Monday Morning Media Minute

Sometimes it’s a good idea to own up to a really bad mistake before your critics can point it out for you.

Like Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony’s assessment of his team’s embarrassing 102-84 loss Saturday to go 0-3 in their NBA playoff series with the Los Angeles Lakers: “We quit. Everybody. From the coaches to the players, we quit. And I said it.”

Anthony’s criticism of his team worked because it was undeniable and because he included himself: “I’m not blaming anyone. I’m not pointing the fingers at nobody. I didn’t play worth a damn . . . and I can accept that. But as a competitor, there’s no way that I should lay down and quit and lay down on my team like we did tonight . . . We all just gave up.’’

Contrast that with teammate Allen Iverson’s complaint about being pulled from the game early: “To not go back in, I don’t understand that. And (Coach George Karl) didn’t even say nothing to me even afterward . . . I played every game with a broken finger and all. I always came to play, every game we had. So why not tell me nothing?’’

Unlike Anthony, Iverson pointed the public finger of blame at his coach while ignoring his own lousy performance during the game. Iverson’s lucky that Anthony’s quotes got top billing in the media. His comment was divisive and made him look like a whiner. It would not have played well as the lead of the stories about the Nuggets loss.

Here’s the lesson for the rest of us. If you screw up in a way you know will be noticed (and sometimes when it wouldn’t be noticed), your best PR strategy may be to own up to it yourself before you critics do it for you. And almost always, pointing the finger of blame at yourself when it’s deserved will serve you better than trying to find someone else to pin the blame on.

That’s my two cents’ worth. What’s yours?

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The Monday Morning Media Minute is now available as an eBook. My new eStore features five eBooks based on the Media Minute. To check them out, visit my eStore and buy early and often. The eBooks come as PDF files. You don’t need special eBook software to read them. Want to read and comment on back issues of MMMM? Check out the MMMM blog.

Senator Obama’s a brilliant orator. But he could use some media training.

I’m one of those who think the questions that dominated the first 45 minutes of last week’s debate between Obama and Hillary Clinton were silly and trivial. But, given the tenor of the coverage of the Democratic primary the last few weeks, they shouldn’t have come as any great surprise. And there wasn’t a single question on the list, silly as it was, that he shouldn’t have been able use as a bridge to talk about the things he wanted to talk about.

Obama made the mistake too many articulate professionals and executives make. They assume they can “wing” it when talking to reporters because they’re able to do that so much of the time.

Don’t make the same mistake – or allow anyone who talks to reporters on behalf of your organization to make it.

You can’t wait for reporters to ask the “right” questions to begin delivering your message. If you do, you may never get to your message.

That’s why I encourage everyone who talks to reporters to get media training – and regular refresher courses. Unless you talk to reporters often enough to keep your interviewing skills well honed, being media trained once isn’t enough.

Remember: The reporter’s in charge of the questions that get asked and the story that gets written. You’re in charge of your answers.

Obama was unhappy because he didn’t like the questions that were asked. But he wasn’t in charge of the questions. He was in charge of his answers. And he didn’t do a very good job of taking charge of his answers to deliver his message.

Don’t make the same mistake when you’re talking to reporters. Take the time to figure out what questions you’re likely to be asked, what your message is for the interview and how you’ll deliver it – even if the reporter doesn’t ask the “right” questions.

That’s my two cents’ worth. What’s yours?

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The Monday Morning Media Minute is now available as an eBook. My new eStore features five eBooks based on the Media Minute. To check them out, visit my eStore and buy early and often. The eBooks come as PDF files. You don’t need special eBook software to read them.

I have a question for the people who planned the Olympic-torch run in San Francisco:  What happened to Plan B?

There’s nothing more embarrassing for a public relations professional than staging a press conference that no one attends or a media event that backfires.  The torch run in San Francisco was a media event that backfired big time.

After the Tibet-inspired demonstrations in London and Paris where protesters tried to physically extinguish the ceremonial torch as runners carried it through those cities, organizers of the San Francisco event had to know before the torch reached their city that they faced a similar threat.

