Long arm of mayoral staff reaches Fla.

News clip deemed unfair; director is stunned to get call

BY JOE SWICKARD • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • April 11, 2008

Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's spin team is ever vigilant.

Mention Kilpatrick on a 5:30 a.m. newscast in the Ft. Myers, Fla., area, and his press secretary will be on the phone if she thinks the mayor didn't get a fair shake.

Forrest Carr, WFTX Fox 4 news director, said he was puzzled that Detroit city hall was concerned about a broadcast in "little ol' Cape Coral, Fla."

"It was just incredible, but incredible doesn't really describe it," Carr said Thursday. "We have never had an out-of-town local politician call us about a 20-second clip and voice-over in a national news roundup."

On Wednesday, Carr received a voice mail from mayoral spokeswoman Denise Tolliver.

She was calling to complain that his station's coverage early Tuesday was unbalanced because it showed a clip from a Detroit community activist group attempting to serve a symbolic eviction notice on the mayor, but had failed to mention a pro-Kilpatrick rally at the Shrine of the Black Madonna.

Carr wondered how Tolliver knew what was happening around sunup on a gulf coast TV station. At first, he thought Tolliver had called the wrong station because "why would a big-city mayor care about what's happening down here in southwest Florida?" Carr said. "I was thinking this is bizarre."

It turns out that the city had contracted with the RCP Group/Autonotification, a media monitoring service that keeps its computerized eyes on newscasts all across the country. In this case, RCP trolled for items about Kilpatrick.

Tolliver acknowledged Thursday signing up for the service, but said it was not solely about protecting the mayor. She said she also was concerned about "the overall perception of the city." The Florida clip, she said, "was a one-sided story and I called the news director."

Tolliver said she didn't know what the service costs Detroit taxpayers, "and if I did, I wouldn't tell you."

"It's a bare-bones service. ... I did it when I was in Washington," said Tolliver, who worked for the mayor's mother, U.S. Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick.

RCP sales manager Darren Rogers also declined to discuss the cost but said the fees for governments and nonprofit clients are significantly less than for corporations: "In fact, we lose money." Rogers said municipal clients "want to know what is being said about them."

News director Carr said the station aired an updated report Wednesday with the pro-Kilpatrick rally along with a six-minute story about the entire episode.

"We were happy to set the record straight," he said, "even if you don't live here."

To see the report, go to www.fox4now.com/global/story.asp?s=8146882 Contact JOE SWICKARD at 313-222-8769 or jswickard@freepress.com.