Does anyone really think avoiding Charlie LeDuff & not answering his questions are good tactics for the Detroit Fire Department? Apparently the new commissioner does.
Here is the latest Charlie LeDuff story from WJBK-TV. LeDuff is the reporter who has made fire and EMS in Detroit his mission. His last major story helped end the career of Detroit Fire Commissioner James Mack and his deputy. If you followed LeDuff’s reports you would know that Commissioner Mack almost never returned LeDuff’s calls and would not make himself available to the reporter to answer questions about very serious department issues. A key part of most of LeDuff’s stories focused on his efforts to track down Mack. I would contend that tactic didn’t serve Commissioner Mack very well and is a lesson for fire chiefs, commissioners and all leaders who have to deal with bad news.
Now comes Fred Wheeler, the interim commissioner. Looking at this story, it appears Commissioner Wheeler is following a similar pattern with reporter LeDuff. Does anyone think the outcome is going to be different?
In this case the story is about an ambulance that caught fire. Much like the stolen wallet from a citizen’s home that was the closing saga in the Mack era, these things happen. They generally aren’t career enders for the person at the top. But, as we all know, little problems become big ones when you fail to deal with them or handle them properly. In the wallet case, I offered these simple rules: (Don’t you just love it when Dave quotes himself? What an ego that guy has.)
When the hint of a crime occurs in your department, take the appropriate action. If there has already been a cover-up, don’t compound it. And again, take appropriate action. Also, make sure you tell your boss about it. Then go put it out to the news media yourself with as much information as possible to get this story behind you. Don’t wait for Charlie LeDuff to knock on your door or call your boss.
As for the case of the burning ambulance, did anyone in the Detroit Fire Department really think Charlie LeDuff wasn’t going to find out about this incident? Did anyone think that LeDuff would forget that Wheeler had been second deputy commissioner of facilities and maintenance? Do you think, at this point, there is any Detroit Fire Department secret that Charlie LeDuff doesn’t know or can’t find out or any document he can’t obtain? I think we know the answer to these questions.
It doesn’t matter if you like Charlie LeDuff or his style of reporting. He is a force to be dealt with and the way the leadership of the Detroit Fire Department has dealt with him isn’t working. Every little brush fire has and will become a conflagration if the tactics don’t change.
When bad news happens there is only one thing that really works, whether you are dealing with Charlie LeDuff or any other reporter. Get the information out … all of it. Get it right. Get it behind you. If you’re really smart, when you know there is a problem, break the news yourself.
Don’t spin. Don’t run. Don’t hide. Don’t blame the news media. These things will rarely work for you.
Ultimately it’s about the confidence the public has in your operation. When the citizens contstantly see the leaders of a fire department running from the reporter and his camera and not providing clear answers, it can’t be giving them a lot of faith in the operation. Often what makes a Charlie LeDuff story so compelling are the ambush interviews and other attempts to get those in charge to talk. Hasn’t anyone figured out trying to avoid the guy is akin to throwing gasoline on that brush fire?
If it was my job to reform the Detroit Fire Department, one of the first people I would call is Charlie LeDuff. I’d find out what he wants to know and open the books for him. Give Charlie the answers. Get all the bad news behind you. I see that as the only way to move forward. And as you move forward and there are bumps in the road, like stolen wallets and burning ambulances, give Charlie and the rest of the reporters a jingle. Let the reporters and the public know it happened and how you are dealing with it.
This doesn’t mean you have to kiss Charlie’s behind. If his story is wrong, stand up and let him and the rest of the world know about it. But make sure you are fighting him with real facts and not your ego.
That would be part of my plan. I’m sure there are better ones. But I’m equally as sure that continuing with the same media plan will just provide the same unpleasant results and add more chapters to the soap opera that appears almost nightly on Detroit’s Channel 2.