Nevertheless, they proceeded with the San Francisco run as planned.  Then they took the torch into hiding after the run began to avoid protesters – and others who lined the route just to see the torch.  The publicity event turned into a disaster for the people who organized it.

You could argue, of course, that there was a simple answer:  The Chinese government could simply agree to stop its crackdown in Tibet.  But that’s a decision beyond the reach of the people responsible for planning the torch run. 

People planning media events usually don’t control the policies of their clients.  Their job is to work within the boundaries of the political environment in which the event will happen – or not happen if it has the potential to backfire.

Part of your job if you’re planning a media event is to figure out if you need a Plan B – and how and when to execute it.

If you stage a news conference for the first scientist who finds conclusive proof of life on another planet, you won’t have to worry about reporters showing up.  But they may ignore a news conference to announce your client’s latest widget or even their new charity drive.

That’s why I prefer to stage events that can be “successful” whether reporters show up or not if there’s any question about whether they’ll be interested in the story.

Do you have a media event coming up?  Do you have a Plan B.?  Are you prepared to shift to Plan B, if necessary, in time to avoid a public relations disaster?

That’s my two cents’ worth.  What’s yours?

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The Monday Morning Media Minute is now available as an eBook.  My new eStore features five eBooks based on the Media Minute.  To check them out, visit my eStore and buy early and often.  The eBooks come as PDF files.  You don’t need special eBook software to read them.

Having the law on your side isn’t always enough.

Wal-Mart learned that lesson when it lost a very visible David v. Goliath fight involving an employee who suffered severe brain damage in a car wreck.

You probably saw the story: Wal-Mart’s health-insurance plan paid $470,000 for the medical expenses of Debbie Shank, whose car was broadsided by a truck. Her family sued the trucking company and won a judgment that netted $417,000 for a trust fund to pay for her long-term care.

But the judgment meant Wal-Mart was legally entitled to get its money back under the terms of its health-insurance plan. So, Wal-Mart sued – and won. And that meant Wal-Mart was legally entitled to recover its money, which would have taken away all the money in the trust fund paying for Debbie’s care, plus some.

Freely acknowledging Wal-Mart was legally entitled to reimbursement, Jim Shank (Debbie’s husband) took his story to the news media. And the media quickly painted Wal-Mart as heartless for trying to take the money needed to pay for Debbie’s care.

Clearly losing what quickly became a highly visible public relations battle, Wal-Mart’s first line of defense was to point out – correctly – that other companies also have clauses in their employee health-insurance plans allowing them to recoup medical expenses paid on behalf of employees who win financial compensation for their injuries.

Predictably, that defense didn’t work. Saying other companies are doing the same thing just makes matters worse. It raises the odds I’ll be the victim next time.

Another common line of defense, often used by companies subject to government regulation, that doesn’t work: We complied with whatever rules or regulations were in place. The public doesn’t care if you played by the rules if the rules won’t protect them against injury.

After several days of highly visible negative coverage, Wal-Mart surrendered and said wouldn’t collect the money after all. Wal-Mart also had the good sense to announce it’ll change its health insurance plan keep its hands off legal judgments paid to other employees who find themselves in similar circumstances.

That’s Crisis Communication 101: Fix the problem (let the family keep the money) and tell the rest of us what you’re doing to make sure it won’t happen again (change the insurance plan).

If you’re the “Goliath” of the story, it’s hard to win a public relations battle with a “David” who’s been badly injured through no fault of their own if you’re seen as having caused the injury or as doing something that will make the injury worse.

Surrendering before the story turns negative often is your best strategy.

That’s my two cents’ worth. What’s yours?

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The Monday Morning Media Minute is now available as an eBook. My new eStore features five eBooks based on the Media Minute. To check them out, visit my eStore and buy early and often. The eBooks come as PDF files. You don’t need special eBook software to read them.

© 2008 Jerry Brown