NIOA Member Shares Cautionary Tale

Aug 10, 2015 | Lessons Learned, Member Activities

NIOA member Dani Moschella, Broward Sheriff’s Office, Ft. Lauderdale, recently shared this word of caution to other public information officers and their leadership team. When scheduling interviews, always know the intent of the interview and use your time and your agency name wisely.

Here’s her story:

We had a request from a producer at In View hosted by Larry King who asked to talk to Sheriff Israel for a 20-30 minute off-the-record chat as they prepare a show on diversity in America.

She said they were in their preliminary phase and want[ed] to speak to the sheriff to see if he would be a suitable contributor for the program. Of course, she would talk to him specifically about diversity in law enforcement.

…the sheriff spoke to her at length on that topic, and then when he went to hang up, she read him a lengthy, prepared statement explaining that if he paid $25,000, they would book him on the show. You can’t tell from the website, but it’s basically an infomercial. Huge waste of time. The woman’s name is Randi Gardner [Randi@inviewseries.com, 561-279-3550 ext. 119]

Editor Note: Some programming references on the In View web site include the reference “paid educational programming.”

This information was shared for the benefit and resource of NIOA members and other interested parties. It is an experience shared by a member of NIOA and may not reflect the position or policies of the Board of Directors or the opinions of the general membership.