01-11-2009, 04:10 PM
Looks like glamour boy got his feelings hurt and can't be a man about it:
Jeff Lytle: Lee sheriff turns off interviews; Reynolds resurfaces in news
By JEFF LYTLE
Saturday, January 10, 2009
When it comes to handling the news media, Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott helped write the book.
He rose to power on the strength of his on-air presence as a TV traffic cop.
He is big and bald. He likes the camera and the camera likes him.
In interviews, he gives good, informed, concise answers. He can turn a phrase. He is smart enough to embrace rather than resent or run from hard questions.
Or used to.
Only two months after sweeping to re-election for a second term, he hints he is about to stop all that.
“I am making significant changes as to how I/we interact with the media,” he says in an e-mail, “and I anticipate few if any interviews moving forward.”
What?
That was the last thing I expected to hear after his staff, citing a scheduling conflict, canceled a “One on One” Comcast cable interview that was set long ago for this month. The policy came to light when I e-mailed him personally to offer a new date, standard procedure for a regular guest of the past four years.
“Details about our new practices and policy will be forthcoming in a media release and restated,” he instructed, at a meeting of Sheriff’s Office staff and news media members.
When I twice asked why — you know me — Scott declined to return a phone call and e-mailed back in big, red, underlined letters: “As I have mentioned a few times now, an explanation is forthcoming.
“I am not sure how this story can be told without our policy, explanation, etc.,” he wrote.
He said it is “absolutely not” related to fallout from his “Barack Hussein Obama’’ crack made in full dress uniform at the Sarah Palin rally.
We’ll see. Scott is so good at what he does, at street level as well as on camera, that he might just have a reason that makes all kinds of sense and respects the intelligence of his constituents. Might.
Meanwhile, FYI, Scott’s approach is not contagious. New Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk will remain available to face media questions and the public, his staff says.
Jeff Lytle: Lee sheriff turns off interviews; Reynolds resurfaces in news
By JEFF LYTLE
Saturday, January 10, 2009
When it comes to handling the news media, Lee County Sheriff Mike Scott helped write the book.
He rose to power on the strength of his on-air presence as a TV traffic cop.
He is big and bald. He likes the camera and the camera likes him.
In interviews, he gives good, informed, concise answers. He can turn a phrase. He is smart enough to embrace rather than resent or run from hard questions.
Or used to.
Only two months after sweeping to re-election for a second term, he hints he is about to stop all that.
“I am making significant changes as to how I/we interact with the media,” he says in an e-mail, “and I anticipate few if any interviews moving forward.”
What?
That was the last thing I expected to hear after his staff, citing a scheduling conflict, canceled a “One on One” Comcast cable interview that was set long ago for this month. The policy came to light when I e-mailed him personally to offer a new date, standard procedure for a regular guest of the past four years.
“Details about our new practices and policy will be forthcoming in a media release and restated,” he instructed, at a meeting of Sheriff’s Office staff and news media members.
When I twice asked why — you know me — Scott declined to return a phone call and e-mailed back in big, red, underlined letters: “As I have mentioned a few times now, an explanation is forthcoming.
“I am not sure how this story can be told without our policy, explanation, etc.,” he wrote.
He said it is “absolutely not” related to fallout from his “Barack Hussein Obama’’ crack made in full dress uniform at the Sarah Palin rally.
We’ll see. Scott is so good at what he does, at street level as well as on camera, that he might just have a reason that makes all kinds of sense and respects the intelligence of his constituents. Might.
Meanwhile, FYI, Scott’s approach is not contagious. New Collier County Sheriff Kevin Rambosk will remain available to face media questions and the public, his staff says.