Trimess

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

QUOTES

Preface before the actual post content: TriMet GM Neil McFarlane recently sent out a memo to TriMet employees regarding discussions about TriMet, both in social media such as blogs, Facebook, and Twitter, as well as conversations in public with other employees because “any comment made can become part of a news story.” Neil expressed concerns about misinformation spreading when unofficial sources release any information (e.g. a rider overhearing that service is going to be cut and then blogging about it) and then the media potentially using that as the basis for a story.
I thought it was interesting that no comment was made regarding official TriMet information being wrong, which has been known to happen. Off the top of my head, there was the time that TriMet spokeswoman Mary Fetsch told Oregonian reporter Joseph Rose that the door buttons on the outside of the train are used by passengers to open the doors for themselves when a train arrives at a platform (that’s not really how they work), and the time last year when TriMet was promoting 4th of July eventsKGW and other news outlets that the door buttons on the outside of the train are “emergency stop buttons.” that you could not actually travel to and from by taking TriMet. And someone who wasn’t a rail operator (because anyone who is rail certified would know better) told
Seriously TriMet, my kingdom for an official release, webpage, something on what those door buttons are and how they work.

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