Conversations on B2B PR & Social Marketing
By Erin Elton
At the AlwaysOn OnMedia conference in NYC yesterday, I saw a fascinating panel on Social Commerce. An interesting statistic came out of the panel discussion from Lance Neuhauser, CEO of The Echo System: 95% of Facebook wall posts from companies go unanswered while call centers for the same companies are packed with customer service reps taking phone calls. Most large companies do not have any employees focusing their time on interacting through social networks to improve their image.
Most companies have in place response strategies for the media, but what about negative comments about your business through social networks?
Based on this presentation, here are a few tips for rapid response social media PR:
1) Have someone within your company (or at the PR firm that represents you) constantly monitor your company’s FB pages, Twitter handle, YouTube channel and every other social network for any comments.
2) Respond right away to either negative or positive comments by either re-tweeting, commenting in a thread or posting how your company corrected the wrong that you were called out on.
3) If possible, directly message the person that negatively commented about your company and apologize for any inconvenience and make it right through a discount, refund, etc.
4) DO NOT try to fight back and challenge the person unless you are ready for a possible social media comment war. In some cases, this kind of publicity could be a good PR stunt but make sure you have thought through all the possibilities.
Remember: Social media is the new social interaction medium for businesses. Stay ahead of the curve by paying attention to and interacting within your social networks.
By RadhaVij
It’s 2012: year of the Mayan apocalypse, era of big data and cloud and, coincidentally, time of The Muppets’ comeback. Since the world may be ending soon, we’d like to take a minute to wish you a happy new year full of as much indigenous tradition, virtual data and sassy pig as your heart desires!
2011 was a great year for Gutenberg. We were fortunate to increase our client portfolio and expand our team of media relations gurus across the U.S., UK and India. In the process, we also won the Mercury Award for outstanding media relations and PR News’ 15 to Watch award. Most importantly, however, we received excellent client feedback and landed coverage in ABC, Bloomberg, CNBC, CNN, Fast Company, Forbes, Fortune, Fox Business, The Huffington Post, Mashable, Reuters, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and hundreds more.
Also, in the spirit of newness, we wanted to let you know that we’ve got brand new office digs. Gutenberg Communications has moved locations to the 15th floor. It’s the same glorious midtown address, but now we’ve got an even better view of the New York Times building. Plus, our new work space has high-tech conference facilities, a bike room to reduce our carbon footprint, a pitch room to increase our client footprint, big bright windows, and our favorite lunch spots don’t even have to change. What else could one possibly need?!
Take a look for yourself and then come visit us. We’d love to show you around. We’ve moved on up!
By Erin Elton
On Monday night I went to go watch the love of my life Blake Griffin stomp on the Thunder at the Staples Center in LA. It was magical even before the dunk over Perkins that was heard around the world
So here’s the thing – I have always been a diehard Lakers fan and the love of my life used to be Kobe Bryant (disclaimer – I am not the reason Vanessa is divorcing him). But there is just something about the Clippers that is so lovable and so amazing and so enrapturing that I had to cheat on the Lake Show and switch sides. Naturally I spent precious time since Monday thinking about my transition to blue, red and white and I think I have figured it out. Yes I love CP3 (thank you Commissioner) and the tall and lanky DeAndre Jordan (he actually dunks more than Griffin… and those REBOUNDS… my goodness!). But there is something about the Blakester that makes me want to keep coming back for more. The thing is – I am not the only person that feels this way. Griffin is one loved dude right now in LA. So why does Griffin get all the love?
I talk to companies everyday who want more attention from the media and they want to know how to get it. What is it they can change? What can they do to get the media to call them for stories? How can they be more like Blake Griffin? I get this ALL THE TIME. So here’s the sizzle:
1. Be diverse. Don’t spend all your focus on twittering up the twiterverse or inundating reporters with static press releases they may or may not find interesting. Have a full court press attack toward press, bloggers, analysts, social media networks, etc. In order to “Griffinize” your company you need to have skillz in all areas of the game.
