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For two days last week, I was on the opposite side of the microphone.
While carrying out my routine duties covering city and state government last Thursday, I became the focus of the media in a news cycle that just wouldn't end. Footage of Mayor Bloomberg scolding me was broadcast on local TV stations for days and YouTube video of the incident spread across the internet like a virus.
As the incident drew attention from local media outlets in Brooklyn to as far away as England, I began to receive hundreds of e-mails and Facebook messages expressing their support for me. I even received a text message and phone call from my Congressman, Rep. Anthony D. Weiner (D - NY 9), a Democratic mayoral contender. Weiner wanted to reach out and express his support, to say that I handled the situation appropriately. He mentioned calls to his office from people expressing their outrage over the incident. In the end, the congressman told me he was proud and promised to take me out for a drink after this all blew over.
For days, I became a local celebrity. Whether it was going to the counter at Nathan's to buy a hot dog or simply driving my wheelchair to the bus stop, people noticed. Wherever I went, people stopped me to say: "Hey you're that guy who the mayor attacked yesterday. I saw you on TV."
The media blitz even followed me to Coney Island while I was covering Mayor Bloomberg's announcment that the Ringling Bros Circus was coming to town. It seemed as if more reporters were trying to squeeze a microphone in front of my face rather than covering Bloomberg.
It took me significantly longer than usual to get home from my desk in the City Hall press room on Friday. People kept stopping me on the street, wanting to know what happened.
They also wanted to know my thoughts on the mayor and whether he had honored my demand of an apology. A few people even went so far as to take pictures of me on their camera phone. One person even insisted that I give him an autograph.
THE APOLOGY
The mayor's office frequently shuttles reporters around in a press van. Since city press van's can't accommodate my large motorized wheelchair, they use a wheelchair-accessible minivan instead to transport me to press events.
On Friday, we arrived at Coney Island, where the mayor was holding two press events. Then, something different began to happen. As the driver went to open the door to let me out, a member of the mayor's security detail approached the vehicle and told the driver to keep me inside.
A few minutes later, one of the mayor's press aide's approached the van and told me, "We're going to have you do your one-on-one with the mayor a few blocks away so that none of the other reporters see it. Stay here."
I remember thinking: "One-on-one with the mayor? What is she talking about?"
But there wasn’t too much time to think.
A few minutes later, the mayor's press secretary Stu Loeser and the City Hall photographer approached the van. Alongside them was the mayor.
"Look, I want you to know that I think that you're a good reporter," Bloomberg said. "I make every effort to accommodate you and I am going to treat you the way I'd treat any other reporter."
I thanked the mayor for his words and told him that I don't want to be treated as "the disabled reporter," I want to be recognized simply as a reporter. I was advised by the mayor to speak freely, so I did.
I told the mayor how I felt humiliated and that I was offended by the way he repeatedly singled me out, even as I struggled to turn my recorder off. I asked that he recognize that it takes me longer to do things.
I also pointed out that last Thursday's announcement wasn't a typical blue room news conference, a term used to describe the mayor's briefing room in City Hall. Instead, the announcement was being broadcast live on local and national television from the governor's office.
The mayor acknowledged my concerns.
"I'm sorry if you took offense," Bloomberg later said.
During our dialogue, as I looked out behind the mayor, I remembering seeing a NY1 News reporter kneeling down on the ground, filming our private conversation. This prompted Loeser to try and chase the reporter away. At that time, I told the mayor that I respected him, felt that he was always open with the media and had always shown me nothing but the utmost respect. I also apologized to him for being disruptive in any way.
The mayor had just given me exactly what I wanted - an apology. Only the fourth public apology the mayor has offered throughout his administration. Bloomberg had done what I thought would never happen. After all, just 24 hours earlier, I had told reporters that an apology would be appropriate, but I was not optimistic about getting one.
Yet the repercussions of my encounter with the mayor would continue to haunt me for days. I wanted the press coverage to end. More than 20 news articles and thousands of blog postings had already shown up on a Google search. Those were in addition to wire reports, radio interviews and local and national television interviews. After Bloomberg apologized, I merely wanted to go back to reporting the news.
But reporters and assignment editors continued to call and e-mail like crazy. Once NY 1 started airing footage of the apology (Loeser had successfully prevented them from getting audio of the conversation, but they had the video), I felt as if my cell phone and BlackBerry were going to explode. All I wanted to do was to go back to City Hall, go to my desk and work. But, I knew I had to talk to them, so I told every reporter that I'd hold a press briefing at City Hall later in the afternoon.
As I emerged from my office in the basement off City Hall around 4 p.m., the TV cameras greeted me. I slowly approached and saw that they had already set up a microphone stand and pulled my wheelchair up behind it.
When looking down at the microphone cubes, I saw local affiliates from CBS, NBC, FOX, ABC, MY, CW networks and a radio reporter's microphone. I looked up to see and hear the clicking of cameras from The New York Times and Daily News. After a deep breath I thought to myself "there's no going back now, here I go." Hoping to finally put an end to my two days in the spotlight, I spoke briefly and answered every question.
Before joining Examiner.com, I spent the five years in public relations and would have done anything for this kind of media coverage. But then, as a reporter, I would have done anything to avoid it.
On Monday morning, as I went to buy a cup of coffee, the woman behind the counter at Starbucks asked: "You're that reporter, aren't you? Did the mayor apologize?"
I told her I was and he had, then reached for my wallet.
"It's on the house," she said.
When I return to the City Hall press room Tuesday morning, I'm pretty sure that my colleagues will chide me, just like last Friday. Only this time, their comments will be aimed at a column by Clyde Haberman set to appear in The New York Times that discusses his take on my encounter with the mayor. And, during a housing press conference on Monday night, Rep. Weiner was still being asked questions about last week's incident.
But, really. Who am I kidding? This is New York City politics and it won't go away in a week. Eventually, people will move on.
As for me, this is the last you will hear about the incident. There will be no more interviews. I will not reply to any more phone calls or E-mails about the events involving Bloomberg. It's time to simply go back to work.
After all, I'm just a reporter who went to cover a news story and quickly became the story.
Comments
Please clarify one thing:
While your tape recorder was out of control, didn't anyone around you step in to help shut the thing down? If I had been next to you at the time I would have found the thing and turned it off. I know we are supposed to let the "disabled" fend for themselves, but this was an emergency situation, like if someone's wheelchair went out of control and was heading toward a wall.
But I wasn't there. So I don't really know.
It's amazing that Mayor Bloomberg, the Master of Hubris, offered any kind of apology at all. Now, perhaps, having been softened up somewhat by the experience, he'll be able to apologize to all of New York City for violating the will of his constituents by seeking a third term of office.
Nice photo. Your little escapade with the runaway recorder helped the public peek a little into the Mayor's state of mind. Glad he decided to apologize.
I would like to point out that from what I saw of the coverage, the Mayor never pointed you out by name nor did we see you on camera. The media are the the ones who naemed you. The Mayor was simply waiting for a distraction to end. granted he was more upset then he needed to be.
It was the Mayor who caused the distraction not you and you handled it quite tactfully afterward. If I ever get to NYC *I'll* buy you a cup of coffee @ Starbuck's! :-)
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