"On the road to political extremism"

"On the road to political extremism"

"Very interesting commentary about Jon Stewart's/Colbert's political rally "to restore sanity," written by an Australian business prof who is a visiting prof at Harvard University.    He described the rally as a caricature of political rallies, which is not surprising. 

I really like his statement:
"It is the rule that disproves the exception. For while reasonableness brought in the crowd, extremism - even overtly false extremism - kept their attention for three hours. While other news organisations in the US would not be as overt, they are playing on the same things to drive demand. In fact, reasonableness only has a chance of being entertainment in an environment where extremists are taken seriously."

Did any of you watch/attend this rally?  What was your impression?

Politics In The Social Media Age: How Tweet It Is

I saw this story about politics and social media on NRP and thought I'd share. It talks about how many politicians are using social media to keep constituents and the media up to date.

The article says, "There is much talk among the panelists of 'authenticity' — the notion that a candidate who sends out her own online messages and interacts with voters electronically is perceived as more real than a candidate who doesn't, or who leaves the tasks up to staff members." In my opinion, it's very important for politicians to jump on the social media bandwagon. It's a quick and easy way for them to get their message out to a lot of people.

The article is pretty interesting and also gives some examples of "well-wired" politicians.

Domino's Pizza Blog Post

Katie Roberts-Kremer

Heather Smith

Kirsten Carlson

Emily Williams

Group Case Study

Domino’s Pizza

1. Situational Analysis

a. Brief History:

Domino’s received an unexpected blow to their brand in April of 2009. Two Dominos’ employees, Kristy Hammonds and Michael Setzer, who worked at a store in the small town of Conover, North Carolina recorded a video of the two using unsanitary and frankly disgusting means of preparing food they later delivered to customers. The video shows the employees passing gas onto a sandwich, putting cheese into their nostrils and then placing it on a sandwich, sneezing into the food, and bragging about other disgusting things they do to food. This video was leaked and went public via YouTube and Domino’s reputation was immediately stained.

In response to the all of the controversy, Domino’s President, Patrick Doyle released his own YouTube video. The video has been criticized because he is obviously reading from a script and he barely looks at the camera. The two employees were fired and charged with one felony count of distributing prohibited foods each. Hammonds was a registered sex offender and had other previous charges, Domino’s is also being criticized for their hiring policies. They responded by stating they will be revaluating their hiring policies and will make them stricter.

Domino’s also has recently come out with new commercials where they respond directly to customers’ complaints about their food along with commercials promoting their new, revamped menu.

b. Key Stakeholders:

Internal:

· Employees

· President, Patrick Doyle

· Shareholders

· Franchise Owners

External:

· Customers

· United States Department of Health

· Competitors (pizza restaurants such as Pizza Hut, Papa John’s, Round Table, Sbarro, and Little Caesars)

c. Political, Social, Economic, and Cultural Factors

Political:

The Domino’s Pizza video scandal brings to light several legal issues, food safety being among the most important. For a national chain who sells nearly 1 million pizzas each day, any food safety or health issue can be devastating. The images of employees making sandwiches and pizzas with blatant disregard to food safety standards as well as intentionally contaminating food products were a serious blow to Domino’s reputation. Following the YouTube video, Domino’s instituted a more stringent food safety training regimen for employees and has commented on the importance of food safety in the food production process as well. Ultimately, it is up to Domino’s customers to decide whether the company has done enough to reassure them of the safety and sanitation of the chain’s food.

Economic:

The economic effects of the YouTube video were twofold: the company’s reputation and share value suffered and the franchise in which the video took place suffered. Though often overlooked in respect to a scandal that affects the overall brand, the local Domino’s Pizza where the video was filmed was forced to complete a health inspection and dispose of hundreds of dollars of products. Moreover, Domino’s shares dropped by 10% in less than a week.

Cultural:

The impact of the YouTube video was detrimental not only to the company’s external reputation but also its internal reputation. While customers are of course the most important people to please in food service, there is no service without employees. For a nation-wide company like Domino’s, maintaining an employee culture of trust, respect, and fun is among their top priorities. However, when even two of the many thousand Domino’s employees break with the mission of the company, everyone pays the price. Of course, as a result of their behavior the employees featured in the video were fired and charged with delivering prohibited foods. But what about the other employees? The question for Domino’s is how to maintain (or re-establish) a culture of trust and mutual respect between employee and management without infringing upon the employees sense of privacy and individual responsibility. No one wants to work with Big Brother watching over their shoulder 24/7.

