Seares: Mike ‘taken out of context’?

WHEN a news source gets into trouble because of a published news report of what he said, he has some options for damage control.

He can say he (1) wasn't interviewed, (2) didn't say what he is reported to have said, (3) was misquoted, or (4) was taken out of context.

Click here for Election 2010 updates

Or he admits he said it but didn't mean what he said.

Cebu City Vice Mayor Mike Rama received heavy flak from his boss Mayor Tomas Osmeña (who suspects that Mike was again flirting with the enemy, Gov. Gwen Garcia) and from urban poor folk (who think Mike abandoned their cause to keep the province-owned land they're occupying).

Mike couldn't deny he talked with journalists of "The Freeman." He couldn't say they put words into his mouth or misquoted him.

Instead, he chose the "out-of-context" plea. That, he could use without being thrown at, in rebuttal, with tape transcripts or reporters' notes.

Mike's exact meaning was gathered not from the entire interview but only from some parts of it: That in effect is what the vice mayor means when he alleges he was taken "out of context."

Offensive

Mike's interpretation clashes with the paper's understanding of what he said. And he can cling, rightly or wrongly, to his own version.

A claim that he was taken out of context is still offensive to the paper and its journalists but it's less harsh than a protest of total inaccuracy.

There's this option left for Mike: Admit he was wrong, argue that he didn't mean what he said, and, more clearly this time, say what he really meant.

It can be the honorable thing to do but to the vice mayor it’s annoyingly embarrassing.

(paseares@yahoo.com)