the June 29th incident on Rose Street (when the officer was shot). I understand that things are out of control but when there are people, mostly young men who are simply just trying to enjoy a summer day outdoors, being subject to intimidation, called names and told things like "it'll be more bears out here and we got plenty of bullets", is just ridiculous. The mayor should look to gain control of his police force and the police need sensitivity training in order to be able to deal with the residents. Not all things and people in Chester are bad, we are just facing some bad situations right now.
ReplyDeleteI agree with this comment. The Mayor is not well spoken. He needs a PR spokesperson. But considering, I think you were too hard on the Mayor's communications abilities. He got his point across. He has been Mayor for years now. If you all knew this, somebody should have told him. If you want to improve your image, help him out.
ReplyDeleteIs this a mayor for life job? As long as you keep putting him in office, he got the job?
By the way, I have nothing against this Mayor. It was just an observation. The interview didn't make me "cringe". I thought the interview was funny.
"I’ve bit my tongue for a long time and have kept my opinions mostly to myself"...was the wrong thing to do. I'm trying to pull for Chester but "Lawd" you people make it hard.
I cringed before I read the interview. You read the interview and thought it was funny. I don't think mayor wanted to portray funny. I never brought this topic up because mayor tends to shy away from impromptu public speaking. He does best with prepared remarks. But, since the state of emergency, he's been pressed before a mic quite frequently. He's got a PR department. Let's hope they start showing us what they can do. 'We people' want to see and hear better out of city hall. Actually, I thought I was being nice.
ReplyDeleteYes I agree our Mayor isn't the strongest public speaker,bbut Gil went out of his way to make the Mayor look bad I watched the interview what little there was and I heard some things said by the Mayor that was conviently left out of the written interview....I am not a fan of the mayor but isn't being a journalist supposed to mean report the whole truth unbiasly?
ReplyDeleteI felt that the Mayor did an outstanding job and he kept the situation with the city of Chester and safety the main focus. Gil Spencer tried to "create spin" but the Mayor was ever attentive and he stood his "ground" during the interview process. The Mayor is only one man, he needs the supporting cast of the community to assist him with making the City of Chester a great place to live!
ReplyDeleteWhat was the focus of the interview? To find out, it would be good to know who set up the interview. I doubt if Gil was just cruising through Chester and happened to steal a few minutes with the mayor. Either Gil called the mayor to set up an interview to talk Chester, or the mayor called Gil in to talk Chester. If Gil called I'd expect that he'd ask anything he pleased. If the mayor called I'd expect that he had a point he wanted to get across. If anyone came to interview me I'd either ask for the questions in advance, or I'd present them with the questions I want them to ask in advance, or I'd tell them what question not to ask in advance. It seems to me that the interview had no focus and all questions were fair game. In my opinion, the interview was awkward because there was no focus.
ReplyDeleteWow! Can't wait to see the results of that new poll and to read the comments.
ReplyDelete