Category Archives: Politics

September 11th Will Never Be Forgotten

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Sunday is a Fitting Day for the 10th Anniversary

I’ll never forget the occurrences of 9-11, and I know you won’t either. What an unreal day.  At 8:46 a.m. ET/5:46 a.m. PT the first plane crashed into the north tower of the World Trade Center and 17 minutes later it happened again to the south tower. And, it wasn’t over – at 9:37 a.m., Flight 77 rammed into the west wing of the Pentagon building and later at 10:03 a.m. Flight 93 crashed near Pittsburgh, PA. The horrors and nightmare of September 11, 2001.

The human race lost nearly 3,000 people with these four combined incidents. The skies turned into a war zone and New York City a triage area. America and the world was never the same.

Even though it occurred ten years ago, to me it still feels like yesterday. As I watch the TV specials and documentaries about this day, old feelings and memories are flooding my mind.

I remember how scared I felt about not being able to control what was happening to my country. I felt vulnerable because as a nation we were vulnerable. I’ve never known that in my lifetime, before or since.

ENEMY ATTACKS

I remember how the news reporters said that anyone currently in flight had reason to worry. If there were four planes hijacked, could there be more? I remember canceling my plans for the day and staying home where I thought it would be the safest. The only thing that I do on that day was fall on my knees in prayer.

The impact of the September 11 shocked the nation for days. I remember being transfixed for about four days to my TV set. You couldn’t take your eyes off of it….you yearned for stories of hope, of families being reunited and fire personnel being found.

NEVER FORGET

And now as I ready to the 10th Anniversary tomorrow, I’m in the same position. On my knees praying that the potential new terrorist threats are not true. For the life of me, why do people on this earth think mayhem by violence is the best way to get attention or control.

My heart is heavy to all those family members who lost a loved one on this day. The pain that they constantly feel is one that they carry with them the rest of their lives.

September 11, 2001 will never be forgotten and the victims will not be forgotten. They are modern-day heroes and as such, deserve honor. They died at the hands of an enemy – and – God forbid may we never experience such a catastrophe on our soil ever again.

 

 

PR TIP: TAKE A STANCE TO HAVE YOUR VOICE HEARD

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Gray is Never a Safe Area Nor A Marketing Choice

One thing you are never going to hear from a medical doctor is that you’re half-pregnant. A woman is either pregnant or not. There are no other alternatives. It’s black or white, not gray. But, this doesn’t mean you can’t be half-pregnant in regards to business and/or marketing. In fact, in my humble opinion, I feel this diagnosis of late is in epidemic proportions.

How I define half-pregnancy in marketing and business is as such: “Trying to offend anyone or anything by choosing a side, even when a side is presented.” Again, this my definition and is not official.

GO AHEAD AND TAKE A SIDE

Half-pregnancy is a common practice in politics. Politicians are always trying to walk a fine line to please all parties. They are very careful when they make “stands” on issues and subjects that they try to make sure that both political parties will agree to some or all of the parts.

It’s this ‘not wanting’ to offend that impregnates the situation. And, that tightrope places that “said” person or thing in the vast and valueless wasteland of the dreaded “gray area.” Whenever you set out to become like Switzerland (slang meaning – not making waves or taking any sides… being neutral), then you are setting yourself up to not gain attention. Its similar to this saying – ‘When a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make noise?’

Taking a stance, side and position is important in making noise. Politicians want to be remembered and not forgotten because their words lacked opinion or substance.  But in this day and age of transparency (being authentic), it’s very easy for people to find out information. If you want to hold the line that you don’t have a particular agenda, they can find out in a matter of seconds if that’s indeed true.

Hello, I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up! Does anyone hear me?- Flickr Credit: Sage

To make this point a bit clearer, let’s look at this hypothetical situation.  Jane Doe is running for State Governor and she says as a female she believes that women should have the right to choose what happens to their own bodies and that birth begins at the moment of conception. She is referring to both the pro-life and pro-choice abortion movements with her professed beliefs.  But, she has regularly attended pro-life rallies and fundraisers as a part of her Catholic parish, as such it would be easy to figure out she leans more toward that cause. Which to me is fine. I am trying to make the point here that is fine to take sides, in fact its beneficial. Be who you are and make stances. Otherwise, the noise you make maybe only heard by you and that’s not a good PR move.

