I'm spinning downward and it seems like I can't keep up. The phone's ringing, I'm on the cellphone, and the phone keeps ringing. I try and answer the questions faster, and the call waiting rings in another call on the cell. Then the desk phone rings again and it goes to voicemail. By the time I empty the landline, the cell's ringing again and the calls keep coming. I'm drowning now and there's no life ring to hang onto. At this point, I'm sure I've failed. There's no way to keep up.
I type faster, answer a call, type some more and push to link the documents to the blog post. If I can type faster, explain what happened and post the information, maybe the calls will slow down. I can't think. The pressure's getting to me. I can't keep up. Failure seems very possible.
Such is the confusion, fear, frustration and adrenaline rush of a public information officer standing in the middle of a media storm.
This has become a common occurrence in the past five months in my job. Hundreds of reporters, producers, anchors, writers, show schedulers, bloggers, fact checkers, and many others, all seeking to feed an insatiable need to know what is happening right now with Mr. Orenthal James Simpson.
We are far past the idea of "news" gathering. Today, it's all about "nows" gathering. What is happening now? Everyone needs to know; feed the beast or die!
I haven't found a way to keep up with all the calls. I'm not sure I'm actually helping anyone answer their question, "what is happening now?" I'm doing the best I can. I'm just not sure it's good enough.
Last updated by at .
Spread the Word - Like and/or share this page, your friends will also love it and thanks for it.
Dude… you need an intervention.