2. Have confidence. Next time Griffin puts a Perkins into submission notice the look on his face afterward – it is one of determination and dominance but very little arrogance. You respect him, you don’t hate him. He doesn’t slow down after a win because the momentum carries him forward and he capitalizes on it. Griffin’s dunk wasn’t until the 3rd quarter but he carried on the confidence that he is “the man” the rest of the game. He was on fire and so was the crowd.
3. Don’t be afraid to dunk. SPEAK OUT BIG PEOPLE! Be proud of what you do and let the world know. Always prep before you go out strong (I was impatient while Griffin warmed up and stretched for 15 minutes before we saw any action) but when you are ready come forward with a strong united front and tell the world (or tech/business/trade pubs) your story.
4. Have a personality. Blake is the poster boy for fun and entertainment in the world of basketball. Trust me, I know this even more after attending the Warriors vs. Kings game in Oakland last night after the Clippers vs. Thunder game in LA. It was a snooze-fest for me because the night before I was entertained from start to finish with dunks, assists, alley-oops and team camaraderie. The Blake Show mesmerized me so much that I can’t stop watching ESPN highlights on repeat. Griffinize your company by being fun interesting and consistent! Even if your technology is complex you can make it interesting – that’s what we are here for. Let us “Griffinize” you.
By Jennifer Smelyanets
The holiday season is a time for family, friends and food. It’s a time to appreciate those around you and participate in the spirit of gift giving. But, it’s also an excellent time for us PR folk to build relationships with members of the press, clients and colleagues. From a media relations perspective, it’s also one of the best times to pitch. Below are 4 holiday pitching tips from the Gute team.
1. Thank the Press – We’ve been reaching out to the same media people throughout the entire year and in most cases contacting them strictly via e-mail or phone. Now is the time to invite a few key press people out grab lunch, dinner or a drink to thank them for their time and get to know them a bit better as people. The holidays bring out the best in most people, so odds are if you take the time to meet with journalists during this time of year, they’ll be more open to not only you, but also open to hearing about your client(s). If time and/or budget doesn’t permit an outing, send a ‘Thank you/Happy Holidays’ card or email. It can go a long way. You’d be surprised.
2. Develop a 2012 Outlook Pitch Platform – Everyone is writing about the year ahead and recapping 2011. Why not hop on the bandwagon? We’re sure there’s a fit for any industry you’re in.
3. Catch them Right before the Holidays – This is a tricky one, but if done right can bear fruit. Most offices are closed the last two weeks of the year. And if they’re not, most press folks take that time off. Odds are you should probably start outreach in Early Dec., right after Thanksgiving to catch them right on time. Unless of course we’re talking about a long lead publication.
4. Identify those folks NOT taking holiday – News never sleeps, so there are some media that will be working straight through Christmas, Hanukah, New Years, etc. Our job is to identify those folks right away and check in with them to see what it is that they’re covering. While most media folks are on a tight deadline to get stories in before the end of the year, odds are they have a warm fuzzy feeling in their hearts from all of the holiday sweets and spirit, so they’ll be more open to your idea.
These are just a few tips for PR folks looking to gain some media traction throughout the holiday season.
We also want to wish our readers a very wonderful holiday season and happy new year!
By Liana Hawes
Brookfield Properties owner and former New York City Planning Commission Chairman John E. Zuccotti has a public park named after him in the Financial District of lower Manhattan where Trinity Place, Cedar Street, Broadway and Liberty Street converge. The site itself was formerly known as Liberty Park Plaza, one block south east (or thereabouts) of the World Trade Center. If you’ve ever had a day job in the Financial District, you’ll know what an important respite this Plaza, with its trees and seats, was (is) to a weary workers on lunch break.
