A negative news story about you or your company obviously is something to avoid. So, creating one about yourself is practically unheard of and head-scratching to most of us. Yet that’s exactly what one of Houston’s top government officials did after being denied access to a concert’s premier seats.
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo was blocked from taking one of the best seats at a Rodeo Houston concert because she didn’t have the proper ticket. Hidalgo could have accepted that decision and walked away. Instead, she argued with rodeo officials, claimed some of them pushed her, and then posted an audio recording of the incident on social media. Listen to a portion of that recording below.
By releasing the audio recording, Hidalgo, who is known for emotional public outbursts, turned a private flap into a public spectacle. And she did so without any witness or video evidence that she was pushed or grabbed. So, it was not surprising that the media coverage, as you’ll see in the video below, placed Hidalgo squarely in a negative light.
Other television stations and media outlets had similar critical takes on Hidalgo’s behavior. The damage to her public persona was self-inflicted. In the end, she practically conceded that rodeo officials had not manhandled her after all.
The lesson here is don’t turn a mole hill into a mountain of controversy that could ultimately reflect negatively on you. Have the foresight to downplay a disagreement that could blow up in your face in the public square. Do what Hidalgo refused to do and simply walk away.