The controversy surrounding The Chaser this week has been the focus of much discussion on the radio airwaves, TV screens, online and even at the c word.

We watched as the twitterverse discussed the merits and demerits of the skit in question and also watched the various apologies and responses. Although we’ve seen the skit, we don’t have much to say that hasn’t already been said already (fence sitter hehehe).

However it leads us to think about another c word: crisis. And how best to handle yourself and your brand in a crisis. We think The Chaser’s response is a perfect example of what NOT to do in a crisis particularly when apologising. If we comb through their apology (and quite frankly it takes a little combing to get there) we are first presented with a justification. Have a look for yourself… btw this apology was issued shortly before noon by the show’s producer Julian Morrow and Director of ABC TV Kim Dalton:

“The Chaser’s War on Everything is a satirical program aimed at provoking debate and providing social commentary on topical issues, current affairs and public life in general. The sketch in last night’s show called ‘Making A Realistic Wish Foundation” was a satirical sketch and black comedy.

“The ABC and The Chaser did not intend to hurt those who have been affected by the terminal illness of a child. We acknowledge the distress this segment has caused and we apologise to anyone we have upset. As a result, ABC TV will edit the segment out of tonight’s repeat screening on ABC2 and online.”

In order for an apology to be truly apologetic and not simply a token gesture it really must start with “we are sorry” or words to that affect. If you look closely at the Chaser’s apology they start off by talking about their show and building a case for the merits of what they have done and then only in the second paragraph do they launch into an apology. ABC and the Chaser took the “I’m sorry but…” approach which never really sounds like a sincere apology, does it?

Another problem was they they took far too long to issue this statement. With breakfast radio & morning radio in a frenzy, the team & ABC seemed to ignore attempts for interviews and responses. What they should have done, is issue an apology first thing in the morning to be pro-active, be part of the debate and and to prevent the snowball from escalating. Silence only fuels speculation and further frenzy.

Any public relations student or practitioner can tell you about the 2 polar examples used to demonstrate crisis management. See Wikipedia summaries below:

Tylennol: Example of successful crisis management

In the fall of 1982, a murderer added 65 milligrams of cyanide to some Tylenol capsules on store shelves, killing seven people, including three in one family. Johnson & Johnson recalled and destroyed 31 million capsules at a cost of $100 million. The affable CEO, James Burke, appeared in television ads and at news conferences informing consumers of the company’s actions. Tamper-resistant packaging was rapidly introduced, and Tylenol sales swiftly bounced back to near pre-crisis levels. Johnson & Johnson was again struck by a similar crisis in 1986 when a New York woman died on Feb. 8 after taking cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules. Johnson & Johnson was ready. Responding swiftly and smoothly to the new crisis, it immediately and indefinitely canceled all television commercials for Tylenol, established a toll-free telephone hot-line to answer consumer questions and offered refunds or exchanges to customers who had purchased Tylenol capsules. At week’s end, when another bottle of tainted Tylenol was discovered in a store, it took only a matter of minutes for the manufacturer to issue a nationwide warning that people should not use the medication in its capsule form.

Exxon: Example of not-so-good crisis management

On March 24, 1989, a tanker belonging to the Exxon Corporation ran aground in the Prince William Sound in Alaska. The Exxon Valdez spilled millions of gallons of crude oil into the waters off Valdez, killing thousands of fish, fowl, and sea otters. Hundreds of miles of coastline were polluted and salmon spawning runs disrupted; numerous fishermen, especially Native Americans, lost their livelihoods. Exxon, by contrast, did not react quickly in terms of dealing with the media and the public; the CEO, Lawrence Rawl, did not become an active part of the public relations effort and actually shunned public involvement; the company had neither a communication plan nor a communication team in place to handle the event—in fact, the company did not appoint a public relations manager to its management team until 1993, 4 years after the incident; Exxon established its media center in Valdez, a location too small and too remote to handle the onslaught of media attention; and the company acted defensively in its response to its publics, even laying blame, at times, on other groups such as the Coast Guard. These responses also happened within days of the incident

Please note we’re not suggesting that the Exxon oil spill is by any means in the same league as the Chaser incident, but it merely demonstrates a lack of strategy being in place for dealing with issues that arise.

So what can you do to better handle bad publicity and crisis?

✔ Be prepared

✔ Respond quickly

✔ Break a bad story first so you can maintain some control over it

✔ Keep media & key stakeholders informed

✔ If you’re in the wrong, own up to it & apologise

✔ Make amends & explain how you are planning to improve

✔ Speak with one voice, make sure other employees are not sending mixed messages

✔ After the story settles, try to follow up after a period of time, with a positive PR story

Just briefly before we speed off to enjoy the long weekend here in Melbourne … another C word in the news has been China and its dealing with the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre.

