Views on Reputation/LawFirmsPR.com

"We're So Sorry If We Caused You Any Pain": Kanye, Joe Wlson and Serena

Even Uncle Albert would have been amazed at how many public apologies were necessary the past few weeks. 

It's good to make a public apology when you are a celebrity or politician. This is particularly true when you yank a microphone out of another performer's hand at the MTV Awards, berate a line judge at the U.S. Open or even call the President of the United States a liar during a Joint Session of Congress.

But if the apology is half-baked or insincere, why bother? And why bother making a public apology one day if the next day you visit another media outlet and try to justify the classless behavior that all but wipes out the initial goodwill gesture?

If a celebrity or anyone else concerned with their professional reputation makes a mistake, of course it's critical to make an immediate, heartfelt apology. But the key to restoring reputation is to be consistent in all subsequent apologies, unlike some of what we've seen lately.

And the words must be backed up by a series of sincere and consistent actions that show humility and goodwill. That's more important than ever in the instant news cycles driven by the Twitters and Facebooks of the world. 

Most of us judge mistakes in the context of past behavior and how much the offense offends us. For example, Serena Williams has enjoyed a pretty solid reputation for many years on the tennis circuit. But her outburst literally in the face of the much smaller line judge  --who probably makes in a year what Serena makes in a minute --could have a long term impact on the Serena brand because the video makes her look like a bully and the judge looked scared for her safety.

Despite a rebuke by Congress, Joe Wilson is getting a pass in some circles because his comments allowed Republicans and their supporters to score political points against the Obama Administration on the most important issue of the day: healthcare.  Wilson may be popular now but I believe he can never run for higher office as long as their is video of him saying, "You Lie."  Just look at what happened to Howard Dean whose Presidential campaign ended abruptly in 2004 when video showed him in a wild scream of joy in Iowa. He didn't offend anyone in particular except that he didn't look Presidential: game over.

Kanye West seems to have a track record of offending others in the music business. But fiery talk has long been part of rap music's culture, so it will be interesting to see if he can bounce back from his insult of Taylor Swift. It was reported tonight that he apologized to Ms. Swift in a phone call and that she accepted. That's a start. 

Sorry isn't always the hardest word but the actions that follow the apology sometimes are. 

In short, you need to do BOTH to protect or rebuild your professional reputation, whether you are a celebrity or anyone who holds a leadership position today.

"Following Orders" Not Sufficient Defense for Authors of 'Torture' Memos

The United States this week correctly extradited John Demjanjuk to Germany for his alleged involvement in the mass murder of Jews during the Holocaust. Many war criminals over the years have said they were only "following orders" of Hitler and other Nazi leaders and should not be prosecuted. 

Today, there's talk of not prosecuting the two Department of Justice attorneys who reportedly also claim they were "just following orders" from the Bush Administration.  It doesn't matter that the Demjanjuk case involved mass murder and that the DOJ case involved waterboarding and possibly other forms of torture. In short, people need to be held accountable for their actions. The two DOJ attorneys had the freedom of choice so cherished in our democracy: to follow orders that were morally and legally wrong or refuse those orders and resign their positions. 

Sadly, like their Attorney General and others in the former Administration, they chose to follow an angry mob instead of standing up for the rule of law and for international human rights.

(If I shoot someone to death and later claim that I was "following orders" of another person, does that mean I should not be prosecuted to the full extent of the law?)

America simply can't hold the moral high ground in the world on human rights if the authors of the "torture" memos go unpunished. And our voices of reason and compassion will no longer carry weight when we protest genocide and other obvious human rights violations around the world if we do not seek justice on the "torture" memos case.

Obama Administration Doing Better Job of Communicating on Economy

It occurred to me last night while watching Ben Bernanke's interview on 60 Minutes that the Chairman of the Federal Reserve is a much better communicator than I thought. He spoke honestly about decisions that were made --and it was particularly refreshing to hear a government official be candid about how our economy got into a recession and how the Administration, working with Congress, can get us out. (And it was very cool to see those robots move millions of dollars inside the Treasury Department). 

