Who knew working in PR meant being a bouncer at a press event? One PR chief from Honeywell seems to think so. At a press conference in Washington, D.C., reporter Mike Elk was involuntarily held against his will after being escorted out of the room by Honeywell’s PR chief, to keep him from questioning the company’s CEO.

In a video of the press conference, Elk can be seen beginning to ask a question. He’s then cut off by Honeywell’s PR chief, who confiscated the reporter’s microphone while other members of the staff tried to physically remove him from the building. The video now has more than 50,000 views and the incident is being discussed in media outlets across the country, bringing far more negative attention to Honeywell than any company would want.

This entire incident could have been avoided if Honeywell’s CEO was prepared to address difficult questions, or had simply deferred the question until a more appropriate time. Instead, the reporter has filed a lawsuit against Honeywell and the Capitol Police are now involved in a case of wrongful imprisonment.

At TVG, we train spokespeople on how to handle the difficult questions without harming a member of the press! For information on media training, contact us at info@vandivergroup.com.