Social:

Social Media lies at the heart of both the problem and solution to the Domino’s Pizza scandal. An otherwise unremarkable yet unpleasant event became a national PR nightmare when the employees chose to post their video on youtube.com. In a matter of days, the video had had over 1 million hits. Domino’s had several choices in how to respond to the scandal and ultimately, chose the same route that got them into the trouble in the first place. By responding through YouTube videos and Twitter (@dpzinfo), rather than press releases and other traditional avenues, Domino’s was able to reach their target audience as quickly as the initial problematic video had. In addition, by adding Twitter to their initial response, and eventually their ‘showusyourpizza.com’ ads, has created a two-way symmetrical response to the issue, allowing their customers to engage in dialogue with the company.

d. Potential Solutions:

Domino’s Pizza could have better handled their response to the video scandal by:

1. Responding immediately rather than waiting several days in hopes that the video buzz might diminish. Better crisis management might have helped Domino’s to quiet the issue before it became nation-wide news. Their late response seemed to show their lack of preparation for a crisis such as the video.

2. One solution suggested by Brandseye.com was to utilize a program designed to monitor a company’s online reputation. While certainly a reasonable suggestion, perhaps a better method of issues management would be instituting a company policy on social media that both embraces it and outlines particular rules to guard against abuse.

Questions:

1. Domino’s has recently done a new marketing and commercial campaign illustrating that they are responding to peoples’ complaints and dissatisfaction with their pizzas. This campaign does not directly address the YouTube video. Do you think Domino’s should directly address the issue in a nationwide campaign? Why or why not?

2. Beyond dealing with the negligent employees, what responsibility does Domino’s have to address the issue of food safety in their restaurants? Has your perception of food quality been tainted by rumors and/or leaked videos such as this?

3. Do you think that this situation would have been so publicized if it wasn’t for social media? Could the situation have been avoided if Domino’s had a previously established code regarding social media use in the workplace?

How To Make A Viral Video

I find it fascinating how popular viral videos can become. It is interesting to see how fast videos become internet sensations through sites like youtube.com. Perhaps one of the first instances of a video going viral was with OK Go’s music video for “Here it goes again.” This video first showed up more than 4 years ago and currently has almost 53 million views. OK Go has had little mainstream success but they are huge internet sensations. One of their videos just released this month already has 6 million views. Here is a CNN interview done with OK Go discussing how to make viral videos. If you don’t have time to read the whole interview here is a short except on how OK Go views the Internet as freeing and revolutionary.

CNN: How has the internet changed the way you communicate with your audience?

It's difficult to answer the question because embedded in the question is this idea that the internet is this separate space now. And it's hard for me to see the digital space as a distinct annex of physical space. Everything you will do to make this story will go through a computer.

All of my communication is online, half of our art has been online, and so our social spaces are all online. It's like the internet has changed our communication with our fans in the way it has changed our communication with everyone in the world.

However, trying to look at it in sort of a more traditional light, it's been completely revolutionary and completely freeing. We never particularly wanted to have our work mediated by anyone else ... The internet has allowed for us to sidestep a lot of those [corporate, radio, TV and record label] agendas by making stuff that we can give directly to people, and by relying on a smaller number of people to care more rather than getting more and more bodies through the line at Wal-Mart.

NPR firing a PR crisis?

Ok, so I'm going to bring it up because I love controversy. What do you all think about NPR's firing of Juan Williams over his comments on The O'Reilly Factor show on Fox's cable news channel?

So far, think that NPR has done little to address it. I've mainly heard criticism directed toward it for this action, but some people applauded it as well. I read the statement they released about why they fired Williams, but haven't seen many other PR measures. I didn't even see anything about it on their Twitter page (compared to other news outlets I follow who tweeted articles addressing it). The NPR ombudsman did publish a report noting that NPR handled the firing poorly (does this count as PR? It was a very good report, but longer than most people have the stamina/perseverance to read online I think).

It seems that major media outlets seem to use a strategy of ignoring PR issues when they arise (i.e. my group's case study of The New York Times) instead of addressing them. Is this a good strategy?

I think that strategy has its pros and cons. It could help the issue not become a bigger deal by keeping quiet about it, but it also means that other people have the opportunity to frame it and speak for it when the media outlet chooses to keep quiet about it.

This issue is really messy. It involves deeper layers of nationalism, identity, history, etc. But how could NPR have addressed this better?