LEARNING THE HARD WAY

I found this out myself.  Here’s what happened to me. When I entered college I wanted to pursue a career as as sportscaster (don’t laugh too hard). With that, I was able to finagle being the guest on a local radio sports show.  It was my first foray into media and I was nervous, yet excited about the opportunity.  Five minutes into the interview he asked me my opinion about who would win the “freeway series,” between The Los Angeles Dodgers and then the California Angels.  I said something to the effect like “both teams seemed to performed strongly in pre-season” – I was in Switzerland, I gave a valueless “gray answer” and boy I got ripped when we went to the next commercial. The local sportscaster told me if I wanted a future in the business, I needed to have an ‘opinion’ on everything and I had to boldly state it. Otherwise, I would never make it. I needed to take a stance; he was right and that thought has stuck with me ever since.

I also often use this statement that I overheard somewhere…”when throwing a dinner party, it’s best to invite guests of differing opinions. Otherwise, it would make for one boring and long dinner discussion if we all agreed on the same subjects.” I so agree. We all can learn from each other.

So I’m taking a stance against the gray area and half-pregnancy and hope that you will call me out if you see me falling into this common practice. Is this something you have experienced too? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

 

Arnold’s PR Problem

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Arnold had one heck of a PR Mess on his Hands.

It’s tough when public figures behave badly for they’re scrutinized more than your average Joe. One celebrity feeling the impact of his actions is Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. In case you missed the story, he recently admitted to his wife, Maria Shriver and his entire family, that ten years ago he fathered a love child.  A boy to one of their own household staff. This all happened under this family’s nose and the story never leaked until today.

Being a former politician, Arnold understands the importance of “spin” and “damage control.” These are two words that he needs act upon now more than ever, in addition to hiring a top-notch crisis management PR firm. I love practicing my PR trade with real-life examples, and, therefore, if Arnold became my client…here’s the advice I’d give him at this time.

FREE PR ADVICE FOR ARNOLD

(1). LAY LOW – The best thing Arnold can do is lay low and stay out of the spotlight. He needs to get his house in order first and start working on how he is going to handle announcing the name of his love child. He doesn’t need to be dining with anyone or attending out of town conferences for he is going to be followed at nauseum by the paparazzi. The paparazzi are on high alert to capture Arnold with any women and especially to snap photos with the mother of his love child. Hence, the real need is to be discreet because he is going to be followed every where he goes.

(2.) TABLOIDS – At this very moment, the tabloids are working overtime to come up with the name and photos of his love child. My advice is that Arnold needs to control the story and out him himself. He should work with a press-friendly TV reporter on a national news program and give an exclusive interview.  He needs to do anything he can to protect that kid from being humiliated by the tabloids or paparazzi if they get to him first.

(3.) FORCED VACATION – I would put the love child in a lock down situation and I would do the same for the mom. They should be vacationing somewhere where they couldn’t be found until a media strategy is in place that will announce their identities.

(4.) BE ON GUARD – Arnold needs to be vigilant regarding his actions.  He needs to take the time that is necessary to heal the wounds with his family and should not be seen conducting business at say places like casinos or on yachts.  He must keep his profile low.

(5). AVE MARIA – Maria is in a good place. The statement she issued was spot on and requires no further explanation. The world understands what she is going through and it needs to give her space for this is a private family matter.

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?

This is not the first time a celebrity or politician has fathered a love child and it won’t be the last. In time, Arnold will gain back his stature as well as his credibility and integrity if he handles this sensitive situation right. It’s a difficult time for all involved and their press strategists need to do whatever they can to help this family situation remain private.

Yes it stinks that Arnold kept this occurrence a secret from his family and from the voters. Arnold knew that if he copped to this incident before he was elected, then he would not have been elected.  And now that the cat is out the bag, I guess you can say that Californian’s feel cheated because they didn’t now the whole truth about him.

Arnold has much damage control to do not only with his immediate family of 5, and his love clan of 2, but also with the over 37 million California residents.

