July 9, 2009
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
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Tainted MLB players
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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.
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