Alan Jackson Takes Issue With Journalist

During the Wednesday news conference, when asked by journalist Tom Roland about comments from a Beverly Keel article that appeared this past Tuesday in The Tennessean, Jackson laughingly replied, "You have to watch what you say to these interview people". 

"She took that out of context," Alan said with a wink, noting that Keel didn't explain in the story what question his comment was intended to answer.

Keel responded in her Friday column, “I generally prefer, if people I interview have issues with my coverage, that they discuss them with me personally, rather than bringing it up during a news conference, where I'm surrounded by my peers and a few competitors armed with recording devices. However, I am delighted to set the record straight. After all, I don't want Alan to write a hit song about a mean, ugly woman whose name rhymes with ‘cleverly’

Keel then explained, “When I asked Alan what mistakes he had made during his career, he said that while he had some personal regrets, he couldn't think of many professional mistakes.”

Keel also published his entire original answer, with what ran in the Tuesday story in italics:

"I'm probably a little outspoken about radio and country and the whole business sometimes," he told me.

"I get a little frustrated about how, no matter over the years, from day one, no matter how many albums or tickets me or anybody that does real country music has sold or awards they've won, it seems like you are always secondary, or Nashville is always apologizing for real country music and always trying to broaden their appeal by changing the style of music. That has always bugged me.

"It's hard for me to complain about any of that because radio has played me all along.