September 6, 2008
Clemens-McNamee flap is all spin-doctoring
The Roger Clemens-Brian McNamee melodrama primarily is
being tried in the court of public opinion, and that by definition entails media spin - relentless, expensive, shameless spin.
Latest example: A public relations firm working for Clemens' lawyer, Rusty Hardin, has been sending mass e-mails to journalists not only to update them on news but also to comment on it.
Some e-mails merely have referenced independent stories that support Clemens' case, and others have been for background purposes only.
But one yesterday that came with no such limitation took issue with a Frank Deford commentary on NPR, of all places, in which he interprets the tape of Friday's Clemens-McNamee phone call in a way the Clemens camp found misleading.
Related links
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Wallace Matthews: Pampered Clemens just doesn't seem to get it
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Clemens' day at Congress postponed
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LISTEN: McNamee-Clemens tape Audio
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Clemens lawsuit (PDF)
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Steroids & the Mitchell Report: Full coverage
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Blog: Kelvin Sampson & the college hoops retread mill
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Roger Clemens in pictures
Photos
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Players named in the Mitchell Report
Photos
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The List: Players named in the Mitchell Report
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Read the Mitchell Report
Here was the message to reporters: "I know you're all independent thinkers, but before something so blatantly untrue [and irresponsible, given the fact that you can hear the tape anytime anywhere] becomes the stuff of urban legend, I thought I'd correct the record."
Of course, the beauty and curse of the tape is that it is so ambiguous it can be interpreted to suit just about any theory.
Copyright © 2008, Newsday Inc.
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