It was also interesting to note that NPR cited its decision as based on its code of ethics. Perhaps this shows the importance of an organizational code of ethics. In times of controversy or questionable procedures, turning to the code of ethics may help a company chart a principled course it can stand on amid criticism.

Companies Using Twitter to Announce Jobs

I can't say this really surprised me, but with all of our class discussion about social media I found it interesting that companies are now using Twitter to announce holiday jobs. UPS, Crate and Barrel, and Kohls are some of the companies that are using Twitter to recruit holiday staff. Interestingly, Crate and Barrel said that they didn't receive nearly as many inquires as they had anticipated. I wonder if it's because Twitter isn't narrowly focused, so the chance that people in Edina Minnesota saw the tweet is small, or if people just aren't aware that they can use Twitter to look for jobs.

The article talks about how job seekers need to start using Twitter more often to look for job openings because it enables them to find out about them first, giving them a better chance at getting the job. I'm sure that in the future, more companies and job seekers will start utilizing Twitter.

Here's the article.

BP's questionable PR strategies in the Gulf Region

This is an excellent interview by Amy Goodman on DemocracyNow with Terry Tempest Williams, writer and environmentalist, that includes so many untold stories of BP's efforts (supported by Homeland Security) to silence those who are speaking out, as well as to curb media coverage of the magnitude of damage to the environment and people in the Gulf Region.    What are the ethical issues that arise from these stories?  What does BP say about these issues?  What would be a more ethical (and more effective in the long run) strategic PR response to these ongoing issues?

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/10/21/6_months_since_bp_oil_spill

Thought I'd share this comical Grey's Anatomy Webisode about PR: http://abc.go.com/shows/greys-anatomy/seattle-grace-message-of-hope/ThemeGallery/586658?playlistId=PL5590842&clipId=VD5591630. Seems like the writers read our textbook...

German Chancellor says multicultural society has failed

We've been talking about this in some of my other classes, but I thought it applied here as well.

The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, came out and said that "attempts to build a multicultural society in Germany have 'utterly failed.'" Some members of her party applauded her while many others disagreed. It is also sparking some debate here in the US because of similar immigration issues.

As a politician, I feel like she's in sort of a tough spot. Many Germans feel that immigration has harmed the country, so on one hand, she's just giving her people what they want. On the other hand, she's speaking out against immigration which is enraging many people. It will be interesting to continue watching this story and see if she ends up folding to the pressure of her dissenters and issuing an apology, or if she sticks to her guns and her statements. I'd be curious to know what her communications staff is advising her to do.

View a BBC article here and an NPR article here.

What the Chilean Mine Saga Can Teach You About Crisis Communications

Excellent blog post at "P.R. by DeVol with an analysis of what lessons can be learned from the Chilean Mine Saga about the importance of crisis management, including having a plan, staying calm, open communications, and hopefully fixing the problem to prevent future crises.  Also, if you saw any of the global media coverage, the newly elected president of Chile was at the site several times, including during the many hours of bringing the miners to the surface.  President Sebastian Pinera is very controversial because he is from the extreme right wing, the first such President since General Pinochet took office in a military coup in 1973.  So his presence at the site was a very smart PR move to boost his image.

http://devolpr.wordpress.com/2010/10/13/what-the-chilean-mine-saga-can-teach-you-about-crisis-communications/

CRAIGSLIST CASE STUDY

A. Brief History of the Issue

Craigslist is a Web-based service that allows users to post and respond to classified ads at no cost. Founded in 1995, the site is now the world’s biggest classifieds service. Beginning in 2009, the company began to face public scrutiny for its erotic services section. Multiple state attorneys general claimed the site aided prostitution. In response, the company changed the name of the section to adult services, began charging people to use it, and adopted a screening process for postings in the section in May 2009. Pressure mounted again in the fall of 2010, this time led mostly by the non-profit sector, which accused the site of being a major vendor for child commercial sex trafficking and forced prostitution. Under public and legal pressure, the company shut down the section on Sept. 4, 2010. It placed a large, black-and-white banner over the adult services section that read “Censored.” The company did not explain the decision to its publics and refused to respond to related media inquires. Elected officials then summoned Craigslist representatives to provide testimony about their decision and the issue. Company representatives explained the decision was made in response to public opinion, but defended its right to carry the advertisements and criticized the move as one that would make it more difficult to find and prosecute traffickers, according to Politico. Others agreed, arguing sex traffickers will find another Internet route in lieu of Craigslist and the issue is at hand is a larger one involving Internet laws and freedom of information.