Twenty years on it still saddens me to no end. Our thoughts are with Tiananmen mothers who struggle to have their children’s death recognised & also those still living in exile or in prison for the efforts to topple corruption. Its a sad day indeed when many Chinese don’t even know about this terrible moment in their country’s history.

I won’t leave you on a somber note though. Instead a lesson on how to say your sorry… take it away Elton.

Happy long weekend,
the c word

Updated 10.30pm 05/06/09

Apparently “sorry” isn’t so hard to say when your TV show gets pulled off the air for 2 weeks. The Chaser were quick to respond this time around with another apology…

Forgotten television by autowitch

It’s been an interesting week for youth in the media. We’ve had 2 very different cases that have prompted heated discussion for very different reasons.

First, the chk-chk-bang chick whose name we shall not mention – her catch phrase is surely her most endearing characteristic. If the rumours are anything to go by Channel 9 head honcho’s obviously saw more in her after her ACA interview – they’ve supposedly offered her a job. What bad deed did we do to deserve you Australian television?

Yet again our more interesting and intelligent public figures don’t get a look in… Kate Langbroek’s had some interesting comments about the role of intelligent women on Australian TV. There seems to be very little tolerance for it. If Chk-chk-bang gets a job, I’ll rest my case.

On the other hand Chk-chk-bang did raise some serious issues about the state of journalism.

With speed of delivery becoming a more important part of reporting, there is bound to be some loss of journalistic integrity. In some situations journalists are relying on tools such as wikipedia & twitter as their one & only source. This lack of fact checking from reliable sources isn’t good news as one social experiment showed.

A final year sociology student Shane Fitzgerald placed a fabricated quote on Wikipedia when the French composer Maurice Jarre passed away. The quote appeared in obituaries and articles in British, Indian and Australian newspapers. The hoax remained uncovered for weeks until Fitzgerald emailed the newspapers to advise of the hoax. Many newspapers retracted the quote however it remained in tact on many other websites and newspapers.

Citizen journalism is more ubiquitous than ever with tools such as the Internet, mobile phones, digital cameras and blogs giving everyone a voice. As a result, we have witnessed the Mumbai bombings unfold via Twitter, heard first hand accounts of a plane landing on the Hudson River almost immediately and even watched amateur footage of the recent Victorian bush fires.

Reporting carries a degree of responsibility and as citizen journalists we need to produce factual content that can be verified by other sources. Obviously we would hope that honesty and courtesy are present in eye witness accounts – but as we’ve discovered this week this isn’t always the case.

While many of us had a laugh is it right that a liar may walk away with a career. And would we be so welcoming if she did this at the stabbing of good Samaritan Luke Mitchell? Should we tolerate it? Should the police tolerate this? Obviously the police wasted time tracking down Chk-chk-bang to discovered she fabricated the entire affair. I guess we shall watch with bated breath as the story continues to unfold – or not.

I’m sure someone who takes the responsibility of journalism very highly is the new editor of The Monthly. We learnt this week that The Monthly will be edited by 23 year old super genius Ben Naparstek. He doesn’t like being called a ‘wonder-kid’ or ‘boy genius’. And a quick fact check of his age reveals yes he certainly is an adult. But that doesn’t make the news any less jaw-dropping! I look forward to seeing the direction of The Monthly particularly the role of the editorial board. The most recent editor, Sally Warhaft resigned after continual disputes with the editorial board. The final straw being about who should write the introduction for last month’s cover. This is definitely a ‘watch this space’ topic.

So the under-25s certainly hit the news this week. I wonder who we’ll be talking about next week.

Until then have a great weekend!

the c word

Photo by Dustin. A. Beatty. Source: http://purple-diary.com

Mentoring is an important part of our industry. I’ve learnt so much from my mentors over the years and yes I’ve had many; people from all fields with all sorts of experience. And I believe you never stop needing a mentor, no matter how much experience you have it’s essential to have someone in your life you can bounce ideas off, get guidance from and seek invaluable advice that only a wealth of experience can offer.

When starting out, it helps to have a person to lean on. At the c word, we’ve been mentoring the marketing coordinator at housemouse. She’s a recent graduate with the right mix of enthusiasm and passion to make it in the world of communication. By offering her a little guidance and advice along the way, she’s blossoming and honing her skills to score some big wins for her work place.