Zuccotti’s real estate, and the area surrounding it, has a place in history as defending private commercial interests. While the plaza itself has been used frequently in the 20th century for public demonstrations and the staging of protests, back in the 17th century the ground was part of the Dutch Colonial settlement “New Amsterdam”, an extension of the Dutch Republic. The settlement was just outside of Fort Amsterdam (which protected the interest of the Dutch East India Company’s fur trade operations on the Hudson River) and strategically situated on the southern tip of Manhattan Island. This region, including the settlement and the Fort which was the Colony’s capital, eventually became known as New York City. In recent history, as the Towers fell, Liberty Park Plaza was covered with debris and in the aftermath was used as a staging area for recovery efforts.
Over the past few weeks the park has again taken a place on center stage as it’s been a staging area for the OWS movement. On a recent visit to the Occupy Wall Street encampment, I was particularly struck at how impressively the OWS drum battery was staged in the Plaza. They sounded terrific and beat a call for all the tourists and onlookers who walked by in curiosity, disgust, wonder, ignorance and encouragement.
After throngs of spectators trampled through the Park’s maze over this past weekend of assemblage, protests and camping, the Plaza was yet again strewn with debris – trash – which has since been cleared – along with the Protesters. It was empty and clean this morning and glam shots of pristine Zuccotti Park evoked the Liberty Park Plaza of yore, New York’s Financial District in all its glory where the Towers once stood strong and Liberty could be felt. Although I’m not sure why this Park was ever dubbed “Liberty”, maybe for Liberty Street?
Why did Mr. Zuccotti and his team at Brookfield Properties insist on a name change from Liberty Park Plaza and will he want to go down in history for his role as OWS’s landlord, tolerant of their presence yet pushing for their removal by enforcement? Will the name Zuccotti Park forever be tainted with images and stories about the health, legal, and safety threats the authorities said this particular OWS camp posed to the public at large? This rather than the cause that actually inspired the Occupy Wall Street movement and other camps to subsequently form in cities across the U.S. in national protest?
So far, the news media has focused on the logistics of the Camp, the occupation itself, the costs to taxpayers, law enforcement and the legal and removal strategies of the City authorities. Now that the occupation’s over, I’d like to see more stories about the core message in the protest and the rallying cry against the financial establishment, for it was strong and passionate enough to inspire similar “Occupy” protests throughout the nation. I’d like to see Mr. Zuccotti, for whom the Park is named, going head to head in a nightly news roundtable discussion with an OWS operations official.
How did Mr. Zuccotti get private money to renovate the Park after 9/11? What were the goals of the renovation and how was Zuccotti Park designed to function as public space?
This was an $8M renovation by a prestigious firm which installed trees, granite sidewalks, tables and seating as well as in-ground lighting. It seems like as good a place as any for an urban camp. While the granite is hard as a sleeping surface, it’s great for outdoor cooking and the tables are conducive to networking discussions, training, interviews, chess, dining and computing – all things that make for a successful protest.
The Occupiers will find it hard to be removed but they might be more comfortable if they can go home to a good night’s sleep and a meal and prepare properly for the days and nights of protesting ahead. Or is the movement made stronger by the camp itself and the community it fostered among its inhabitants? Camps are powerful structures when it comes to group cohesion, defense, protection and taking a stand.
I’m following updates and Tweets on these developments from the New York Times City Room and WNYC news among others. These seem to indicate that the City and Brookfield say that while the Camp must go (and has) the protests may continue. Now that camp’s over, perhaps the news media will no longer focus on camp logistics and we’ll get to the meat of the story with investigations now turning towards the reasons for the protest and what, if any, are the key messages behind Occupy Wall Street.
