Have you seen the New York Times article about using “striking words” in your news releases to gain the attention of reporters, especially on slow news days? Oh yes! It’s true. The article, titled “Need Press? Repeat: ‘Green,’ ‘Sex,’ ‘Cancer,’ ‘Secret,’ ‘Fat’” ran last week and quotes, GASP!, PR people who support the notion that if you sensationalize a headline, the story will run in most major publications. Continue Reading »

It’s been everything I can do not to comment on Scott McClellan’s book, “What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington’s Culture of Deception.”  Continue Reading »

Guest blog written by Cory Sealey

Smoky voiced and drug addled chanteuse Amy Winehouse pined, “They tried to make me go to rehab, but I said no no no.”  From Winehouse and Britney Spears to conservative religious leaders and political pundits like Rush Limbaugh, It seems like rehab is the new Club Med.  Call someone a derogatory term, just go to “Naughty Word Rehab” like Isaiah Thomas.  Were you caught in a homosexual relationship with a male prostitute like “completely heterosexual” Pastor Ted Haggard?  Go to ex-gay rehab, emerge three weeks later and proclaim your “straightness” for the entire world to see.  But when does spinning rehab as glamorous and an easy get-out-of-jail-free card turn dangerous?

I take issue with rehabilitation programs being spun as a way to give positive public opinion instead of a method of dealing with serious neurological issues and chemical dependency among other things.  Why are Billy Bush and his Access Hollywood cohorts interviewing the director of Promises Rehabilitation Facility (where Lohan, half of the Olson twins, and the aforementioned Spears have stayed)? Why is the director highlighting the number of flat screen televisions in their “spa grotto”?  Shouldn’t he at least touch on the counseling aspect of a stay in a rehab facility?  When is he going to discuss the actual rehabilitation aspect?  Oh, I forgot, discussing counseling programs doesn’t win you Emmys.

All of us have unfortunately acquiesced to the fact spin is going to be pretty much everywhere.  What we should take major issue with is when a life saving method of helping people overcome horrible addictions is being spun as a way to sleep off your appletini-induced bender and avoid jail time.  Legitimate issues of addiction, abuse, and mental health are being glossed over in favor of hot stone rubs and aromatherapy with fellow meth addicts while DJ AM spins the latest house tracks in the background. 

Can the dramatic increase of rehab visits and their visibility in popular media can be directly attributed to the positive-for-the-wrong-reason spin it is receiving.  Is this spin is going to get people killed.  What about the people who can’t afford multiple stays at rehab?  Where are their stories?  How many suicides or drunk driving accidents have been linked to people who didn’t treat their rehabilitation program seriously?  Who cares how pretty the pony was Nicole Richie had to brush every day for a week? She is only one member of the elite club that has been in rehab multiple times.  Spin is hiding the simple fact that these programs need to concentrate less on relaxation and more on rehabilitation.  We all need to wake up and take a vested interest in our rehabilitation programs.  Only when we realize these programs should not be something aspired to will we finally stop this dangerous spin.

Recently, Christoper Jensen of the New York Times wrote an article titled “What’s Off the Record at the N.H.T.S.A.? Almost Everything.”

Anyone interested in spin, and particularly in this case, spin control, should read this article and discover how alarmingly un-accessible the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has become to the media and thus the public. In the article, Jensen describes the NHTSA as a disgusting example of public accessibility to its government (my words, not his).

The piece relays information about how Nicole R. Nason, administrator of the NHTSA has instituted control over information coming out of the organization that is so restricted, most communist governments would be impressed.  Jensen writes:

             “Nason has adopted a policy that has blocked virtually all of her staff—including the communications office—from providing any information to reporters on the record, which means that it can be attributed. The agency’s new policy effectively means that some of the world’s top safety researchers are no longer allowed to talk to reporters or to be freely quoted about automotive safety issues that affect pretty much everybody.”