If any one can handle this situation, it’s Arnold. Never count that guy out.

I’ll keep my eye on this case and provide PR insights when needed. In the meantime, I’d love to hear what you would do if you were Arnold.

Cindy

PRESIDENTIAL FACEBOOK LIVE GATHERING

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Honey, Hurry and Come Watch The Computer, The President is Speaking.

At 1:45 PM PT on Wednesday, April 20, I will be home sitting in front of my computer screen watching Facebook. My three favorite passions will all be in play with this event: I’ll be watching TV, engaging with Facebook and hearing President Obama live.

This is absolutely crazy! To think that a college student started up this multi-billion dollar Facebook company and  has turned it from primarily being a social network to a content provider. I love it.

President Obama’s former Press Secretary Robert Gibbs was rumored to be in play for a position at Facebook. Hmmm. I wonder if he had any part in this webcast? My gut thinks he did.

The Wall Street Journal seems to think that President Obama is using this platform to engage with the younger voting community. And that may be true since its time to start thinking about his re-election. This live event will definitely reach a younger demographic on a platform they prefer.

The reason why I think this is a fabulous idea as a PR pro is the fact that is sends a signal that Facebook is now mainstream.  I am astonished that I still rub against folks who think Facebook is a fad. This just proves its not.

I’m sure if this live streaming event goes well, Facebook will be receiving pitches from other news makers desiring promotion on the Facebook platform. It could soon become a “bonafide” news channel! Unbelievable.

WILL FACEBOOK REPLACE TV SETS?

It’s just the start of many things to come via Facebook and I for one am anxious to see how the video will look. Will there be annoying lags? Will the audio drop?

Knowing the perfectionism that Facebook has shown us thus far, I would gander to think its going to be fine and remarkable.

Kudos to the White House press reps for suggesting it and for Mark Zuckerberg for making it happen.

Will you be tuning in as well? If so, what do you think about it?

 

 

Current TV’S Olbermann Hire is a Game-Changer

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Current TV hits a home run with Olbermann.

There’s no doubt in my mind that Current TV will become more successful with the hire of left-wing political journalist Keith Olbermann. This type of business move, bringing a large brand or entity to a smaller one, is a tried and true formula that has worked for a number of similar situations and companies.

BIG FISH IN SMALL POND WORKS

Television and cable networks have employed this philosophy numerous times to raise ratings and profiles and to gain subscribers. That’s why NBC invests in the Olympics. CBS, FOX and ESPN the NFL.  ABC and the Academy Awards.  NBC with the Golden Globes.  Exclusive events such as these always draw massive crowds (i.e., Super Bowl 45 broke ratings records as the most-watched television program of all time, averaging 111 million viewers on the Fox network..)

The above are franchises, but this also applies to people with big profiles and followings.  CBS News lured Katie Couric to its network.  TBS nabbed Conan O’Brien.  And now Keith Olbermann switches to Current TV.  These transaction occurred for the same reason – to increase subscribers and ratings. This exchange also is reminiscent of when Howard Stern jumped from traditional radio to satellite.  Sometimes this big-to-small ploy does not work.  But, in this case, it makes total sense.  It’s like putting a lemon in water. One enhances the taste of the other.  Whereas, while Olbermann was at MSNBC, his views and MSNBC’s views became more like oil and water.  The two just separate.

PREDICTIONS

Will Olbermann bring more viewers to Current TV? Yes.

Will the audience stay with him? Yes and No. It all depends on the quality of the content.

Will Olbermann have more freedom to express his views? Definitely yes.

Will Current TV provide Olbermann with a platform to express his big ideas without corporate pressure? Yes.

Olbermann will make Current TV exciting and as such, this move is a real game changer that the network desperately needed.

This was a great strategic business move by both parties.

I can hardly wait until the Spring.

Resigned to Fridays

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Last week’s resignation by MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann reminded me of a little unknown PR fact.  If one was going to trace historical events they would find out that most senior level resignations occur on Friday afternoons at 4PM. That’s right. I can’t tell you how many of my Fridays were suddenly spoiled by having a resignation to quickly handle as I was packing up for the weekend.  Why Fridays at 4?

