Fraser
P. Seitel has been a communications
consultant, author and teacher for 30 years. He
may be reached directly at yusake
@aol.com.
He
is the author of the Prentice- Hall text The Practice of Public Relations,
now in its eleventh edition, and co-author of Idea Wise.
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Oct. 22, 2010 |
NPR = NEGATIVE PUBLIC RELATIONS |
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By Fraser P. Seitel
Poor Mara Liasson.
That benignly liberal Fox News contributor is a dead duck now that NPR has suddenly discovered the passage in its Code of Ethics that NPR journalists should not participate in shows that encourage punditry and speculation rather than fact-based analysis.
Or maybe not.
NPR is so mixed up in its handling of the Juan Williams fiasco that maybe they'll give Ms. Liasson a pass, further compounding their disastrous PR handling of the whole mess.
NPR fall gal in this media firestorm is President and CEO Vivian Schiller, whose internal memo about Le Affair Juan is a textbook lesson in how not to conduct effective PR in time of turmoil.
Here's how the besieged Ms. Schiller embroiled herself in this no-win PR imbroglio.
First, she leapt to a conclusion without examining the consequences.
The morning after Mr. Williams' Muslim comments on The O'Reilly Factor, he was fired. We did not feel it would responsible to delay the action, Ms. Schiller explained to the staff.
Why not? Because the Council on American Islamic Relations complained?
Clearly, a wiser course for NPR to have followed indeed, the advice any self-respecting PR advisor would have proffered would be to take a moment to assess the totality of Williams' work, civil rights commentary, 10-year contribution to NPR, and intent of his remarks and then decide.
Had NPR taken the time for this analysis, at worst, Williams would have been "suspended" for a month. The network would have been vindicated and not faced with the national opprobrium and potential loss of funding to which this event will surely lead.
Second, she was fuzzily inconsistent in quoting corporate policy.
There is a difference, Ms. Schiller wrote, between an NPR "analyst" and an NPR "commentator" And thou shalt not partake in programs encouraging "punditry and speculation," said Ms. Schiller. But the fact is that any time any NPR employee appears on Fox or MSNBC or Meet the Press or talk radio or the blogosphere, they are invading the realm of opinion and bias.
It just ain't your mother's journalistic landscape any more, Ms. Schiller. And to blame Juan Williams for that defies credulity.
She hit him when he was down.
One cardinal rule in public relations is you neither publicly bad mouth your adversary nor pummel a fallen man.
When Ms. Schiller growled in her memo that "this isn't the first time we have had serious concerns about some of Juan's public comments," she not only violated this respectful PR covenant, she alienated anybody who ever met Juan Williams, as understated and decent an individual as any in the media.
She did it for money.
Finally, Ms. Schiller lamented to the staff, "We're profoundly sorry that this happened during fundraising week."
Ooofa.
On Thursday, poor, exasperated Ms. Schiller was still digging herself and her network in deeper. In a speech in Atlanta captured on video, she wondered why the suddenly-outspoken Mr. Williams didnt keep his comments "between him and his psychiatrist -- or his publicist." (How dare she denigrate publicists!)
With the damage of NPR's harebrained decision done and Bill O'Reilly closing in for the kill, Ms. Schiller would be wise to heed the advice of that PR sage of yesteryear, Archie Bunker, and "stifle herself."
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Responses: |
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California Cruiser (10/22):
Williams got a nice fat contract from Fox News out of this. He's crying all the way to the bank, but he's still angry over the incredibly stupid way NPR handled the matter in public. And he has every right to be.
GOPlease (10/22):
I feel sorry for Juan who, as Fraser says, is a truly decent man. But, this fiasco is just perfect for NPR -- a total joke of a network that shills more shamelessly for the left than anyone outside the DNC.
Bill Huey, Strategic Communications, Atlanta (10/22):
There's another lesson buried in point one: Don't give in to pressure groups too quickly. Think it through, and don't try to play the decisive executive. Why? Because pressure groups can turn around on you the way CAIR did with ABC News last night: "Oh, we don't think he should lose his job over this, we just thought it was offensive." Now NPR is trying to unscramble the egg, when it never should have been broken in the first place.
Wes Pedersen (10/22):
Juan Williams and I are kindred souls. If I had been in his position, I would have said exactly the same. Damn right I get concerned at an airport when I see someone in Muslim garb. It doesn't bother me on the streets or in other public places, but it sure bothers me in an airport. I don't think I am politically incorrect; I think NPR was and I hope this backfires as a mighty wake-up call to "public" radio. I am a public, damn it.
Rene A. Henry, Fellow PRSA, Member of ATAS (10/22):
This is just another reason someone needs to clean house at NPR. The leaders keep shooting themselves in their feet every given opportunity. This on top of trying to hold some of their best stations hostage with fees to support the old guard in DC.
PR historian (10/27):
NPR Radio serves the public? In this case, it has served itself and the public badly. Schiller should be toast, or at least severely reprimanded for carrying political correctness beyond any sane interpretation.
Kevin Foley (10/27):
I always wondered why Williams lowered himself to appear on Fox News, which abandoned - if ever there was any - "fair and balanced" coverage of the issues. Even its "straight news" segments unabashedly push the far right wing talking points de jour. Williams' remarks were repugnant and altogether welcome at Fox News, where Muslim bashing has been all the rage recently. Imagine if he was white and had said he gets nervous when he boards a plane and sees black people? Same result.
Wes Pedersen (10/27):
Kevin F: You're right about Fox News, of course, but see my response above. I do not for one moment see as race or faith bating any admission of feeling doubt, uncertainty and even fear at the sight, in an airport or on a plane, of someone dressed in Muslim garb. Please review stories of suicide bombings. You will find that many are committed by innocent appearing women as well as by me. Also, it does appear that your memory of 9/11 has modified itself for no reason discerible in the media.
Wes Pedersen (10/27):
Kevin F: There's a typo worth saving in my last response. I dropped the n from men and I have myself admitting to be a suicide bomber. I deny everything except the typo. Identity: wes pedersen
Joe Honick, GMA International Ltd (10/27):
When you can get both the right and the left ticked off at the same time,you're either incredibly stupid or just plain hypocritical...or both...quite an accomplishment. What also came out but escaped almost unnoticed was the role an outfit called CAIR(Council on AmericanIslamic Relations)played in the pressure on NPR. These are not sweethearts and a good read of a book Muslim Mafia would details som eof its activities. The book is NOT a hit on Islam but ons pecific groups. What NPR also hardly ever...if ever...covers are the harassments, hecklings and other activities against Jewish groups on college campuses across the nation hy the Muslim Students Association. Would such revelations also get a Juan Williams canned? |
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