By Liana Hawes
A TRICKY CLIENT LIGHTS UP THE VILLAGE ON HALLOWEEN
As the agency of record for the New York City’s 39th Annual Village Halloween Parade, Gutenberg Communications was privy to work with organizers of one of the world’s most famous and longstanding public events that makes Greenwich Village a top international destination on the scariest night of the year. Billed as “the nation’s most wildly creative public participatory event,” and “New York’s Mardi Gras,” the New York Village Halloween Parade, now in its 39th year, typically attracts approximately 2 million attendees – and that’s not counting Parade participants! Like no other public event in the world (well maybe Burning Man), the Parade constantly makes the “bucket list” of things to do before you kick. So who actually shows ups and what sorts of public relations challenges does it present?
WHO SHOWS UP?
About 50,000 participants including hundreds of giant puppets, artists with explosive imaginations, thousands of New Yorkers in costumes of their own creation, dancers of all styles and more than 50 bands show up to be in the Parade. Talk about photo opportunities! That’s not to mention the 450 “media” who registered online this year for a Press Pass so they could join in and cover the Parade en route from the inside.- A contingent of NYPD officers are on Parade duty that night as are big crews from NY 1 and WPIX which station their production trucks to capture a live broadcast of the Parade as it s makes its way through the Greenwich Village up Avenue of the Americans from Soho to Chelsea.
PR CHALLENGES
Pointing press to the event highlights can be incredibly difficult when your line-up includes: the Incredible Hulk, the Mad Hatter, Roving Eyeballs, decked out Mini-Coopers, Chubaka, flying snakes, giant dragons, the rock band KISS, Little Red Riding Hood, Spiderman, drag queens and kings, Pirate Bluebeard, Princess Diana, Jagermeister skeletons, the Abominable Snowman, WonderWoman, robots and thousands of witches, ghosts and ghouls – just to name of tiny few of those available for photo opportunities. Bigfoot also showed up this year as did Obama, who appeared many times throughout the line-up violently wielding a budget ax.
PRE-EVENT PHOTO AND STORY OPPS
Each year, in keeping with tradition, the Parade is headed by an ever-changing menagerie of Giant Puppets and special costumed performances. This entourage provides the kernel of inspiration that sparks the creative energies of the other 50,000 Parade participants. We try to engage media to attend one of the scheduled workshops and locations where the Parade’s giant puppets are built and created by master puppet artists. Media can go to the workshops to engage in this wonderful process and meet with the artists. Technicians responsible for these puppets work throughout the summer and fall in many locations around the Greater New York City area, Upstate New York, New Jersey, Boston, Cleveland and the North East. These workshops are busy designing and fabricating new creations to fulfill the changing themes of each new Parade. Some 600 volunteers from the local communities and from New York City assist in the various stages of building, assembling and operating the puppets and costumes.
THEME
Communicating about enterprise software, venture capital and IT services can be downright scary at times but here’s a more daunting PR challenge: Each year the Parade has an artistic theme set by master puppet and pageantry artists Alex Kahn and Sophia Michahelles of Superior Concept Monsters, the Parade’s official puppeteers. The chosen theme is based on oral history, socio-political concerns, myth and tradition. The overarching, grand-view messages behind their large-scale puppet creations are not exactly easy to convey in words to journalists who have become more accustomed to sound bites and simplified bullet points. This year’s 2011 theme, “The i of the Beholder,” explores what makes the disembodied EYE so disturbing and familiar. Tradition associates the all-seeing eye with inescapable power and authority – coldly remote, yet as near to us as the back of a dollar bill. (sounds like a few clients we know:) As Kahn and Michalles put it, “The technology of Facebook and Flickr offers us the possibility of seeing everything, we risk seeing nothing but ourselves, eyes wide shut, in a collective feast of Narcissism. Argus, for all his vigilance, is slain by Hermes (God of Communication), and for his sacrifice, is turned into a peacock.” For this year’s Parade, video images of a close-up eye were projected onto a “Great Eyeball high in the Parade sky, in a succession of images at once intimate and anonymous.” This was beautifully executed visually at the front of the Parade. While hard to encapsulate into a sound bite or bullet point in our preliminary press, it was great to be able to point journalist to actual visuals – moving giant puppets processing up 6th Avenue and as they were coming to life at the puppet workshops.
