Risky PR

“I’ve never seen someone help himself by explaining himself”
- Defamation Attorney Barry Langberg

Two headline stories are creating buzz - and some dire predictions — in the crisis PR field. Last week Baseball player Roger Clemens went on a public relations offensive related to accusations of illegal steroid use, and the San Francisco Zoo went on the offensive related to the mauling death of a young man by an escaped Tiger.

The PR management critique in the Clemens case is that his team was slow to respond to the crisis, and put Clemens in the public eye in an uncontrolled fashion (i.e. appearing on 60 Minutes). The zoo also failed to mount an effective message strategy in the first few weeks of the crisis, and have now landed on a risky blame-the-victim message.

In the case of Clemens, the PR strategy is being widely criticized by industry leaders. First, Clemens waited 24 days before going on the offensive and filing a defamation suit, which caused some to view the lawsuit as more spin than substance. Second, Clemens agreed to an interview on 60 minutes, which resulted in regrettable statements. Third, Clemens held a news conference where he appeared angry and combative.

Defamation lawyer Barry Lanberg criticized the 60 Minutes strategy, commenting that in crisis PR “you shield the person from direct confrontation”.

Crisis PR expert Gene Grabowski said, “I don’t know that we would be advising him to do 60 minutes. That is a very powerful venue, but its high risk. Things can go wrong”.

Crisis management consultant Marina Ein advised, “People who are under the microscope tend to not do themselves favors when they go on the offensive. They’re much better off being brief and allowing others to speak on their behalf.”

Crisis specialist Matt Traub is also critical of the overall effort at crisis management for Clemens, saying, “Unless there’s some evidence clearing him, he’ll be remembered for his transgressions first and his achievements second”.

Anti-zoo extremists

In the midst of a PR campaign by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, a tiger escaped from the San Francisco zoo and mauled a young man to death. The tiger also injured two other zoo guests. About an hour after the Christmas-day incident, the Association’s PR consultant Steve Feldman got briefed on the incident and went to work on a strategy. Within 24 hours the President of the Association had issued a statement and posted information about standards on the website. By New Years a local firm headed by Sam Singer had also been hired to manage a crisis spiraling out of control.

Feldman’s strategy is to take aim at “anti-zoo extremists” who he believes are trying to use the tiger attack as an excuse to attack the zoo industry. Feldman falls back on safety statistics to make his claim. Singer blames the victim. He is working furiously to assert that the tiger was motivated to scale the zoo walls by the victims, who allegedly had teased the tiger with slingshots.

I am dubious that blaming the victim - even if he used a slingshot - will be successful. Common sense tells us that the zoo cages ought to be impossible for animals to overcome, especially dangerous animals like tigers. Anyone who has taken a child to a zoo expects that the cages will be reliable, even if teasing occurs.

Secondly, the zoo industry may be fully entrenched in battles with “anti-zoo extremists”, but the general public is not. I don’t think blaming zoo critics in the aftermath of a mauling will be successful. In fact the story continues to gain steam locally, with some critics calling for the resignation of the Zoo Director, a new audit underway by the city’s Controller, and a demand by city commissioners for a safety report.

Even so, I give Feldman credit for a well-crafted statement in response to the incident. The statement hits the classic elements of a crisis response: a) acknowledge the human element and grief; b) indicate proactive steps, such as submitting a thorough report; c) put the situation in context:

“The entire zoo and aquarium community joins me in expressing sympathy to the family of the guest that lost his life and our deepest hope that the two injured guests will recover.
The San Francisco Zoo is a great zoo, it’s an accredited AZA member in good standing, and it has our support during this difficult time.
AZA mandatory accreditation standards require that the San Francisco Zoo provide a thorough report to its independent Accreditation Commission, which will review it and determine any actions that need to be taken. We will not speculate on what action might be taken until the facts are fully reviewed.
AZA-accredited zoos are safe. Until this incident, there had not been a visitor fatality resulting from an animal escape at an AZA-accredited zoo. AZA mandatory accreditation standards require safety and emergency protocols that go beyond federal, state or local requirements. Regular safety training and annual emergency drills are required by these mandatory accreditation standards.”

Being Fast

“It’s not the big that eat the small…it’s the fast that eat the slow”
- author Jason Jennings

A recent survey by Brodeur and Marketwire confirms that bloggers and social networking sites are speeding up the pace of news reporting. That’s old news for people working with reporters, who are often called upon to deliver complex information and messages in record speed.

