Media damage control

Lately I've been reading some comments from bloggers complaining of White House tactics to stymie stories that might, at the least, embarrass the administration. Among those tactics is releasing information on Fridays when they know reporters will be swamped and the weekend is a time when people forget about "old news" - the story goes cold.

Another is to report a potential whistle blower's campaign contributions to the opposing party to show a political motive.

Alicia Mundy reports that these Bush administration tactics were learned from the Clinton White House.

Ms. Mundy attended a panel discussion where attorney Kent Jarrell, who specializes in legal scares to minimze the damage of bad press reports about his clients, told reporters how to counter the problems they face.

A bit of advice to journalists from Mr. Jarrell:

If you come in to defend a story that you want to air, and the target's lawyer is trying to slow it down, you need to show that your work is organized and complete. "If your lawyer thinks you're sloppy, it won't matter how good the reporting," says Feldstein; your lawyer will worry, and water it down.

Ultimately, "if you've got your facts right, there's not much I can do to stop you," says Jarrell. "I can just hold you up for a while."

But if your editor folds?

That's when you go someplace else, says Jarrell.

There are an awful lot of weak media leaders out there these days, he says, adding, "We know who they are."

Take notes.

....but hey, do what you want....you will anyway.