For those of you that hate when I take the media to task for misinformation... stop reading here... for those of you still incensed over the misleading reporting from last night... read on.
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Channel 5’s “Investigative Reporter” Phil Williams took another shot at the Predators contract extension with their concessions provider in a report that aired on yesterday’s WTVF 6 o’clock newscast. The promotion of this follow-up that took place on Facebook was interesting. I do know that the mainstream media gets awfully defensive when you point out their omissions and that defensiveness is certainly evident here. Prior to the airing of his “investigative report,” Mr. Williams personally posted on Facebook that his report will prove that I am wrong.
OK… Wrong about what? To review what I discussed about Williams' reporting on August 23rd...
• I questioned his use of the word “uncovered” to describe his reporting. How can you “uncover” something that has been openly presented in two separate public meetings?
• He reported that there was no contact between other concession vendors and the Predators… I found out that was wrong with a simple phone call, one that, to my knowledge, Phil doesn't appear to have made.
• I questioned his use of a political operative in his piece that had no direct knowledge nor expertise in the subject matter.
• I called attention to the fact that the primary interview in the story was a member of the Sports Authority that has a terrible attendance record at Sports Authority meetings, an attendance record that is not showing much signs of improvement in 2011 as the Sports Authority has finally updated their site with all the approved meeting minutes for this year so far.
• I asked about a potential violation of Tennessee’s Open Meetings Law… I guess things like that don’t interest Mr. Williams, as it flies in the face of his opinion on the story.
I will gladly recant and/or retract ANYTHING I am wrong on, and I challenge Mr. Williams to do the same.
So let’s turn to last night’s report… the lead on Mr. Williams report says…
Nashville Predators management may have lied to city officials about a big concessions contract at the Bridgestone Arena.
That is an extremely serious charge… Please keep in mind… Williams trumpeted back on August 22nd that the Predators
hadn’t been in contact with other competitors, using quotes from spokespeople from two different competitors, Centerplate (concession provider for LP Field) and Aramark as his “proof.”
Now Mr. Williams reports, without noting that his previous report contained incorrect information, that there were lies told in two Sports Authority meetings. These meetings occurred weeks before the date of the letter he uses as his so-called proof.
Mr. Williams uses an outgoing Metro Council member to hurl the invective for him.
"The bottom line is he was caught lying before the Sports Authority," said outgoing Metro Council member Michael Craddock after seeing the letter obtained by NewsChannel 5 Investigates.
"Why would anyone stand before the Sports Authority and say, oh, we contacted these companies and they told us not to call anymore. We just bothered them and wore 'em out. Then here comes the largest in the United States at this and says, no, they didn't contact us. Gee whiz, come on, man. If you are going to tell a lie, tell one somebody will believe."
Councilman Michael Craddock has been no friend of the Predators during his time in the City Council and this appearance seems to be a desperate attempt to remain relevant in Nashville politics as he has attempted to run for Criminal Court Clerk and mayor over the past two years, being soundly defeated in both efforts. So, I wanted to find out what kind of personal research Mr. Craddock did to come up with his conclusion, beyond believing what an investigative reporter tells him.
I checked the last two years of meeting minutes (I love those things) from the Sports Authority again… just to see how many times Councilman Craddock, who appears so very concerned over this issue, attended a meeting of the body responsible for this.
Care to take a guess???
Yup… you are right… not a single meeting.
Soon-to-be ex-Councilman Craddock has not attended a single meeting of the Sports Authority to find out for himself, without the filter of others agendas. Isn’t it funny how those that have spotty or non-existent attendance records when the real work gets done seem to run for the cameras to seem like an expert?
So, the
real bottom line is this... there was no new information that came to light in this report... except that the Predators seemed to act appropriately in respecting the contract of one of their vendors. Not that you would get that from Mr. Williams’ reporting.
I am still looking for where I was wrong in this? Remember, Mr. Williams, in a public post on Facebook, flatly stated that I was wrong and that his report would prove it. The list above still stands…
• Nothing to prove no contact between other concession vendors and the Predators prior to the June/July Sports Authority presentations... as a matter of fact, the tone of the letters between Aramark and the Predators seem to indicate prior contact from both sides!
• Nothing to address using political operatives to grind an axe.
• Nothing about the potential violation of the Tennessee Open Meetings law.
• Nothing about using a Sports Authority member who doesn’t deem it necessary to attend any more than 40% of the meetings.
In a Twitter exchange last night, Mr. Williams tried to reframe what I said in my blog. It's not going to work... I simply said that I had confirmation that there was contact between other concession vendors and the Predators, including Aramark. The letter from Aramark confirms not disproves this!
Not only that... but with two years remaining on the contract, the only negotiation that can happen is an extension with the existing contract holder. Would Mr. Williams like the team to continue with a bad deal for the city and the team when obvious problems in the contract can be addressed sooner, rather than later? I'm sure if the Predators entered into negotiations with Aramark, Mr. Williams would be screaming about how the team doesn't respect the contracts it signs.
The Predators have done this right. They have consulted with the right people within Metro government, they have presented it appropriately to the Sports Authority and gotten a better deal for the city and for themselves... so my original question remains...
Since when is a better deal a bad thing?
The Sports Authority meeting is tomorrow morning.
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