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

THE COMPANY USUALLY WINS THE PR BATTLE

Since I was feeling like I was home free to start enjoying the weekend, corporate lawyers also feel that most media types are feeling the same and might not notice the news.  In fact, even though, a mutual press release was ready to put on a wire – I was always instructed not to send it out unless a reporter called to confirm the story.  For you see,  company’s always want to down-play resignations, while the resigned wants the largest play possible in the media. (The resigned wants other employers to see that he is now ready to be hired.)  As you can see it’s a Catch-22 sort of thing.  And who often wins when its the company vs. an employee? That’s right. The company.

Here’s how a typical resignation scenario plays out….

  • Thursday night…Company lawyers and Senior Executive meet to discuss terms of the resignation.
  • Friday morning – Company lawyers inform the head of corporate communications to draft a release with the pertinent information
  • Friday Noon – All parties look over a draft of the release; revise and edit.
  • Friday at 4 – The executive resigning leaves the premises.
  • Friday at 5 PM – A company wide email is sent to all employees.

From that moment on, the head of corporate communications keeps a phone and email vigil waiting for the news to break.  Either a company employee will forward the company wide-email or the person resigning leaks the news to the press.

FRIDAYS AREN’T ALWAYS WHAT THEY ARE CRACKED UP TO BE

Once the media contacts the company, the approved press release is distributed with the caveat that there will be no further comments made by either side.  However, sometimes, when the PR folks are playing nice, they will forward requests to the outgoing staff member.

Think this Friday thing is a bit nuts? Well, if you look back to one of our country’s most famous resignations – that of Former President Richard Nixon – he resigned on August 9, 1974 - a FRIDAY!

A Resignation of Few Words - Richard Nixon's

Need I say more? What days do most catastrophes happen? Mondays!

Be good to yourself.

Cindy

A Tough PR Act to Follow – Robert Gibbs

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Robert Gibbs Was A Model Spokesman

“This doesn’t stop,” White House Press Spokesman Robert Gibbs said. “This is a tough place to work.”

And that my friends, pretty much sums up why Gibbs resigned today.  Being a PR spokesperson on the front lines is very, very, very taxing and I am not surprised by his announcement and applaud Gibbs for knowing that he’s had enough.  I mean who won’t want a break from having to stay “on alert” every minute of the day, 365 days a year.  Whoever is in this post does not have a personal life for their job NEVER stops.  The only time it will stop is when the world does! And no one knows that date or hour.

PR IS ALWAYS ON CALL

As a PR pro, this is a job that I personally would never want.  Although, there are several things about the post that I would love to do, it’s the daily endless grind that would ultimately get the best of me. I can handle the pressure of being the spokesperson for companies for you can still have a life in addition to your job.  All of us in PR and in crisis communication, pretty much know that we are always on call.  At anytime we could get an unexpected message that will transcend our next hours and/or days and we will have to be prepared to act with carefully constructed comments.  We saw examples of this last year.  The press offices at BP and Toyota never expected that they would have such crises consume their lives in 2010.  These things just come out of nowhere.

But, with Gibbs, he had reporters pepper him at nauseum every day and over every imaginable topic.  Talk about being constantly on your toes.  It does get tiring.

ON YOUR TOES

Tony Snow was a great spokesman for the Country.

Even though I have spent years practicing this trade, I know that I must stay sharp and keep learning. One educating method I use is to observe the White House Press Secretaries for they are the best at what they do.  And you can tell a lot about them and the management of the White House by their actions and words.

I have this saying that my friends often hear: “The fish stinks from the head down.“  What that saying means is that if the person in charge runs a company with good ethics, flexibility and with open communication -the rest of the company will work that way.  If the boss is tight-lipped, dictatorial and/or very private, the company tone will be more closed as an operation.  With Gibbs, I liked him from the start. He always tried to keep an even jovial tone and one that was not combative or heavy handed, only when necessary.  That’s how I like dealing with the press too. I have deep respect for them and understand their function.  Heck, I recognize that the main reason I have my job is because there is a press corp. I also liked Tony Snow in this post too.  He had a friendly relationship with the press as well.

