Johnson staffers lied on reporter access

By Kevin Woster, Journal staff | Sunday, August 26, 2007

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It’s easy to get into a lie, but tougher to get out.

Sen. Tim Johnson’s staff showed that last week, when they finally fessed up to a fib they had perpetrated for months.

In an e-mail sent to South Dakota reporters on Thursday, Communications Director Julianne Fisher announced the lie without acknowledging it. She said, simply, that ABC News and reporter Bob Woodruff had been working with the senator for months on a “Nightline” special about his recovery that would air this Tuesday.

And all across South Dakota, reporters said: Say what?

OK, that’s not exactly what some of us said. But it’ll have to do here.

Nothing against Woodruff. He’s a fine reporter who suffered a horrible brain injury while covering the war in Iraq. His recovery has been something near miraculous.

He’s the perfect guy to write about Johnson’s own hopeful recovery from a brain hemorrhage last December. And it’s fitting that the ABC crew will be there Tuesday in Sioux Falls when Johnson comes home for the first time after his near-death health crisis.

It’s a well-deserved celebration. Like other South Dakotans, I’m happy the senator is doing so well.

There’s just one thing: That pesky lie.

See, Johnson wasn’t doing any interviews during the months Woodruff was interviewing him in secret. At least, that’s what his staff told me and other reporters.

And trust me, we asked, often. We thought it was important to know and tell South Dakotans how one of our three votes in Congress was doing in his recovery and when he might be back at work. We even hoped to ask him a few select news questions from time to time, as his energy and stamina allowed.

You know, about things like the Farm Bill, and country of origin labeling, and the underground science laboratory at Homestake. These are issues in which Johnson has had unique experience and even a leadership role. His perspective matters, especially to the people who elected him and may see his name on a ballot again.

So we were kind of pushy, as reporters tend to be. And we were told - sometimes pointedly - that Johnson had all he could handle with his exhaustive recovery. We were encouraged - sometimes pointedly - to be patient and give him a chance to recover before being pestered in person by snoops like us.

We were also told, more than once, that nobody was getting interviews. There was no access for reporters. Period.

We asked, and asked again. And we were assured by people we believed we could trust that we would be informed when the interview door was open.

Meanwhile, Woodruff was strolling in and out of that door all the time, getting intimate and regular contacts, all while Johnson staffers continued the lie.

Apparently, Tim and Barb Johnson made the difficult decision to allow that access for Woodruff because they thought the story could help others with serious brain injuries. No doubt, it could. I hope it does.

And if Johnson staffers had leveled with reporters, most of us would have grumbled and groused, as reporters love to do, but ultimately respected their honesty.

We’re doing plenty of grumbling and grousing these days. And the respect? Not so much.

If they care enough to try, the Johnson staff will have some work to do in recovering that respect, just as their boss continues on his own road to physical recovery.

Both could take quite a while.

Contact Kevin Woster at 394-8413 or kevin.woster@rapidcityjournal.com