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Tell Me Moore
posted at 2007-02-28 23:35 | Last modified 2007-11-14 10:38
It’s been a tough week for State Treasurer Richard Moore. First, Forbes Magazine went after his fundraising tactics. Then Insider reporter Scott Mooneyham followed up with this analysis. Editorial pages across the state weren’t far behind. Today, Moore fought back with an S&P report praising the health of the state’s pension fund (which, according to Moore's release, depends to a large extent on the Treasurer's investment savvy.)
But here’s the kicker. Moore’s capable PR person Sara Lang announced today that Moore would talk about his investment strategies at a Friday morning “pen-and-pad briefing." Translation? No recordings – so broadcast folks like yours truly are out of luck.
When I asked Lang to clarify, she called back to say the meeting would be very long, so Moore would supply sound bites after the meeting. Would that be okay? Um, no. Not okay, I explained. I’m still waiting to hear back from Lang on why print folks deserve more information on the record than radio and TV reporters do.
On hearing this, one print reporter said, “It’s Moore’s building, so I guess he makes the rules.” But in my opinion, at least, it isn’t Moore’s building – it belongs to the taxpayers of the state, many of whom would like some explanation about the bad press he's gotten lately. And Moore himself is an elected official, not a private citizen. As a likely gubernatorial candidate in 08, he wants to control his message - that's understandable. But if he’s explaining what he’s doing with public money, he ought to be offering his full explanation to everyone…even us darned broadcasters.
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