GM's Wagoner Uses the B-word and Gets Burned

Being a spokesperson is hard -- seriously. And being the spokesperson when you are also the CEO of General Motors in 2009 must be close to impossible. But hey, that's why they get paid the big bucks, right?

GM's CEO inadvertently used the phrase "bankruptcy...could work," at a media breakfast with the Wall Street Journal in attendance, and they didn't miss the opportunity to write the following:

General Motors Corp.'s chief executive, once a staunch opponent of bankruptcy as a way of reorganizing the ailing auto maker, has softened his view, suggesting the company could possibly emerge from a Chapter 11 filing.

This interpretation of Wagoner's comments so disappointed GM that the company posted a rebuttal on its blog called "Never Let the Facts Get in the Way of a Good Story." Tom Wilkinson, GM's Director of News Relations, takes the Journal to task for taking Wagoner's comments out of context and making more of his reference to bankruptcy than Wilkinson says Wagoner intended.

In the blog post, Wilkinson posts the entire exchange [as transcribed from a recording of the session], and here's what Wagoner said"

A lot of people who write about bankruptcy, I don’t think have ever been in bankruptcy. And what I have learned after studying it in detail is that it brings significant risk on... what I have learned is that it could work. And it might not work.

After vehemently complaining that the Journal was out to write a pre-conceived story and that Wagoner didn't mean what he was quoted saying, Wilkinson ended his post with this query:

Did The Wall Street Journal ignore what Wagoner really said so it could write the headline and story it wanted? I’ll leave it to you to decide.

OK Tom, I'll take the bait and answer your question: No. I will grant you that the Journal may have unfairly taken Wagoner's comments out of context and written a story that GM didn't want written and one that may prove to be inaccurate, but I'll also say that Wagoner should never have said what he said and essentially got what he deserved for uttering the words "bankruptcy... could work."

No one forced him to say what he said. Every media training always includes the admonition, "don't repeat a negative." Meaning, if the question is, "Could bankruptcy work for GM?" you DON'T say, "bankruptcy could work." You say something like, "that's your word, not mine. We are focused on getting GM back on solid footing, etc."

Even if the question wasn't as simple as the above example, it's the job of the spokesperson to avoid using negative words. Journalists are listening for the most controversial thing you are going to say, and they are going to lead with that. Your job as a spokesman is to make those words the LEAST controversial you can.

If you're Rick Wagoner and you're sitting at a media breakfast, it's no time to get informal and utter the word "bankruptcy" if you absolutely don't want that word to ever come out of the mouth of GM's CEO.

Another thing: I'm guessing Wagoner has had to answer some form of this question 1,000 times, and on the 1,000th time, he finally let the words "bankruptcy could work," slip from his mouth, even though he added "it might not" afterward. I'm sure he's tired and under incredible stress, but again, it's not the media's job to look the other way. It's the spokesperson's job to keep repeating their talking points 1,000 times if necessary, not 999 times.