That was followed by today's announcement by President Obama to boost small business lending, which was an excellent example of how to stage a public relations event to connect with mutliple audiences. 

Treasury Timothy Geithner opened the event and was followed by the owner of a regional bank and a small business owner trying to expand his restaurants.  In the audience, were small business owners while, at the podium, the President then  railed at AIG for giving out bonuses with taxpayer dollars to employees who are partially responsible for creating the economic mess. He then outlined his plans to unlock SBA loans. 

In a little more than 24 hours, starting with yesterday's Sunday morning news programs, the Administration has managed to communicate quite effectively across multiple critical audiences about the economic crisis: from Wall Street to small businesses to the consumers on Main Street. 

In doing so, it has for now taken back control of the news cycle and should quiet Republican naysayers who doubt the President's ability to move so rapidly on many fronts to stop the credit freeze, mass layoffs and foreclosures. 

Tim Russert: Great Journalist and American -- and Skilled Spokesperson, Too

When fellow journalists and others pay tribute to Tim Russert, they might also remember him as a skilled spokesperson and counselor to former New York Governor Mario M. Cuomo.

You see, the Tim Russert who America came to know and love since he joined Meet the Press in 1991,  learned some of his journalistic skills and instincts as a young press secretary and adviser in the Cuomo Administration in 1983 and 1984. Back then, he was "Timothy J. Russert" and was the contact person for the media whenever Governor Cuomo issued yet another eloquent statement to the press.

Russert had to face off regularly against smart, tough reporters down the hall like Fred Dicker of The Albany Times Union and later with the New York Post; Alison Mitchell of Newsday; Michael Oreskes and E.J. Dionne of The New York Times, Marc Humbert of the Associated Press, and Marcia Kramer of The Daily News.

I remember observing these journalists -- and learning from them -- as a student reporter for The Legislative Gazette in 1983 while roaming the State Capitol and the Legislative Correspondents Association press room in Albany. But at the same time, I also learned about communicating with the media by reading press releases issued by "Timothy J. Russert" and watching him navigate the media and politics with great skill and comfort.

Tim Russert raised America's awareness of politics and government in our society at a time when we needed him most. I believe that his passion for this country's democratic principles and process lit a fire under many people who are now active in some way, particularly those who registered to vote for the first time in 2008. (That's certainly evident from the large voter turnout in the Presidential primaries.)

Surely, Tim Russert will forever be known as one of the greatest political journalists -- on air or off.

As a public relations practitioner, I'm proud that "Timothy J. Russert" was also one of "ours" for a short but critical time in the 1980s -- and equally proud that he was a fellow New Yorker.

Note: For PRWeek subscribers, an opinion piece on this subject can be found here.

Congestion Pricing, Bloomberg Hit Roadblock in Albany

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg should have learned from former New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer that you can't legislate if you can't cooperate.

The Mayor's "my way or the highway" attitude and his child-like name calling after he lost the votes in Albany for his controversial congestion pricing plan was shameful and turned out to be a public relations disaster.

The New York State Legislature, which I had the honor of covering as a cub reporter in the early 1980's, is certainly dysfunctional and has been for decades. But I can't blame legislators outside the borough of Manhattan for just saying no to Mayor Mike's big idea to tax the hard working commuters and small businesses who can least afford it.