PRESS CHECK-IN: OH JOY!
Over 450 “journalists” registered for media passes to the Parade this year. Last year it was about 250. Anyone who registers at the Parade’s Online Press and Media Center as “press” must check-in on-site at the Press Table starting at the Parade starting point at 2pm on All Hallow’s Eve. We issue official NYC Parade press badge badges to anyone who took this action or. The majority of registrants are freelance photographers who have agreed to submit their photos to the Parade Photo Gallery at the Parade’s official website. This, in return for a pass to cover the Parade from an insider’s vantage point. Many stragglers with cameras, who did not take the time to register, nor have any press credentials, still show up requesting a badge. In addition, several credentialed media on assignment showed up and checked in. This year they hailed from outlets including Barron’s, the Associated Press, Reuters TV, the BBC, Agence France, The Daily News and others on a mission to capture and file photos and reports by deadline that night. The credentialed are approved and their laminated NYC press badges are enough to ward off the NYPD who are empowered to promptly non-badged photographers from the lineup. But other bloggers, photographers who are neither credentialed nor took the time to register are sometimes left hanging. It’s tough being a gatekeeper on this massive media event.
CRAZED SPOKESPEOPLE
The Parade steps off at 7 p.m. on Halloween and media typically arrive to start their reporting at approximately 6:30 p.m. at which time they ask for spokesperson interviews. Now, there are three official spokespersons including the creatives, Kahn and Michalles and our key spokesperson, the Parade’s Producing Director and national Celebration Artists Ms. Jeanne Fleming, who has a legacy with the Parade, and is one of the most electrifying clients and dynamic spokespeople a publicist could ever hope to work with. At the bewitching hour when most journalists want their interviews, however, all three spokespeople are crazily busy dealing with any number of things that could go wrong (and never do). Puppet artists can speak eloquently about their creations but they are so busy rigging the giant puppets and organizing teams of handlers it’s hard to find them let alone nail them down for interviews. Ms. Fleming is on a 2-way radio with the NYPD police chiefs, head marshals, drivers, bands, crowd control specialists, sponsors and VIPs so she’s a bit hard to nail down for interviews. This whole scenario has forever changed our view how to wrangle for interviews at an event.
OCCUPY WALL STREET IS COMING?!
“A spokesperson from Occupy Wall Street said a contingent of 500 Occupiers be showing up to march in the Parade. Can you confirm that?” a reporter with a major metropolitan daily asks. “No, but anyone is welcome to join the Parade If they are in costume.” The tradition of the Village Halloween Parade is to invite everyone in costume to join the parade — and typically 50,000 to 60,000 people take advantage of that invitation every year! Most of these are costumed celebrants on foot. As the nation’s most wildly creative public participatory event and the greatest City in the world, anyone and everyone in COSTUME is welcome. Safety and enjoyment come first. Parade organizers, therefore, ask all participants (including those from Occupy Wall Street) to keep the spirit and tradition of the Village Halloween Parade alive and abide by these simple rules. So the word went out: Get Your Costume Together!
CONTROL FREAKS BACK DOWN
Once the Parade gets underway we lose our authority, power and control as PR gatekeepers, and follow our natural inclination to keep watch beside the broadcast production trucks of NY 1 and WPIX where crews are set up and directors calling the shots, keeping the parade moving despite the many photographers who hold up the procession as masqueraders pose for their cameras. It’s hard to distinguish between the officials from those who are costumed like them. It’s chaos at the very hour when the world of the living and the dead can supposedly see through to the other. As the Parade processes, we resume our role as ushers and facilitators in a massive public procession that has a mind and spirit of its own. We watch the procession move with the powers that be: Frankenstein families, pirates, dead presidents, super heroes, monsters, ghouls, ghosts, witches, Tea Parties, Budget Axes and other creatures of the night. To stand and watch: now that’s a tall order when you’re a bunch of control-freakish PR people. The next day’s results hit national and international outlets and the stories, blogs and photos all publish in a wicked PR Brew!
