Budnick is Just All Right with Me

He isn't Jesus, but the Trib's Nick Budnick is actually a very good journalist, and my prior post on the Metro Auditor article didn't reflect my belief that he is. After blogging my rant last Saturday after reading his article, I called him to ask, in essence, who it was that sold him the story.

I was surprised when he said nobody did. But I believe him.

This isn't to imply that, had there been an instigator or a source, that it would have invalidated the story in any way. As the Trib's Jim Redden puts it, in politics there are no virgin births. Had there been a midwife, shall we say, to this story - someone pushing Nick to write it - then the questions are the same: is the story accurate, fair, and newsworthy.

Having spoken now to Nick about it, I'm inclined to believe that he gave Alexis Dow the benefit of the doubt in several areas where he didn't have to, and that he erred on the side of caution. I revise my earlier assessment - not yellow journalism, but perhaps a pale cream color, or a very light blonde.

So where does this leave Dow? In brief, not looking too good. She's got a challenger with apparently roughly equal credentials, and a burst of bad press to overcome. Her next steps should probably be:

1. To the extent she's actually done anything wrong, naughty, or less than good, 'fess up and get it over with. Voters love a repentance.

2. To the extent there's anything to fix, launch a fix-it campaign. If you can't tell the voters that everything's all better, then tell them it's on the way to getting better, and here is your plan. Documenting her actual work hours would be good. (I still think it's irrelevant to a salaried person who is performing well, but public perception will say otherwise.)

3. Hire someone (on her own dime) to perform a 360-degree review of her, interviewing her staff and peers and providing her with a warts-and-all assessment of her performance and image inside Metro. Without that information, it'll be hard to move forward.

4. Hire (on her own dime) a good PR professional and get on the right side of the media. She's got to earn the trust of reporters, and a pro can help her do that by guiding her steps at this crucial time.

Metro needs a very strong auditor, and Dow has proven she is one. I'd hate to roll the dice on whether her challenger is as good.