I'm late to this thread and I think there are a number of great points that have been made. I've sat in a ton of press conferences over the years and asked questions (mostly easy ones) in lots of them, so I'm going to give my perspective on this from that side of the microphone.
I was disappointed for Audrey's actions as well as those like Wolken, Rap, and Mandel who have fanned the flames further. I think a lot of reporters go into things with too narrow a focus instead of seeing the bigger picture. If the spokesperson comes out and gives the statement and no questions can be asked about it, I would be dismayed but if I've covered other legal proceedings in the past, I'd totally understand that a defense lawyer would seize on ANYTHING Franklin might say or do in order to help his client's case. Someone said asking about when he found out about the case and the process of dismissal. No chance he can answer that question because a lawyer will poke all kinds of holes in it. To me, reporters haven't quite grasped the whole legal concept of this. That's not to say that the questions they have are bad questions. There are a lot of questions I'd want Franklin to answer but I understand that it might be the summer or longer before he could even think of answering them. If I was one of the other writers on the beat, I'd have been mad at Audrey because Franklin could have easily just ended the media scrum (something that is done EVERY Wednesday after practice) due to one person's perceived misconduct. I've given more than one writer the side eye over the years for railroading a scrum with their own story agenda. Audrey is well within her right to do her job and ask questions and KEEP her media credential (you really think revoking it would be a good idea?) but I would have hoped some common sense would have kicked in once the spokesperson referred to the statement after Sauber first asked about it.
I will also agree that Franklin's theatrics was a terrible look and what has made all of this blow up. While a defense lawyer will look for anything to use for their case, Franklin simply standing there and giving Audrey a 'please refer to the statement' is pretty safe. I'm in agreement with
@BiochemPSU that there needs to be some clearing up just so it can temper some of the negative press but also to maybe remind the scribblers about legal processes they may have conveniently forgotten. Though, it is a couple hours from that designated Friday news dump time so perhaps it's on its way. Unfortunately, some writer - national or otherwise - will target this as the biggest distraction if PSU loses tomorrow night.
OK, enough diatribe about something that could have easily been avoided on both sides. Let's get a win tomorrow night.