Over the past 25 years, I've lived and worked at various times in Manhattan and know there are better ways to alleviate the congestion. Here's a few suggestions:

1) Tow all the double and triple parked cars and double the fines during rush hour
2) Stop road construction during rush hour, period, except for emergencies.
3) Do not allow building contractors to block off entire lanes of traffic during rush hour.
4) Eliminate "official" vehicles for the majority of New York City employees except for those who absolutely need them for their jobs --and offer incentives for NYC employees to use mass transit, such as riding for free on certain days.
5) Stop closing off major streets for corporate events during rush hour (Example: The City stupidly closed off more than 10 blocks on Fifth Avenue in late 2007 without adequate warning to accommodate a handful of NASCAR enthusiasts).
6) Give incentives to legitimate parking garage owners who want to open or expand into larger garages in the sections of Manhattan that need them the most. (So much congestion, pollution and wasted gasoline stems from thousands of cars circling city blocks and avenues often for more than an hour searching for parking).
7) Overhaul the parking rules on the street and take away some of the ridiculous parking privileges given only to diplomats and others supposedly acting on "official" business.
8) Devote more state/city funding to high speed waterway transportation and add more pickup and drop-off points along the Hudson River (Jersey shoreline/Westchester/Rockland counties) and the East River (Brooklyn and Queens).
9) Give incentives like free or reduced tolls for those trucks entering Manhattan for deliveries from 9 p.m. through 6 a.m.
10) Set new rules and work schedules for the Taxi and Limousine Commission drivers that limits the number of cabs that can enter Manhattan during peak times. (How many people really need to take a cab into Manhattan for work unless they are handicapped or are running late?)

Business Executives Can Learn from Spitzer's Mishandling of Crisis

Business executives can learn from the crisis communications mistakes made by former New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer and his handlers. Listen to our short analysis below.

Download CrisisCommunicationsTips.m4a

Clinton, McCain and Obama Should Acknowledge Mistakes

The three remaining candidates for President of the United States could help their campaigns if they apologized for past mistakes, missed opportunities and poor statements -- and then moved on. Here are a few samples:

Hillary Clinton: "I should have read the National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq. I'm sure if I read it more carefully, I would not have voted for the war in Iraq. Heck, I'm up every night at 3 a.m. waiting for phone calls anyway so I did have time to read it. And, from now on, I am going to stop saying I have 35 years of experience because it's misleading."

John McCain: "I realize that those mean-spirited jokes about lawyers are a form of stereotyping and send the wrong message to our children. And I never should proclaim that I speak for all soldiers in Iraq when I keep saying on the stump that they tell me, "let us win." When I poked fun of the Woodstock festival, I now realize that many young men who were there later fought bravely in Vietnam just like me. Some were killed and others came back injured. So who am I to question the patriotism of those at Woodstock when Jimi Hendrix played the most amazing version of "The Star Spangled Banner"? I've also now realized that Richie Havens' moving version of "Freedom" could have been a tribute to my P.O.W. brothers. "

Barack Obama: "I should have denounced and repudiated and rejected my pastor's support for Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan much earlier. Farrakhan is a vicious anti-Semite and racist who plays on people's fears. We know from the current Administration that fear-mongering is just plain wrong. Some people think that Farrakhan has done some good things. Well, you cannot separate the message from the messenger. Anyway, Michelle and I expect to find a new church when we get to the White House."

John McCain, Lawyer Jokes and Stereotypes

I couldn't help myself. After watching John McCain make a joke about lawyers on CNN yesterday during an appearance in Boston, I contacted the editor of The Wall Street Journal's Law Blog. The editor did his own research and put it online. It led to many people adding their own lawyer jokes to that blog, but I wasn't laughing.

You see, a candidate for President of the United States who stereotypes one group of people can't be far from stereotyping other groups.

So if we allow our leaders to get away with lawyer jokes, then maybe we'll all turn a blind eye when the next joke is about gender, race, ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation. In short, there should be no tolerance for this, particularly from a Presidential candidate.

We've come a long way in this country when we have either a woman or African American as the Democratic nominee for President. We go backwards when a candidate for President makes jokes about groups of people -- and when we as a society don't stand up to hateful stereotypes.

McCain's national finance co-chair, Fred Malek, happens to be the same guy who counted Jews in the Bureau for Labor Statistics when he worked for President Nixon. So, there's a pattern here.

At best, McCain is ignorant; at worst, he is insensitive and intolerant.

The straight talk is this: he is unfit to lead this country.

