Playing with Pigs

There are so many cliche sayings about what you're supposed to do when dealing with the public. My version of it is: "don't engage with the pigs and think you won't get dirty." It just isn't possible.

We see this happen all the time, especially in politics, a member in the audience will say something that gets the presenter fired up and then they engage in a debate. Even if the presenter is right, they will end up looking like a cruel, harsh, cold elitist and the instigator in the audience is the champion (even if he is wrong). The best thing the presenter can do is thank the person for coming and sharing their view and promise that he will evaluate those thoughts as he thinks more about the topic in the future.

Today I had my own small blunder with a person that follows me on Twitter. I usually keep my Twitter account strictly business. I send twitter messages about how my followers can find out more information on BYU, The University of Utah, and the Utah Jazz. And during high political seasons (elections, state legislative sessions) I'll speak my mind about those issues in 140 characters or less. (Shameless plug, you can follow me on twitter: @billyhesterman)

A certain person called me a spin-doctor for a tweet I sent about BYU (he said I was being to easy on BYU). I found this funny. For one, I'm a Utah fan. I'm a graduate of the University of Utah, and I'm a season ticket holder for Utah football for over 15 years. But I try very hard, when at work, to be fair to both BYU and Utah and not to look at things as a fan. I try to observe what each school does as a journalist and then disseminate that information to our listeners.

We engaged back and forth about my statement and I kept pointing out to him why what I had said was right and that he was mistaken. After a few messages back and forth I realized I was breaking the rule about playing with the pigs. I was coming off as a know it all and he could claim that "we the media, are just so biased."

I can't speak for all the media outlets in the market but I can say this for KFAN. We want all the teams to do well. It makes for better sports talk. It makes for more interesting conversations. It means more exciting events to cover. We don't cheer at work but we're always excited when our local teams do well. Next time, I'll try to remember to not jump in the mud with the pigs.