Posts Tagged ‘media relations’

Mark 2010 as the year that Apple, or rather its CEO Steve Jobs, slammed his “cool” status into the dumper.  It’s been rumored for years that Jobs has anger management issues, however his behavior over the past couple of months really lifts the curtain on the great and powerful Jobs.  It started with his “we’re not perfect” press conference in response to the antenna-gate problems with the new iPhones.  And the latest and possibly more damaging outburst was his response to a college student who was doing a project about the iPad and was trying to get some information directly from Apple.  When no one from the PR department responded, she went directly to Jobs.  The most widely reported responses from him were “Our goals do not include helping you get a good grade” and “Please leave us alone!”

In the spirit of full disclosure, earlier this year when my 8 year old Dell desk computer started dying I switched to an iMac, a big 27″ beauty.  My main justification was that I work with video all the time and Apple has terrific easy and time saving applications for downloading, editing, and sharing video.  But I must tell you, secretly I wanted to be part of the whole cool status of owning an Apple anything and being able to legitimately hang out at an Apple store!

Now as I see Steve Jobs publicly displaying his arrogance and contempt for people who love or are interested in his company and products, I can’t help but wonder how long will it be before the hackers and evil-doers put Apple in their sites, in the same way they have targeted Microsoft?  And how long before Apple evangelists start losing their undying loyalty?

I posed these questions to the friend who introduced me to Apple nation.  She has an iPod, iPhone, iMac, MacBook Air, and an iPad.  She’s a true Apple Woman and thinks as long as the cool products keep coming, Apple will be fine.

I think no amount of “cool” can mask arrogance and contempt for your customers or the public and if CEO’s continue to display it publicly, some day there will be a reckoning.  Ask Tony Hayward!

If you want to know how to handle the media in a crisis, take a lesson from Thad Allen.  It’s rare to have someone who can completely corral the media in the middle of chaos and turn things around.  And that’s exactly what he did.  Watched him last night on the PBS News Hour.  In response to a question about how he viewed BP’s response to the disaster he said BP was used to dealing with big contracts and big projects.  When it came to dealing with people individually and handling disaster claims, that was “not their core competency!”  What a wonderful way to say their response to people living and working in the Gulf was crappy!!!  Kudo’s to you sir!  I will miss your steady hand and direct communication.

Heard a compelling interview on the Bob Edwards Show last week on XM Radio.  He was talking to the two authors of a new book called “Merchants of Doubt: How a handful of scientists obscured the truth on issues from tobacco to global warning”  My attention was immediately captured when authors Naomi Oreski and Erik M. Conway mentioned that the “experts” who are challenging the existence of global warming are the same small band of scientists who claimed second hand smoke from cigarettes was not a serious health problem. In doing the research, they followed the money trail.  Oreski and Conway disclose how a small group of world class scientists developed a very cynical political strategy of casting doubt on solid scientific research in an effort to avoid government intervention and regulation on everything from chemicals, cigarettes, and CO2 emissions.  It’s a fascinating and disturbing expose.

What also caught my attention was their statements about how the media does not do a good job of vetting these “experts,” most of whom are paid by or have their “research” funded by companies who want a desired outcome.  Because journalism and journalists are under dire economic pressure, we as citizens need to become much more media literate, looking beyond the headlines, doing more digging when we see or read controversial stories in the media.  Who are the talking heads out there making pronouncements about what is going on?  Who pays for their opinion or expertise?

I had my own brush with a similar situation.  Someone I met at a networking event a few years ago asked if I would  help them prepare for a series of presentations.  Turns out a large corporation had hired this person to go out into regional communities as an “expert” and persuade audiences on the company line, to avoid restrictive regulations by local governments.  I was fortunate the person didn’t ask me again and I didn’t have to turn them down as a client.  At the time, I remember clearly wondering how this smart accomplished person would consider being a spokesperson in such an unethical way by not disclosing their relationship to the company.

It used to be that the media was our watchdog on these types of stories.  I think the watchdog needs a watchdog and it has always been us!!!

The book is available everywhere. Here’s a link to it at Amazon where you can also see a short video with co-author Naomi Oreskes.

Do you remember the 70′s cigarette commercial with the jingle “You’ve come a long way, baby?”  It was a lame attempt to market tobacco to modern independent women.   Didn’t think much of the slogan then, but the jingle lived on long after the marketing campaign.

I was reminded of the catchy phrase when I saw the headlines about all the women around the country who won elections on Tuesday.  The one standout for me was Meg Whitman.  Politics aside, it was amazing that she spent close to $100 million bucks of her own money during the campaign.  Now that’s coming a long way baby!!!  Not sure it’s all that good for the democratic process.  But I do think it’s great that a woman was a tremendous corporate success and has the resources to go for something else she believes in. Regardless what the people of California decide, Meg Whitman deserves credit for smashing another glass ceiling!

You may recall hearing about the catch phrase “duck, cover, and hold!”  It was a strategy taught to millions of school children in the 1950′s to protect themselves in the event of a nuclear attack.  Some of you may be old enough to remember the drills, the rest of you may have seen it in documentaries about the Cold War.  Looking back, it seems like a totally ridiculous idea, but it seemed to give a fearful public something to do and distract them from asking tough questions about the threat of nuclear war.

I’m reminded of that phrase as I watch the current sex abuse scandal that is enveloping the Vatican and the rest of the Catholic Church.  And just as idiotic as it was in the 1950′s, “duck, cover, and hold!” is not going to work in this instance.  There is no way of stopping the momentum that abuse victims have worldwide.  The only thing that works in a crisis is truth and transparency, and the sooner the better.

And the response has to have more substance and authenticity than the formulaic public apologies we are now seeing from celebrities and public figures like Tiger Woods.  Get real people…and Your Holiness!

Yes, it’s difficult to come clean, admit wrongdoing and shine a light on the ugliness, but attacking the media or the advocates of the victims only exacerbates the problem, it’s throwing gasoline on the fire!

How many institutions and individuals insist on stonewalling or lashing out when hit by a crisis?  How many leaders will continue to insist they are above scrutiny or the law?

Given Pope Benedict’s history and personality, it’s not likely he’s going to bend on this.  I hope I’m wrong.  However, watching what he and his defenders are doing is a great example of how NOT to handle a crisis!