A Salute to Veteran Ron Kovic on a Tragic 40th Anniversary

My childhood hometown of Massapequa, NY was the breeding ground for future international celebrities like Jerry Seinfeld, Brian Setzer, and the four Baldwin brothers, who were my classmates at Alfred G. Berner High. Of course, this is all a source of pride for those of us who grew up in this special Long Island town in the 1960s and 1970s.

But the one Massapequa native who stands out as a true American hero is Ron Kovic. And today, I salute him as he marks the 40th anniversary (on January 20th, 2008) of the dark day in Vietnam when a bullet severed his spinal cord and left him paralyzed from the chest down. I'll never forget that as a junior or senior in high school, I did a book report on his new book called "Born on the Fourth of July". (This was 10 or 11 years before Tom Cruise portrayed him in the movie version of the book so Ron Kovic wasn't yet well known across the U.S.). At the time, Ron was teaching at the State University of New York at Stony Brook and I decided to send him my book report. He sent it back with very kind words..inspiring words for someone who was about to embark on a career as a journalist.

Today, I salute Ron Kovic once again. Not just because he fought for my country in Vietnam, but because he continues to speak out against the thousands of American casualties in Iraq and in support of his fellow Vets now returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2007, Ron fell ill and once again had to enter a Veteran's Administration hospital, this time in California. Sadly, he reported that little has changed in our VA hospitals since the time he was in a Bronx, NY VA hospital in the late 1960s and early 1970s. His moving video on the subject can be found here.

Make no mistake about it: Ron Kovic was ready to fight for this country and was ready to die for this country when he enlisted in the service in 1964. But this country turned its back on him and so many other Vets 40 years ago, just like our current government, for the most part, has not given war veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan adequate healthcare and financial support.

In 1976, Ron wrote this in the beginning of his book:

"I am the living death

the memorial day on wheels

I am your yankee doodle dandy

your john wayne come home

your fourth of july firecracker

exploding in the grave"

And here's why he wrote the book:

"I wanted them to know what it really meant to be in a war — to be shot and wounded, to be fighting for my life on the intensive care ward — not the myth we had grown up believing....."

It's clear that with these words, Ron Kovic speaks for many new Veterans, many young enough to be his grandchildren.

I salute you, Ron, for your service, for telling the truth about war, for shouting down President Nixon, for your continual fight on behalf of your brothers, and for exemplifying what it means to be a patriot.

Ron Kovic's moving and painfully honest story from Born on the Fourth of July should have been a lesson for those who pushed to start and continue the long war in Iraq without adequate intelligence, without an adequate war plan, and without a realistic exit strategy. Hopefully, the next President will read this book and learn from it. And, hopefully, those brave men and women who come home injured will be inspired by it.

Note: If you want to help the current veterans, you might consider the Wounded Warrior Project.

Honesty? Don't Look to White House or Major League Baseball

We didn't think anything could surpass Watergate until the CIA began destroying videotapes of interrogation methods. And not since the Black Sox scandal of 1919 has the reputation of Major League Baseball been  rocked as it was today with the steroids scandal in which federal laws were broken and in which millions of fans now know they were not only  duped, but that their hard-earned money was wasted on all 30 teams. The Players Association and the baseball owners are all responsible for this and they should accept responsibility for their actions beginning today.

Our kids and grandkids deserve better than what passes for role models in our federal government and in too many of our so-called sports heroes.

I won't be buying Mets or Yankees tickets this year and I'm now particualrly  mad that some of my tax dollars are going for new stadiums for both these teams. Instead, I'll take my kid to a baseball field with a few gloves, balls and baseball bat..then show her some video of how the game was played in the good old days...the 1969 Mets and the Yankees from the 1920s through the 1970s. 

And I hope that whoever we elect as U.S. President in November 2008 will be someone we can trust and who my daughter can look up to with pride in her country.

Maybe a few years from now I'll take my kid to a Major League Baseball game and be proud of the team on the field and with the President who might throw out the season's first pitch.

Right now, though, it seems so far away.