A long-time friend of mine wrote a book about this trend several years ago titled “It’s Not the Big that eat the Small…it’s the Fast that eat the Slow”. Jason Jennings published this in 2001, well ahead of the trends we are now seeing come to light. (he’s published another book since, “Think Big Act Small”, and is on the verge of a third book publication in 2008 ).

The reason I like Jason’s book is the same reason that his personal advice over the years has always been impeccable. He goes beyond pointing out the obvious (you’ve got to move fast), he tells you how to move fast - strategically — in what seems like an impossible business environment. For non-profits of all sizes, tracking the news can be so overwhelming that no time is left to become a part of the news. All this means that hiring people who can truly act strategically will be the best strategy for keeping pace.

Blogging is a great way to participate in the news cycle, but only if its done strategically. The Brodeur report finds that journalists claim to be using blogs for ethnographic research, not investigative research. If this is accurate, using your organizational blog to create context could be a smart strategy to shape an ongoing story.

Blogging is an increasingly important way to communicate with journalists. It’s also an increasingly important strategy for communicating with your target audience. If you’re engaging teens - especially teen girls — you’ve got to get into the blogging world. According to Pew, 35% of all teen girls and 20% of all teen boys blog. Girls are fueling the rapid growth among teen blogs. In fact, younger teen girls (ages 12-14) are even outpacing older teen boys (age 15-17) in their blogging activity.

Britney’s Privacy

“There’s a difference between being detained involuntarily for psychological treatment and being forced to endure Dr. Phil involuntarily”.
- Dr Jeffrey Sugar as quoted in today’s AP story

I write about Britney Spears with great reluctance. For the record, there is almost nothing about the 24/7 coverage of her life that merits that kind of mainstream news scrutiny she has received over the past year.

But…the apparent invasion of Ms. Spears’ medical privacy by Dr. Phil McGraw (”Dr. Phil”) raises important public issues, particularly in the midst of a national debate about health care reform.

Here is my understanding of the medical privacy issues. Ms. Spears was hospitalized, Dr. McGraw was invited to her hospital room by family members but not by Ms. Spears, and subsequently Dr. McGraw spoke publicly about her medical condition.

Essentially, celebrity media swept into Ms. Spears hospital room and reported on her condition. Despite whatever voyeuristic tendencies the public has about her medical condition, the public distaste at the blatant disregard for medical privacy combined with what appeared to be exploitation of a medical crisis created a swift backlash for Dr. McGraw.

The public has always cared a great deal about privacy. Polls consistently show that medical privacy concerns remain strong, and consumer privacy is not far behind. Even when the public softens on privacy in the wake of other security concerns like global terrorism, they are still firmly attached to the concept of medical privacy.

As the Presidential candidate debates about healthcare reform continue, the issue of medical privacy is certain to be amplified. Some of the candidates have already proposed the use of electronic medical records, a move that is certain to expand potential for privacy breaches. Consumers are already demanding better use of text messaging, email communication, and online scheduling as a part of their interaction with health care providers.

It’s estimated that about a quarter of a million people each year are victims of medical identity theft. George Clooney made headlines in 2007 when hospital workers peeked at his file. This week a new California law took effect that requires residents to be informed of medical privacy breaches - joining only a few other states with similar requirements.

Ms. Spears seems to be the star of her own reality show, whether by force or design. Whatever loose set of standards we all tolerate related to celebrity media, the images of her inside an ambulance and the public reports by unwelcome hospital visitor Dr. McGraw raised this debacle to a new level of distaste. The public forgives many celebrity digressions, but the invasion of medical privacy is a firmly held value that Dr. McGraw met head on this week.

2007 HIV News Coverage

“Shame on you. Stop talking like that.”
- Veronique Robert in a Dubai courtroom admonishing the defense lawyer who was accusing her son, who had been raped, of behaving provocatively. Robert accused Dubai officials of covering up the HIV status of the rapists.

Early this year the CDC is expected to release revised estimates on the number of new HIV cases occurring in the United States. Advocacy groups predict that the news will be grim - some estimate increased numbers as great as 35% more than has been reported by the government.

A Soaring Speech

I study speeches, and there is no better season to learn about effective speechmaking than during elections. If you’re tasked with writing - or giving - remarks, it’s worth studying the trade.

I first heard the Presidential candidates speak live at the Planned Parenthood conference last July. I walked away thinking that Obama was the only candidate delivering a movement message.

I had the same reaction last night. Obama’s victory speech was called “soaring” by Washington Post’s Bob Woodward. It’s worth watching - you can find it today on CNN.com. His theme was “hope”:

“[Hope] is the belief that our destiny will not be written for us but by us. By all those men and women who are not content to settle for the world as it is, who have the courage to remake the world as it should be.”