You must allow your mentor relationship to develop and change as does your experience. In the beginning it could be about developing and enhancing your skills such as getting advice on press release & proposals… yet while you or your business continues to grow, the relationship can change. For instance, it might become more focused on sharing contacts, providing networking opportunities or even client referrals. Remember, mentoring comes in all shapes and sizes.

And we must not forget, mentoring benefits both parties – you share & exchange ideas, thoughts and skills. This is a chance for the mentoree to provide a fresh perspective.

PRIA director Mr Mark Gold, states, “I think many people assume that mentoring only benefits the person being mentored. A strong mentoring relationship benefits both parties, allowing for an open exchange of ideas and examination of different approaches and methods to dealing with everyday issues. It tests your own conventional thinking and hopefully clears the way for solutions to problems which ultimately bring out the courage of your own convictions.”

How I wish we had intern programs here like they do in America. As a West Wing fan (ok fanatic) I still remember the interns running around helping CJ, Toby, Sam and Will with their comms. Oh to have interned there *sigh*

Mentoring and internships are a also great way to help non profits. People get the chance to work on real campaigns for incredibly worthy organisations that don’t have huge budgets. When a consultancy does pro-bono work for charities this is a great way for a student to learn by doing and working with experience PR pros.

Mentoring is not limited to the communications industry. At a Preston footy field earlier this week we discussed the positive effects of mentoring in social services with a person from the White Lion group. White Lion is an organisation which offers guidance and leadership to our Indigenous youth. It was inspiring to spend some time with them and hear about the amazing programs they are delivering in Victoria.

Since we’re chatting about fostering talent, two new Australian films are flying the flag at the Cannes International Film Festival. Samson & Delilah has been receiving knock-out reviews. Check out their Cannes updates via twitter or better still its currently showing in Australian cinemas. From all reports, this is definitely one of those great Australian films not to be missed. Jane Campion’s Bright Star is also showing at the festival. Cannes is nearing its close, whilst there has been plenty of glamour on the red carpet (yep Bragelina sightings), mixed reviews for Quentin Tarantino’s new film Inglourious Basterds, much hoopla over Lars Von Trier’s AntiChrist, we wait with baited breath for the announcement of this year’s winners.

In keeping with the spirit of all things ‘c’ .. Cannes & now chk-chk-boom. This is a cringe worthy incident that has been getting so much online exposure that the girl in question has had to hire an agent. How unfortunate for the Australian viewing public.

The weekend has come along along super fast… not that the c word crew are complaining. We have cocktails & country outings planned. So enjoy your weekend & we’ll cya next week.

the c word

The c words are flowing again with thecwordblog and twitter (thanks in part to our new team member – Maryann Separovic or as tweeps will know her @girlbug).

It is an absolute delight to welcome Maryann to the c word. She is the latest cast member to join our crew and comes to us after a few (ok five) months overseas – we’re not jealous much. Watch this space for more information about Maryann and her adventures with the c word.

Admittedly, it has taken us a little while to get back online but we’re committed to tweeting and blogging about communication, culture and creativity. This blog will become a place where we share compliments and critiques of communication, campaigns, collaborators and charades. We will share stories we hear from our travels around the city, advice on the best places to have a coffee with a client and anything else we think you’ll be interested in. And we need to know when we’re heading down the right track.

Currently, we’re having a ball working on internal and external communication campaigns for clients such as housemouse, Alpha Shows, Department of Justice, Judicial College, Overload Poetry Festival and Step Right Up. The projects include development of community engagement models, implementation of information kiosks, staff relocation programs and publicity planning across the board. We’ll be sure to provide updates on twitter as the journey continues.

We’ve also been out and about in the regions from Mornington Peninsula to Wangarratta interviewing people as part of a corporate dvd. Many hours on the road… Plus we have exciting projects waiting in the wings. We’re so excited to be working with so many talented and passionate individuals – keep the ideas flowing!

If you’re looking for something fun to do this weekend, why not try your luck with the Spanish Film Festival? I managed to score an invite to the opening night on Wednesday. I heard such great things about the Sydney opening and was eager to munch on some tasty tapas after watching Spanish delights on the screen. I’m sad to report no tapas, just yawn-worthy chicken sandwiches and quiche! Thankfully, the opening night film, Chef’s Special, had the audience in stitches. I highly recommend you head on down to the festival and check out some of the great films on show.

Chef's Special image still

Finally, we must end on a sad note. Today sees the passing of an Australian champion of television & film, Charles ‘Bud’ Tingwell. He died aged 86 after a battle with prostrate cancer. He will be dearly missed by his family, friends and the Australian viewing public. He’s responsible for many belly laughs and tears over the years.

RIP Charles ‘Bud’ Tingwell.

Celebrate your weekend,
the c word