Politicians and officials don’t like unscheduled
interviews and I don’t either. Here’s why: rarely do we get solid answers and
people almost always come off looking much less than their best.
The reason I have to do them is because occasionally it is the only way to get answers and hold people in power accountable, especially those people paid with your tax dollars.
Read more about my story: http://bit.ly/1KoliSA
The fire department held my request to sit down with the
chief for many days and then as I neared my deadline, sent an email telling me the
chief wouldn’t do an interview.
Sources within the fire department notified me that the chief
would be at a meeting one evening last week. I waited outside the main doors of
the meeting for more than an hour. I couldn’t talk to the chief there because he
went out a side door. Luckily, the photojournalist I was working with noticed
him walking across the parking lot. That’s when I walked up and asked about
firefighter radio dead zones.
It’s important that people who I do unscheduled
interviews with have been given time to agree to an interview. In this case
that happened. It’s important we don’t abuse our power by doing unscheduled interviews
frequently. It’s also important that I get answers for the public. When I
cannot, you deserve to see that I made an attempt.
