The Online Ethics Center for Engineering & Science - Department of ...

Online Ethics Center: Mobilizing SupportLeMessurier had to explain the situation to city officials, both to secure their cooperation with theevacuation plan and to comply with the building code. They responded with approval andencouragement, rather than the cynicism that LeMessurier expected. They too recognized both theseriousness of the problem and the immediate need to solve it. Energy was not wasted on rancor orplacing blame.The final task, the one that LeMessurier most dreaded, was informing the press of what was going to be amajor undertaking on the brand-new Citicorp tower. An initial press release was issued. It indicated thatthe building was being refitted in order to withstand slightly higher winds. This was true to some extent,for the meteorological data suggested that the winds for that year were going to be somewhat higher thannormal. But the New York Times, for one, was sure to express further interest in what could be a veryjuicy story. After an initial phone call from a reporter, though, LeMessurier found an unexpected reprievein a citywide press strike.Continue on to Part 7Go back to Part 5Back to LeMessurier Main Pagehttp://onlineethics.org/moral/lemessurier/6.html (2 of 2) [10/13/2004 1:44:54 PM]