Sandra Says

I made the Houston Press this week in a story about Food Not Bombs and my employers:

[snip]

Library spokeswoman Sandra Fernandez says the whole thing is a  misunderstanding. A library employee did speak with the group, she says, but only to find out what they were up to.

“Maybe something that [Food Not Bombs] thought was going to be said next was never said,” she says.

Fernandez said the group is not being asked to leave the site, but makes no promises about what will happen when the refurbished library opens.

[snip]

From a story in the Wall Street Journal about public relations, I read this example of how a well-intentioned pitch went very very bad:

[snip]

Last year, Ms. McKay heard that television newsmagazine “20/20″ wanted to interview female CEOs. She got in touch with the show and in an interview revealed that she sometimes kept her cellphone turned on in movie theaters and slept next to her laptop. She assumed she’d be portrayed as a busy business owner.

But when the segment aired, she learned it was titled “That’s So Rude! What’s Happened to Manners in America?” Five minutes into the segment, she says, the hate email began rolling in. Six consulting clients left. “I never thought we’d recover,” she says.

A “20/20″ spokeswoman declined to comment on this episode.

[snip]

So I’m asking for feedback. What would you do if this happened to you or your client?

Found on MyRaganTV.com:

I love this “ad”

Found via Erica O’Grady.

This week I made the Houston Chronicle twice as part of my day job.

City official says goal is to open Kendall Library in fall of 2009
$9.1 million set aside in District G CIP budget to help fund project
– December 6, 2007

[snip]

“We are very enthusiastic about the possibilities for the additional space,” said Sandra Fernandez, the Houston Public Library’s public relations manager.

“We are looking forward to providing more materials, programs and better service to our customers.”

Fernandez said the new library will be about three times the size of the existing 9,600-square-foot facility.

[snip]

I should clarify that this isn’t 100% accurate. I told the journalist that the new library would be “considerably larger” than the current one, which is 9,600 square feet. She inferred the rest from info she got from another source. This is inaccurate because I don’t have confirmation on the size of the new building. Based on what she reported from her other interview, the info seems correct.

So she wrote what she thought was correct info, but attributed it to me… sort of.

Copper thieves shelve library activities for day
Wiring repairs complete, building to reopen today
– December 3, 2007

[snip]

“Well, without any light, we cannot operate,” said Houston Public Library spokeswoman Sandra Fernandez.

[snip]

The copper theft made news far and wide. All in all, it was a busy week.