(Was that wrong? Should I not have done that? If I knew that sort of thing was frowned 
upon… George Costanza, Seinfeld)
This Q&A is based on a few basic media tips and how we break them every day. Twice a month, Was That Wrong Wednesday (WTWW) will have a different person answering. Our guest is Steve Haag, director of the minority caucus, Louisville Metro Council.
Rule No. 1: Be responsive.
If my mom/doctor/pastor/boss calls while I’m watching Homeland, I would definitely let it go to voicemail. To avoid such a conundrum, I have been using the DVR to record episodes and watch them long after my boys and everyone else I know is asleep.
Rule No. 2: Be consistent and stay on message.
I enjoy keeping my spaces clean, especially my lawn and main rooms of my home, but my desk at work is a space where the important stuff goes to stay in one of five piles until there is no longer a need to file it.
Rule No. 3: It not only has to be true. It has to be believable.
I spent one summer in college working three jobs (Chi-Chi’s, UPS and two paper routes plus numerous cutting numerous lawns. I never slept more than five consecutive hours and looked forward to returning to college where I could study, play football and recover.
My other story would be about going places that run out of things: I have been to a KFC that ran out of chicken, Pizza Hutt without dough, Krispy Kreme without doughnuts, Arby’s without roast beef and recently went to Ash Wednesday mass at the Cathedral only to have them run short on the Eucharist.
True but might not be believable.
I was also one of the very few people who delivered newspapers in the winter of 1994, when we received more than 16 inches of snow and negative degree temperatures with power outages everywhere. I was 17 at the time and knew that by getting out and delivering the papers I would 1) have something to do, and 2) have a story about stick-to-itiveness that I could share, should I have children.
True and believable.
Click here for the first WTWW entry.