By Tracy Rodrigues
This month Gutenberg had the pleasure of supporting the US launch of The Cherie Blair Foundation’s Mentoring Women in Business Programme. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair opened the evening with remarks on his wife’s passionate support of women across the globe. His comments were followed by a panel moderated by ABC News anchor Christiane Amanpour with Melanne Verveer, US Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, Nikesh Arora, Senior Vice-President, Google and Aeneas Chuma, UNDP Resident Representative, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Kenya.
In addition to the dignitaries, press and potential donors, other noteworthy guests were in attendance. Mentees from emerging countries in Africa, South Asia and the Middle East came to the event and lest anyone forget, it was really their story to be told that evening.
The Foundation’s mentoring platform is powered by Google. Mentees use Gchat, Gmail and Google docs to connect with their mentors in other countries and gain practical business advice. Given the different geographic locations and time zones these partnerships span, Google’s tools are a valuable and conveniently free resource. The program is unique for its focus on emerging markets and women that have already established businesses in their communities. The Foundation is empowering women with the drive to succeed simply by giving them the resources to do so.
Also interesting is the mentors themselves. It may be the effects of attending a women’s college, but I couldn’t help notice how many of the mentors were men. This was brought up later in the panel discussion and the question was met with brutal honesty. Why men? Because they generally have more resources and are more successful. While the event highlighted the needs of other countries, the panel discussion brought home the challenges the UK and US now face. How can we empower our own women to succeed in technology and business?
The event gained attention from CNN’s new show Erin Burnett Outfront, Entrepreneurship Magazine and Bloomberg, among others who were in attendance. Congratulations to Cherie, The Foundation and Google on a successful US program launch!
If you’re interested in learning more about The Cherie Blair Foundation for Women or becoming a mentor please visit: www.cherieblairfoundation.org
By Stefanie Cannon
When clients request a regional media tour, surprisingly one of the first places I visit to find relevant reporters is LinkedIn. When I want to discover what a reporter’s latest interest might be, I take a peek at their Twitter feed. The value of social media platforms provide PR professionals with more insight and can be “minimally invasive” as compared to other methods of more direct contact which can sometimes be a less than welcome intrusion for reporters on deadline.
Here are three ways that PR pros can use social media to strengthen pitching efforts and perhaps more importantly create solid bonds:
- LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION – With LinkedIn, PR professionals have the ability to easily and unintrusively view where a reporter is located when booking a local media tour.
- MUCK RACK – A quick method to discovering what reporters are discussing among their community is to head over to MuckRack.com where you can catch a filtered view of the latest tweets by reporters (designated by beat)
- FRIEND REQUEST – A few of my colleagues have creatively used Facebook to interact with reporters on both a professional and personal level helping to successfully cultivate a PR/reporter relationship.
Unfortunately many PR pros have relied too heavily on the “mail merge” or “bulk sender” option when it comes to pitching efforts. We can see this time and again on reporter Twitter feeds when they call out a #PRFail. Reporters respect PR pros that take the time to truly understand the publication and their beat. Social media has made it easier than ever to identify and track reporters that might be great contacts and approach them with a more personalized message. Gaining insights in real time and understanding what is happening for these reporters on a more personal level translates into a much higher likelihood they are open to pitches and story ideas.
Do you have any experiences with social media? Send me your thoughts.
By Susie Hayne
The public relations profession has undergone many changes since its inception in the early 1900s, when it was viewed as “engineering of consent,” defined as the art of manipulating people. Over the course of the 20th century, public relations practitioners worked hard to overcome that perception and prove our place in the business world by establishing credibility with journalists and building relationships to enhance the umbrella field that is communications, and ultimately to provide unbiased editorial content to consumers. Yet in today’s Internet-connected, social media-heavy world of communications, the landscape is changing and more and more publications are moving away from a relationship-driven model to a pay-for-play editorial model.