Obama delivered a 13 minute fiery speech, Huckabee chose to give 3 minute remarks focused on thanking Iowans. Huckabee talked about his victory; Obama talked about our vision. Huckabee referenced himself thirteen times in the first three minutes. Obama never once referenced himself in the first three minutes of his remarks; instead he said “they” or “you” or “we” a total of 18 times. In those three minutes of speechmaking I was left with the impression that Huckabee supporters had delivered their candidate a victory, and that Obama supporters had become part of a great social change movement.

In December famous writer Ted Sorenson (former JFK speechwriter) campaigned for Obama in South Carolina. Sorenson compared the oratory styles of Clinton and Obama, noting that Obama showcased his principles and values, compared to Clinton who focused on her programs and plans. Chris Matthews - who was a Presidential speechwriter under President Jimmy Carter, advised Obama in October to deliver a message of change and deliverance and to denounce the status quo. Obama just gave that speech in Iowa, albeit with a more elegant and sweeping text than the one suggested by Matthews.

The Best Advice I Can Give You

Sometimes managing your boss is tough work.

This week Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee abruptly dismissed the advice of his new strategist, Ed Rollins, when he pulled a negative ad campaign off the air. The press conference announcing the pulled ads generated incredulous gasps and laughter from reporters, and was dubbed a “campaign meltdown” by journalist Marc Cooper and other pundits.

The debacle began few weeks ago when Huckabee hired veteran politico Ed Rollins to advise his campaign. Mitt Romney has been running negative ads about Mike Huckabee, so predictably, Rollins advised that Huckabee run negative ads about Romney. Huckabee agreed, bought the ad time, distributed the ad, and called a press conference. A few hours before the press conference, however, Huckabee changed his mind and cancelled the ad campaign. Huckabee used the scheduled press conference to denounce negative campaigning and then played the ad for more than 150 reporters, guaranteeing that the public would still view the ads.

Huckabee’s criticism of negative advertising at his press event appeared disingenuous given that he had just recruited one of the toughest advocates for negative campaigning. Back in 1993 Rollins reportedly told a few dozen reporters that he had “paid off ministers in New Jersey to hold down the black vote” (NY Times Nov 14, 1993). Later Rollins denied that the pay-outs had actually happened. Rollins’ approach in the 2006 New York Senatorial campaign was described as “scorched-earth-tactics”, where he reportedly called into question a candidates wartime medals, Catholic views, and even the “legitimacy of his children”. Commenting on negative advertising in the 2004 Presidential campaign, Rollins said on MSNBC’s Hardball, “At the end of the day, this is not an intellectual debate, this is an emotional debate. And fear is a very important factor to a lot of Americans today.”

Huckabee’s comments about negative advertising were in stark contrast to Rollins wholehearted embrace of that strategy: “We often talk about changing the tone of politics and the direction of the way we elect our officials. And …sometimes we talk about it and then we end up doing the same things. And at some point we have to decide, can we change the kind of politics and the level of discourse. I’d like to believe we can, but its got to start somewhere, so it might as well start here and it might as well start with me. If you gain the whole world and lose your own soul, what does it profit you?”

Huckabee changed his mind about the ads just a few hours before a scheduled press conference. Huckabee and Rollins decided the press conference had to proceed, given the late notice, and told staff minutes before the press arrived about the switched strategies. It was a disorganized press event riddled with technical difficulties and a fuzzy message about why the candidate was both disavowing an ad and then playing it for national reporters.

The Huckabee campaign’s internal disarray is reminiscent of Howard Dean’s ride to the primaries four years ago. Joe Trippi provided some insight into the challenges of managing a boss in his book “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”. In the book Trippi details painful internal disagreements about Dean’s insistence that his Gubernatorial papers be kept secret - by his own account, Trippi advised Dean to end the debacle by allowing public access to the files, but Dean refused. Trippi talks openly about his relationship with Dean in interviews, “I respect him a lot more than I liked him. I think he respected me a lot more than he liked me”.

Trippi and Rollins take very different approaches to politics. But one management approach they share seems to be that they are straightforward with their advice, even when it flies in the face of what their boss desires to hear. That approach has not made every campaign a successful experience. In fact, Trippi left the Dean campaign in an internal shakeup amidst accusations that his management skills were lagging. But both strategists have enjoyed long and distinguished careers. Ed Rollins reflected on this week’s Huckabee debacle in the Washington Post: “I reserve the opportunity to go back to my candidate every day and say, ‘I’ve been in this business a long time. I’ve been around the track. This is the best advice I can give you.’”

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