FEMA Stages News Conference With Fake Reporters
Quick! Paulites! Get on your tin foil hats! The story of the week is breaking!
WASHINGTON - The U.S. government’s main disaster-response agency apologized on Friday for having its employees pose as reporters in a hastily called news conference on California’s wildfires that no news organizations attended.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, still struggling to restore its image after the bungled handling of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, issued the apology after The Washington Post published details of the Tuesday briefing.
“We can and must do better, and apologize for this error in judgment,” FEMA deputy administrator Harvey Johnson, who conducted the briefing, said in a statement. “Our intent was to provide useful information and be responsive to the many questions we have received.”
No actual reporter attended the news conference in person, agency spokesman Aaron Walker said.
A spokeswoman for Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who has authority over FEMA, called the incident “inexcusable and offensive to the secretary.”
“We have made it clear that stunts such as this will not be tolerated or repeated,” spokeswoman Laura Keehner said. She said the department was looking at the possibility of reprimanding those responsible.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, still struggling to restore its image after the bungled handling of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, issued the apology after The Washington Post published details of the Tuesday briefing.
“We can and must do better, and apologize for this error in judgment,” FEMA deputy administrator Harvey Johnson, who conducted the briefing, said in a statement. “Our intent was to provide useful information and be responsive to the many questions we have received.”
No actual reporter attended the news conference in person, agency spokesman Aaron Walker said.
A spokeswoman for Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who has authority over FEMA, called the incident “inexcusable and offensive to the secretary.”
“We have made it clear that stunts such as this will not be tolerated or repeated,” spokeswoman Laura Keehner said. She said the department was looking at the possibility of reprimanding those responsible.
Reuters article by Randall Mikkelsen here.
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unfuckingbelievable
October 26th, 2007 at 2:30 pmWHO ARE THESE PEOPLE !!
TIME FOR “LETTUCE HEAD”CHERTOFF TO EXIT STAGE LEFT AND TAKE HIS OVER EDUCATED IDIOTS WITH HIM.
October 26th, 2007 at 3:14 pmIt does’nt matter, even the ‘real’ reporters are fake anyway.
October 26th, 2007 at 4:47 pmGood sh*t
They should have had someone ask a question
October 26th, 2007 at 7:16 pm“okay, any question…”Yes”..er..you guys no what your doing”. “ah, 10-4″.
“Questions?”
“How have become the gold standard for swift and effective responses to such disasters?”
October 27th, 2007 at 10:06 am