On Mayor Willie Herenton (The Job Interview)

(Photo: Mediaverse®) Updated

It was an unexpected call in the midst of Madness.

Just after Belmont lost to Duke, averting sheer bracket disaster everywhere Thursday night, Fox13 GM John Koski called to offer Mediaverse® the opportunity to be in studio when Mayor Willie Herenton sat down with anchor Mearl Purvis for his first televised interview since he confirmed his impending July 31 resignation with the Commercial Appeal. Who wouldn't say 'yes'?

(BTW: Resigning and retiring are not the same thing.)

When Mediaverse® arrived, security was tight. A guard was posted at the Highland Street entrance stopping cars from entering the parking lot. WMC's Janice Broach and a videographer were standing on the sidewalk in front of the station. (Denied access, she would later do several live shots from Downtown.) Inside News Director Ken Jobe's office, Herenton appeared to be jovial as if announcing his resignation was cathartic--a deep exhale after holding his breath for so long. Now, he looked like a man refreshed, not embattled. (Amos Maki sensed it too at City Hall.)

As for Fox13 itself, this was an exclusive. One could feel the excitement of the management, crew and reporters as they witnessed what will arguably be a defining moment of local television--even eclipsing the Commercial Appeal's original exclusive because no one saw Herenton get emotional and cry during that interview.

(Regardless of whether you felt his tears were genuine or not, making him endearingly mortal or just plain weak, the unbridled moment was riveting television.)

To be sure, though, Fox13ers acted like a station that won 10 Emmys; they acted as if such an prized interview was expected, normal, for them. If I had stayed long after the interview was over, I imagine that they would have dropped that professional face and danced and shouted in the aisles at their extreme good fortune. But I digress.

What about the interview? Here, it is: Part I and Part II.

To be sure, Purvis has a proven skill at landing coveted interviews. Purvis and Jobe put their collective contacts to use and tracked Herenton down. Which one actually sealed the deal? I didn't ask but anyone who has met Purvis knows she can be convincing. She's good.

Yet, her interviews could be considered light-hearted but that's just her subtle cunning. I mean, she's no Cameron Harper, which is to say that she's not blatantly confrontational--a tactic that plays to the stereotype of a journalist as bully, which ultimately isn't that conducive at all.

On the other hand, Purvis lulls one into a sense of comfort, like two friends just catching up. It's a style that allows an interviewee, like Herenton for instance, to veer off on tangents relatively unchecked. Herenton did that last night, pre-empting Purvis at moments though he wasn't disrespectful, and it produced some quality television. (And if you revisit that interview, Purvis could have asked harder questions but she did induce Herenton into a reflection that he might not have expected.)

Still, it felt like a job interview for Herenton as MCS Superintendent.

That seemed premature. In hindsight, a bit wrong where one perhaps wished that Purvis had channeled her inner-Harper and shook the Mayor into his senses. I'm just sayin, the city was, and still is, in a shock that feels like rejection and deception. (Listen to WDIA.)

Then again, the CA's own interview had that job-interview feel too, which is perhaps a testament to Herenton's media skills. He acknowledges the question, takes a respectful tangent to provide context like any lecturer, and then, if the reporter is not frustrated or simply lulled by the Mayor's pensiveness, he might go back to address the original question. By then, the reporter is left wondering what happened. It's mastery from a PR perspective. But I digress.

Anyway, some notable moments: 1) Herenton said he could have been the superintendent of New York City schools if Mayor Ed Koch had not lost to David Dinkins in 1989. 2) He threw former MCS Superintendent Gerry House under a bus, saying that the decline of MCS started with her inexperience in a large school system.

Good fodder for follow-up stories. And there is plenty of time to get them.

OK, here are the Mediaverse® clips from behind the scenes. (Note, I was more interested in the studio operations than the interview itself. I'm just sayin.)

Part I: That's Kevin Kane with him.



Part II:



Part III:



Part IV: The tears.



Part V: The Ken Jobe Interview



ON ANOTHER NOTE: CA: Steering the ship.
*CA: The timeline.
*CA: The updated story, note the FBI focus.
*CA: The resignation letter.
*Flyer: On Wharton.
*TSD: The bombshell.
*WMC: Comments. (More.)
*WMC: Resignation. Part 2.
*WREG: 1, 2
*Fox13: Political insiders.
*Fox13: Chumney and Morris.
*Fox13: Whalum.
*WREG: Tomeka Hart.
*EyeNews: The Resignation.
*MDN: Herenton.
*CA: High fives in Arlington. (More.)
*WMC: Ups and downs.
*CA: Renewed discussion. WREG: A Community forum.
*CA: Gaston reacts.
*Fox13: Jones. Yaucoubian. Whalum.
The Blog Roll: Smart City, Left Wing Cracker, Signifying Nothing, Alpha Patriot, Tha MATT (1)