B. Identification of Key Stakeholders

Internal
• Employees
• CEO Jim Buckmaster
• Shareholders
• Founder Craig Alexander Newmark

External
• Web site users (people who were trafficked on the site, traffickers, women who willingly advertised adult services on the site, users of other Craigslist sections)
• Government (State Attorneys General, Law Enforcement)
• NGOs, especially those dedicated to combating the trafficking of children and women
• Media
• Competitors (online classifieds companies, such as eBay, Geebo.com, Backpage.com, and traditional classifieds venues in newspapers)

C. Political, Social, Economic, and Cultural Factors

Political
The Craigslist debate is highly politically charged. The role of the government in a new media landscape is at the center of the debate. Attorneys General acted as watchdogs early on in the scandal. The Obama administration is pursuing tighter Internet oversight and restrictions in the name of public safety.

Economic
At the heart of the Craigslist debate is a philosophical question over whether markets should be free or controlled. Craigslist was founded on the notion of a free community, which regulates itself and is not in need of governance; however, opponents of the section believed the site needed to be controlled to protect the public.

Cultural
Craigslist continues to operate their adult services section in other countries. Many of the girls being advertised were considered legal minors in the U.S. and therefore under U.S. law were legally unable to consent to sex. Age of consent laws vary from culture to culture, as well as the legality of prostitution and economic systems.

Social
The pressure Craigslist faces directly corresponds to the educated make-up of today’s public. According to Wilson and Ogden, “business entities face a … business-savvy public that demands corporate commitment of resources to solve the problems affecting community, employees, and families” (1995, 8). In addition, sex and gender issues also impact the Craigslist case. Women offered the majority of adult services on the site. Women are socially more vulnerable than men as they make less money and handle the brunt of caretaking responsibilities. Some argue the closure of the adult services section protects women from being sexually exploited. It’s projected that Craigslist would have netted $44 million this year alone from its adult services section, but the women advertised in the section likely never made such enormous profits. Others argue that women should have the power to make their own sexual decisions. One blogger wondered how the closure would affect women who “happily” advertised services via the site.

D. Potential solutions to the problem

Craigslist could have handled this crisis in three different ways.

First, it could have closed down the adult services section as soon as it started receiving complaints. It could then have issued a statement saying that even though it was not required by law for them to do so, the section was closed since it was in the best interest of the public. It could also assure its publics that it does not support child trafficking and prostitution and is fully committed to protecting the well-being of its users.

Alternatively, Craigslist could have kept the adult services section up but implemented regulations to make it safer. It could have then issued a statement condemning the unlawful practices and outline measures it took to end the exploitation of women and children on its site. It could also provide a forum (such as a blog) where concerns about the new measures could be addressed.

Finally, Craigslist could have kept the adult services section up and firmly declared its dedication to protecting the freedom of expression of its users. It could present itself as an organization that is loyal to its users and unwilling to compromise that relationship at any cost. This best describes the tactic the company originally adopted. However, company representatives combined an extremely defensive stance with giving scarce if any information to the public about its decisions.

Today, Craigslist could redeem its image by being very open about the issue. It could release a detailed explanation about why it closed down the adult services section, emphasizing its dedication to the public interest. It could also create avenues for two-way communication with its publics. Lastly, it could adopt a more positive attitude toward the issue instead of being overly defensive.

Questions

Question No. 1: A Craigslist competitor, Geebo.com, shut down its adult services section after the Craigslist controversy and explained the decision to its users as an ethically sound response. As this article explains, Geebo posted the words “shut down in the name of love” over the section and spoke with media about the decision. MySpace was also more proactive. After being accused of abetting child pornographers, it hired a company to track sex offenders and ban them from the site, according to this article. What are the advantages and/or disadvantages of these strategies?

Question No. 2: Craigslist has not closed its adult services sections outside the U.S., according to CNN. What may be motivating their decision to keep the sections in tact? What public relations ramifications might this decision carry?

Question No. 3: Federal law protects Internet providers from being prosecuted for the actions of their users. Therefore, Craigslist was not legally obligated to shut down its adult services section, but it did. Keep in mind the company has a long history of being tied to criminal activity, including the Craigslist killer scandal and the recent attempt to sell a baby on the site for $10,000. How do organizational ethics come into play in such situations?