Being in PR and coming from a political background, I understand the need for consistent messaging and a central point of contact for media inquiries, but I don’t understand why an arm of the government, such as the NHTSA, would choose to require special permission for officials to deliver safety information to the public. Especially when the NHTSA had, for the previous 20 years, experts speak to reporters and discuss its research as well as findings with pride.

Transparency is important for many reasons, especially when dealing with an organization who’s self-proclaimed mission is to “save lives, prevent injuries, reduce vehicle related crashes.” You would think that an organization with that mission statement would be less concerned with having a central spokesperson and more with the safety of the American public.  — Morgan Smith

Everyday it seems as though a new celebrity, athlete, or musician has their publicist announce that they are entering rehabilitation.  While some are more well known than others, many question if justice is really being served.

Are rehab and a publicist the new excuse for serving time?  I agree that anyone, given the choice, would chose treatment over hard jail-time considering that programs offered can actually change the path that leads to destruction.  However, people are all too quick to run into a 28 day remedy to avoid the threat of actually serving time.

Many celebrities who own up to their mistakes are handed down lighter sentences of therapy, rather than incarceration, and gladly accept.  Winona Ryder, charged with grand theft and felony vandalism, had prescription pain killers on her at the time of arrest, the judge ordered her to undergo therapy and community service while also paying a fine.  While others, such as Lindsay Lohan and Nicole Richie are serving mere minutes in jail after running into rehab following the crimes they committed.   Is rehab a publicity stunt, or are people actually repenting for their crimes and getting the treatment needed?

Michael Vick claims he has to redeem himself and has found Jesus.  Just moments after he pleads guilty, he’s not running into psychotherapy, but his well spoken script states that he has already found God, just as quick. 

Do we all need a publicist to avoid consequences or is everything looked at on a case-by-case basis?  While I’d like to believe the latter — Marcus Dixon was sentenced to 10 years in prison for statutory rape of his girlfriend on a controversial sex crime, something that most people believe is cruel and unusual punishment.  But, he was never offered rehabilitation or therapy.   

Being in the public relations industry, I know that guidance in a crisis is crucial, but “for those in the public eye, rehabilitation isn’t a journey so much as a strategy.” — Courtney Lawrence

Heart-breaking tragedies are all too familiar this summer.  A bridge filled with everyday commuters collapses in Minneapolis.  The worst flood in one hundred years sweeps through Findlay, Ohio.  Six men trapped in a mine collapse in Huntington, Utah, hopes of their safe return dashed when three heroes die during a rescue mission.

The images take our breath away.  The agony on the faces of survivors generates a saddening empathy we can only pray we never feel.  What do you say when such an unforeseen crisis hits?

Usually, nothing, or very little at all as a true crisis is no place for spin, just sorrow.  Hoards of advisors often huddle in war rooms to figure out who will say what or nothing at all.  When public relations first found its way to major airline companies, the role of the PR guy was to spray black paint over the logo so it wouldn’t show up in crash site photos.  Today, the airlines are much more sophisticated, though often distant in their empathy.  Other companies remain lost and non-responsive.  Even though millions of lead contaminated tops and trucks fill toy boxes, an anonymous message on a 1-800 line says it all for some manufacturers. 

Perhaps that’s why the mainstream media cannot pull their focus away from Bob Murray, a fourth generation miner who also is chairman of Murray Energy Corporation, the nation’s 12^th-largest coal company.  Instead of showing the restraint that lawyers and advisors encourage, Bob Murray shows his passion and speaks his mind.  He’s just not a “cooperating with the investigation” kind of guy.

Six of his men are trapped.  Saying nothing for Bob Murray would be as out of character as doing nothing.  He’s been criticized by Congress and has argued with seismologists.  It’s been nearly three weeks and Bob Murray still has the courage to be the face of responsibility, the front-and-center spokesperson. 

When he said after the rescuers died that they could not try again, families took him to task.  They remember Bob’s promise not to give up until the six men are recovered.  Bob Murray recanted and is pursuing another approach. 

