Apologies, Non-Apologies, Contrition And Spin

Gentlemen, yet another example of how not to apologize:

After bristling at a disabled reporter whose jostled tape recorder briefly interrupted a news conference on Thursday, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg privately approached the reporter on Friday morning to deliver an oblique apology.

“The mayor spoke to Michael Harris,” said Jason Post, a spokesman for Mr. Bloomberg, referring to the reporter. “He said he was sorry that Michael was offended.”

Mr. Bloomberg’s words did not exactly satisfy Mr. Harris, who held his own news conference outside City Hall on Friday to both praise and rebuke the mayor, nor did it satisfy advocates for the disabled, who criticized Mr. Bloomberg for appearing insensitive.

In an interview, Mr. Harris said Mr. Bloomberg spoke to him for less than three minutes and told him that he apologized if Mr. Harris was offended.

“Which is not totally sincere,” Mr. Harris said. “The mayor’s apology was a conditional apology. But I believe it was sufficient to allow us both to move on.”

Moral of the story: Take great pains not to offend press corps, lest you find yourself in the middle of a multi-news cycle “story.”

Earlier: Bloomberg Refuses To Coddle The Disabled.