The White House Press Secretary is a tough job as Gibbs stated in USA Today.  He’s been advising Obama’s press comments since 2002, so he’s hung in there awhile.  He’s due for a time to re-tool.

JOB REQUIREMENTS

Do you think this is a job perfectly suited for you? It takes a special breed of person to tackle this challenge.  Here’s just a short list of requirements – how many do you possess?

  • Patience
  • A thirst for world knowledge
  • Understanding of all business facets and culture
  • Press relationships
  • Fast thinker on your feet
  • Expert speaker
  • Accomplished writer
  • Voracious reader
  • Leadership abilities
  • Multi-tasker
  • Ability to pronounce foreign locations and leaders
  • Not prone to anger
  • Politically correct with word choices
  • Possess the ability to apologize
  • Thick skinned
  • Require little or no sleep
  • Speech writing
  • Strategic planner
  • Research minded
  • Great memory/ability to memorize
  • Possess a poker face
  • Love to shoot the breeze

It is a tough job. PR is not for the faint of heart.

Best wishes Robert. May you enjoy a day soon when you don’t have to read every article, comment and tweet about the USA and be responsible for defending the President. You deserve a break today. And thanks for being a good PR role-model. Much success to you and your successor.

Cindy

Stereotypes & Labels Lead to PR Messes

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A Search About Stereotypes

Social media is the wild frontier, however, being involved in it doesn’t mean that the rules of libel and slander do not apply.  They do and my biggest fear lies with Mr. Joe Public for he is not a trained journalist. As such he is unaware that he can be sued for things he says about others on his Facebook page. This point leads me to today’s PR Tip – Be careful what you post about others.

Here’s today’s takeaway - Libel is injury to reputation. So that funny post or comment about how so and so is fat, ugly, looks like a dork or is affiliated with some type of political party can get you in trouble if not today then tomorrow.

What led me to write this post is that I’m seeing more labels and stereotypical messaging than ever before which leads me to think it is becoming a trend.  In fact, I fell prey to it.  Last week, a Facebook friend was stating his opinion about Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan on his wall.  I made a positive comment about her and then I was received a comment from someone I didn’t know at all who labeled me as a feminist liberal who’s probably never been married.  I did not like how this person labeled me – he didn’t know me, but already he came up with these assumptions.  Yes, I am single, but I am not bitter and I am not a feminist.  I believe in equal pay for equal work and I would love to be married someday.  Labeling is just too easy and most forget that they can get in trouble for it.

Besides calling people “names,” stereotyping someone without presenting facts can also get you in trouble.  Well, to go one step further…any assumptions can get you into trouble.  I remember being involved in an Ad campaign once where images of homely, odd ball, overweight and old people were photographed (all in jest of course) to represent the viewers not watching the network.  I tell you the day after these Ads appeared they came down from public outrage.  So be very careful what general comments you make about someone.

Another recent example of this is the photo (and I’m not going to show it) of Jesse James wearing a Nazi hat.  Allegedly, he was at a party and someone took that photo, again all in jest.  But, this so-called friend posted it somewhere and now it lives on the Internet forever and Mr. James has to defend that he is not a racist probably forever.

In summary, watch your words, especially in the heat of battle.  Be sure to take a couple of breaths before you post a comment after one that you find so imbecilic.  Make sure your comments do not injury anyone’s reputation, especially your own. For you never know if one day you might run for a government office and all those slanderous things you said in jest may appear front and center again and not in good way.

Always Looking Out for Your Reputation,

Cindy

A Secret PR Tip

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Are secrets ever harmless?

I’ll going to let you in on a little secret. Secrets are a dangerous tool in your public relations tool chest any way that you look at them. When your client is keeping a secret from you – that’s deadly and when you use them in your strategy – that’s never a good thing. So my advice to all you budding publicists and those more advanced is to never go that route ever if you have the choice. For secrets, always have a way of rearing their ugly head.

And there are several examples to point toward regarding this “bad” practice. The primary example….Former President Richard M. Nixon. Did he or his cabinet ever think that they would be implicated in the Watergate break-in? And for more modern examples…how about Tiger Woods and Jesse James. Do you think that their “playing” the field with other women besides their wives would ever get them into trouble? Tiger even had a team surrounding him to keep things quiet – or for that matter secret.

