Early 2020 I regenerated an article first posted in 2015 – “Media still failing the public interest test when naming names” Media still failing the public interest test when naming names
Speculation on who has applied for a role, ill-informed posts by sycophants of people not even under consideration & the reckless act of publicly naming names, does not sit well with me.
Here’s a near word-for-word exchange with a candidate & journalist recently (as relayed to me):
Journalist calls candidate.
Candidate: Hello?
Journalist: Hi, (name) I’m writing a piece about the people under consideration for the CEO role with (blank). We’ve been tossing around a few names and think you might be one of the possibilities to fill the role.
Candidate: Sorry, I don’t know what your talking about.
Journalist: So you are denying it?
Candidate: No, I’m saying I don’t know what you’re talking about!
Journalist: Just so you know, if you don’t deny it we’ll say you are considering it.
Candidate: Really? How about no comment?
Journalist: No, a no comment means you’re not denying it.
Candidate: But I did deny it.
Journalist: Ok, thanks. We’ll add your name to the list.
Candidate: Really? Thanks for that. I’m sure my employer is going to be happy about that!