When will hope run empty?  Because this is a tragedy that is unfolding still, scholars have yet to determine if Bob Murray’s approach of speaking his unedited-mind during a crisis is wise.  No doubt, Bob Murray will be second-guessed for his candor during an awful crisis.

What I admire about Bob Murray is his tenacity and his anti-spin-approach to putting it all out there.  He might be wrong in his theory as to why the collapse occurred.  Time may show that he said more than was legally prudent.  But there is a lesson of accountability to be learned.  Rather than being a figurehead suit standing behind a podium emoting compassion, Bob Murray has coal in his lungs.  He speaks from his broken heart and puts action behind his words.   While engaged in the fight of his life, through example, he too is fighting against destructive spin.  — Shawn M. Kahle

When I was a child, I had many dolls, many in which I still own (I hear I can get a lot of money for them on eBay).  Barbie dolls, Ken dolls, and Rainbow Brite dolls.  Oh, the good ol’ days.  However, what astonishes me is that not once did I ever have to worry about them leaving me brain damaged.  Is this a new feature?  In my day dolls came with accessories, dream houses and pull strings.  I am only 22 years old.  How the times have changed. 

According to a recent article, toy companies have issued recalls for millions of toys made in China that are either tainted with lead or otherwise hazardous to children. Seventy to eighty percent of the world’s toys are made in China, according to Toy Industry Association.  The toy manufacturer, Mattel, leads the way, recalling nearly 19 million toys worldwide and has issued a statement saying that they are working on a “responsible approach” to disposing the “toys” but could not provide details on how to do so. 

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, lead-painted toys fall under the category of products that would need to be destroyed or properly disposed.  This reminds me a bit of the 1976 classic Saturday Night Live skit where Irwin Mainway (Dan Akroyd) made outlandish attempts to show how more commonplace toys were as harmful as Mainway’s.

Let’s think about this for a second, working on a “responsible approach” for disposal but mum’s the word?  Chief executive Bob Eckert wouldn’t even answer a few questions asked by Chris Cuomo regarding the company.  Cuomo grilled Eckert about Mattel’s oversight of manufacturing in China, and asked him how much money the company saves by making toys in China.

“The question of safety is not about the money. It’s about doing the right thing for consumers. Again, we make toys in markets other than China,” Eckert said.

Of course it is a question of safety and money! And doing the right thing for the consumers? Parents are waiting on further details about proper disposal all the while trying to explain to their children why he/she can’t keep their favorite toy anymore because they have to pitch it into the community’s landfill where the lead toxins will only seep into the ground and serve as a lethal additive to our water.  Perfect. Mattel and I have a different definition of responsible and it certainly doesn’t mean keeping the public in the dark.

Communication is the light at the end of the tunnel in times of crisis.  Mattel is leaving toy owners in doubt and quite frankly, not doing themselves any favors releasing information in a not-so expedient manner.  When there is a problem, fix it or tell us how to fix it.  There is no use in saying there is a way to fix it.  The fog will clear soon.  I hope. Or I may have to throw away my dolls. — Jen Hernandez

It’s no great new phenomenon that people influence each other. Time and time again research proves that peer pressure is existent everywhere yet when a new study is released stating eating habits are influenced by friends there’s a media blitz.

The new study suggests that a friend’s behavior can influence your eating and fitness decisions. This study seems to make perfect sense though because when you are out with friends at a restaurant or spending time with them during the day you do similar things as each other.

The media has gone to a whole new level with this study, claiming that obesity is a disease that is contagious. How did the research findings go from the idea that your friends can influence your weight through behavior to obesity being a disease you catch from friends?

Spinning the results of a research study to catch the attention of readers undermines the work that the scientists did. This is yet another example of the out of control use of spin by the media. — Taylor Krugman

I’m just old enough to remember the concept of mailing a letter for less than a dime – maybe even a nickel.  And frankly, 41 cents for coast-to-coast delivery of a card that warms the heart of a loved one is an amazing deal.  Anyone who travels the world knows that like so many other privileges of the United States, day-to-day our nation enjoys comparatively affordable postal service.

