I did two stories yesterday as a follow-up. One fairly general for Religion News Service that was picked up by the Washington Post. And a longer, more detailed piece for Ethics Daily. Land subsequently sort of apologized for his racist remarks, but it's clear he doesn't know the difference between a sincere apology and "apologizing" that someone mistook his words. Sigh.
I have never worked in radio or journalism but Land's comment which he called an apology, appeared to blame the listener more than address the topic. He was sorry that listeners mistook his words as racist. He was sorry that the listener did not know that all his quotes could be found on his website. Just a small note on communication, leadership, and humanity is that if a mass of people interpret your message to mean one thing then please don't apologize that they did not understand. Apologize for the pain that you cause and for your failure to effectively communicate. Once again, he blames others. Just an observation.
Posted by: Jeremy | April 18, 2012 at 08:01 AM