I was recently told by the editor of a publication their editorial focus is “unique in the sense that the majority of our coverage is either directly or indirectly tied to advertising.” Knowing that, how can you be sure when you pick up that publication that the information you are getting is REALLY the best on that topic if they willingly leave out reputable sources that maybe cannot afford to advertise in the publication?
Even Newsweek, a publication that still falls into the rare category of more than 1.5 million subscribers, has said that the Internet has changed everything, and not necessarily for the better. In that same article economist Joseph Schumpeter calls the advent of the Internet “creative destruction,” sweeping away everything in the media landscape as we knew it.
The proliferation of the Internet and social media has slashed publication advertising dollars, leading to publishing houses being forced to cease print publications, eliminate test labs and lower head counts – all of which drastically change the practice of public relations. With a smaller revenue stream publications are being forced to look at alternate ways to stay in business and the trend of accepting pay-for-play editorial content, in this PR practitioner’s humble opinion, is a giant step backward, washing away all of the blood, sweat and tears that our PR forefathers have shed to pave the way for unbiased, honest editorial content that consumers can trust.
By Hugh Burnham
Rosanna Fiske, Chair of the PRSA, just issued a statement around Rupert Murdoch’s response to the growing crisis surrounding News Corporation, criticizing News Corp.’s CEO for trying to protect his closest lieutenants as more and more revelations surfaced of wrongdoing. The July 4 revelation that reporters working for the News of the World had in 2002 deleted messages from the voicemail of missing schoolgirl, Milly Dowler, turned the phone-hacking saga from something that interested a few lawmakers to a national scandal in the U.K. Over the weekend, as News International CEO Rebekah Brooks was arrested and brought in for questioning, the fallout from the scandal seemed to mushroom exponentially.
Wrote Fiske:
“In unsuccessfully trying to save the careers of some of his top lieutenants, including former News International CEO Rebekah Brooks, Murdoch is damaging the reputation of all his media properties.”
And indeed, according to any accepted doctrine of crisis communications, Murdoch’s approach is dead wrong. News Corp. needs to find out exactly where the wrongdoing occurred, communicate that openly and transparently to the public, and root out and expel those responsible for the egregious practices.
News Corp. competitor Bloomberg’s BusinessWeek itself has a huge cover story this week devoted to the culture that gave rise to such practices and an inside look at Rupert Murdoch himself. Yet, crisis communications does not come innately to many businesspeople, particularly when it comes to those that are close to them. Brooks, according to BusinessWeek, was like a daughter to Murdoch. Losing her from his company was a very deep wound. And a crisis like this, by its very nature, comes up on a company with little warning. The potential impact at its outset can be difficult to gauge. After all, these allegations against the News of the World had been around since 2007. How was Murdoch to know that the phone hacking would mushroom into an issue capable of costing him his empire? In fact, argue the Bloomberg BusinessWeek reporters, the very culture of News Corp. was to obfuscate and challenge whenever allegations like this were made.
The answer is that someone near Murdoch needed to make it clear to him that the very serious allegations which first surfaced in 2007 were true, and the potential outcome could be disastrous for News Corp. Unfortunately, it may be too late to save Rupert Murdoch’s empire, even for those diligently counseling him now. Three days ago, Murdoch visited Milly Dowling’s parents to apologize for the egregious behavior of News of the World. But it may be too little too late. Murdoch may or may not lose his iron grip on News Corporation, but the costs to his reputation have been steep and a break-up seems a very real possibility.
The newspapering business is a tough one. It seems that the very aggressive tabloid culture that sold so many newspapers and created shareholder value, has now come back to haunt Murdoch. Let’s see how he responds to the issues ahead.