Why then does everyone get so worked up when postage rates are hiked by two cents every year or so?  I’d argue it’s the spin.  And frankly, we’ve fallen for it.  Just this week the U.S. Postal Service proclaimed sales of the Forever stamp already surpassing the one billion mark. 

A quick review of USPS press releases issued with recent price hikes reminds us of the rhetoric that got us into this pattern of forever increasing postage rate hikes.

The headline of the USPS announcement of May 14, 2007 proclaimed: “Shaping a More Efficient Future.”  Readers quickly learned the postal service “introduced new domestic prices that reflect changes in our operations and the marketplace, offers more choices, and creates a more efficient mail system that keeps overall costs as low as possible.”  Seems like “The new rate is 41 cents, pay it and get over it.” would have made for a better lead sentence.

In 2005, a year when rates did not increase, the USPS announced, “Postage rates will not increase until 2006, promises Postmaster General John E. Potter, citing aggressive cost cutting efforts that allowed the U.S. Postal Service to save $8.3 billion over the last three years.  “The Postal Service will continue to focus on the strategies identified in our Transformation Plan, and we will continue to deliver the plan’s commitments ahead of schedule,” said Potter.

This pronouncement came when stamps were 37 cents.  Clearly, something did not get fully “transformed.”  But we should not be surprised considering that it is easy enough also to download the 2002 and 2003 versions of the “USPS Transformation Plan delivered to Congress.”

We just don’t believe the postal bureaucrats.  They should keep the gory adjectives of transformation to themselves.  Like every other massive organization that combines old and new infrastructure with vast competitive alternatives for sharing information, they are struggling.  But they are getting smarter – especially with the spin.

With the hike to 41 cents in May came the ultimate USPS spin — the Forever Stamp.  “Buy it now – use it forever.” 

In other words, postage rates will continue to increase – FOREVER — in spite of transformation plans, the Internet, and competitive alternatives.  

Yes, America, let freedom ring from the upper right hand corner of your greeting cards and gas bills as the Liberty Bell emblazoned stamps remind us that in the United States of America three things in life are certain – death, taxes, and postage increases. — Shawn Kahle

It seems to be the summer for illegal drugs.  You’d have to live under a rock to have not heard about the troubles of Lindsay Lohan, Barry Bonds and Michael Rassmussen.  All are at the center of investigations alleging illegal drug use and all are using spin to cover every excuse possible.

“The drugs were in my pocket, but they’re not mine.”

“Doctors ought to quit worrying about what ballplayers are taking. What players take doesn’t matter. It’s nobody else’s business.”

“I was in Mexico.”

All three of these people certainly didn’t sign up to be role models, and probably see things much like Charles Barkley, famous for his comment “I am not a role model, parents should be role models” and his fierce competitive drive.

The fact of the matter is, that all three enjoy the media spotlight. You can make the argument that they don’t, but they could have chosen a line of work that doesn’t involve competing on national television or staring in block-buster movies. Yet all somehow feel like they are being treated unfairly, and that it is ok to do whatever they want. Spinning what happens and not being truthful and transparent with the media only results in their desire to do their job, and complete the story. The harder it is for them, the more they dig, and the more they are around, putting your picture on the news.

If you refuse to use spin, deal with the media truthfully and transparently, they tend to back off once they know you are either a. telling the truth, or b. boring. 

In 2005, Lance Armstrong was under intense scrutiny for alleged doping violations. He used the truth and was eventually left alone.

John Travolta is a huge movie star, yet he isn’t all over the news because he spends time with his family and flies his planes instead of going out to the clubs and making bad decisions.

Not using spin makes you less interesting to the media. There are no lies to get caught up in and no drama to publicize. No one wants to read about that. —  Morgan Smith