This secret caused an impeachment. Heck, even the secret of "Deep Throat" was exposed.

Or corporately….Toyota. Did they think that they could forever sit on not warning some of their customers about the acceleration problem?

And on more personal grounds, how many people do you know that have had a secret in their family and it get uncovered. These secrets may have been not exposed during that person’s lifetime…but sooner or later they eventually did-a secret love child, a secret way of life, etc.

Here’s my best advice regarding secrets in communication matters.

  • 1) When something is exposed, whether its true or not about your client – ask your client point blank if there is anything that they should tell you about the situation. Get all the truth you can out of the person in the strictest confidence.
  • 2) After that, talk to the lawyers involved on your side and ask them if there is a secret that you need to know about…get all the facts you can.
  • 3) If there is a secret and you know it – work to position your client in the best way in the comments that you will craft surrounding the situation. But, you will have to start to expose the truth.
  • 4) When exposing the truth, make sure that you address only facts and keep it short. Say the least that you can. Have you noticed how short all of Tiger Woods’ press conferences are?
  • 5) And be sure to get in front of the story.
  • 6) And always work in conjunction with the lawyers on the case.

The Los Angeles Dodgers Owners Frank and Jamie McCourt are telling all their secrets in an ugly divorce.

Did you think that the McCourt’s (LA Dodgers owners) dirty laundry would ever be exposed? Well it is, thanks to an ugly divorce. Did Mark McGwire ever think that he had to expose that he used steroids? He came clean last January.  And now even criminals don’t stand a chance due to the incredible DNA process which identifies them more quickly than before.  So you see — Secrets are never a safe practice.

The saying the truth will set you free is always true. Work toward truth in all that you do, for lies and secrets, will eventually be uncovered. And they are no fun when it happens on your watch.

I’d love to hear your thoughts regarding secrets in the PR practice. Whisper them here in your comments.

Best,

Cindy


A New PR Title-An Apologist

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WANTED: PR PROFESSIONALS WHO CAN CRAFT EXCEPTIONAL APOLOGIES FOR MASS CONSUMPTION

CLIENTS: WORLD CLASS GOLFER, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE, GLOBAL CAR MANUFACTURER, TOP CELEBRITY, AFFORDABLE AIRLINE AND OLYMPIC COMMITTEE

Man, every time we turn around – it seems like some public company or public figure is apologizing.   If you are skilled in crafting apologies that can be read well, but don’t have much meaning then you’ve got yourself a highly sought after career.  Just look who’s needed an “apologist” of late.

Tiger Woods, Toyota (they need several actually), John Edwards, Southwest Airlines, The International Olympic Committee (after the death of the luger) and Charlie Sheen.

Apologies are all the rage.

Sorry seems to the a hard word to convey through a public apology

When writing apologies, I think one must keep in mind that no matter what when it is recited in public, the apologetic person will never win over everyone.  I think we need to keep in mind that no matter how well it is written; nor how true the information – the said apology will be scrutinized by a critical public.

The reason for this post is that many people I talked to today felt Tiger just read a few words and was once again fell in line with his skills as a professional spokesperson. He is experienced in dealing with the media.

In case you haven’t seen it…here it is.

He does appear to be going through something and is showing signs that he’s understanding how much hurt he caused his family.  And he did admit that he was a cheater.  I do hope that he gets to the bottom of what is missing in his soul and is able to changes through treatment.  It’s not fun seeing people in pain.

But, apologies are tricky things to write.  And if you are charged with writing one – here’s my tip for the day – try and stay as true and authentic as possible that is as much as the lawyers allow you to do.  Words from the heart and spoken without the perception of a teleprompter being present nor read from a script goes so much further to conveying remorse.

Just think about the apologies you had to personally give and/or receive. They meant more when the person looked you in the eye and said they were sorry. That’s how you should write them for the public too.

I apologize I’ve gone on too long in this post and would love to hear your thoughts on Woods’ apology and other such matters.  Gotta run because live curling in on. Woot!

Cindy

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