Fear Appeals in Political Campaigns

It is common to use fear appeals in political campaigns. A fear appeal in a political campaign is a type of persuasive message that entices fear in an audience that will hopefully motivate them to vote for the candidate that appears more positive. The fear appeal strategy was used in the “Daisy” campaign ad we watched in class last week. Here is a video from the 1988 presidential campaign with George H.W. Bush and Michael Dukakis. This ad depicts Dukakis as the man responsible for allowing a convicted killer to participate on a weekend outing program. During one of the weekends the convicted killer raped and stabbed a couple. At the time Dukakis was governor of the state the convicted killer was located. The ad uses a matter of fact tone that pushes the audience to lean towards Bush for president in order to avoid another tragic incident.

DU Chancellor & Provost Statement to the Community

Given that we just discussed this issue in class, you probably all have received this message, but I think it's a very smart and pro-active strategy by the DU administration and I'm very glad to see it. To the DU Community: As has been reported in the national and local press, there have a spate of youth suicides in the past few weeks by people targeted with specific or ongoing anti-LGBT bullying and harassment.  A just released national survey report in which DU students, staff and faculty participated (www.campuspride.org) sadly documents that the exclusion, intimidation, and devaluation of LGBTIQ classmates and colleagues is not occasional or uncommon at campuses across the United States. The University of Denver is fully committed to an active engagement of all of our community members. Our diversity of perspectives, experiences, and identities is not just tolerated at DU, it is celebrated as creating the intellectual vibrancy that is fundamental to the University’s mission (see www.du.edu/chancellor/diversityStatement.html). There is no place at DU for words or actions that disrespect, discriminate, harass, or otherwise diminish or endanger others. We therefore call on our entire campus community – DU students, faculty, staff, and administrators – to refrain from behavior that excludes or intimidates others whatever their identities, and to intervene to prevent such behavior if it threatens to occur. We do have resources at the University that are available for you or someone you know who needs support in the face of recent events, and we encourage you to use them. They include: •    The Center for Multicultural Excellence (CME) supports broad equity and LGBTIQ & Ally specific programs and campus organizations, including Queer & Ally (Q&A) trainings. Multicultural Center (Asbury & University), (303)871-4614; www.du.edu/lgbtiqa. •    DU’s Health & Counseling Center offers group and one-on-one counseling to address specific issues and/or improve the overall academic experience. Ritchie Center 3rd Fl North, (303)871-3853; www.du.edu/duhealth/counseling. •    GVESS provides prevention and response training and resources for those affected by interpersonal violence, including sexual assault. Nelson Hall 103, (303)871-2220, www.du.edu/studentlife/Sexual_Assault. •    The Office of the Chaplain is available to the entire DU community regardless of faith affiliation, or no affiliation at all. Driscoll South 29, (303)871-4488; www.du.edu/studentlife/religiouslife. •    Campus Safety partners with campus constituents to prevent and respond to situations that put the campus community at risk.  In emergencies, dial 911 and then (303)841-3000. General inquiries (303)871-2334; www.du.edu/campussafety. As the new academic year continues, we invite you to take advantage of these resources and the wide array of campus programs and activities to learn about the rich diversity of our University of Denver community. Sincerely, Robert Coombe Gregg Kvistad Chancellor Provost

CNN fires Rick Sanchez following comments about Jews

Firing Rick Sanchez for his inappropriate comments about Jewish people and Jon Stewart was clearly a case of crisis-management PR for CNN. As we've learned in class, the best crisis management is handled quickly and the issue is directly addressed. While CNN did react quickly, firing Rick Sanchez within days of his comments, the only address I've come across is CNN saying that Sanchez "is no longer with the company."

In doing so, nowhere have they addressed that Sanchez's actions do not align with the values of CNN, nor have they released a statement saying that they condemn his behavior, nor have they reassured the public of CNN's mission and values. Do you think there will be implications for only half-managing the PR crisis?

Additionally, it appears at no point was Sanchez permitted to issue a public apology. Why do you think this was the case? Why did CNN handle the crisis the way they did instead of allowing Sanchez to apologize? Are apologies not enough? If so, when you are addressing the public through media is there no room for mistake? One strike, you're out?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/01/rick-sanchez-jon-stewart-_n_746764.html

Rutger's student death: Has Digital Age made students callous?

Who or what is to blame for the tragic suicide of a Rutger's student after other students "outed" him in an intimate sexual encounter using live webcam streaming and Twitter.  The discussions about potential impacts of a medium/media has taken place with every new innovation:  radio, TV, internet, video games, portable devices, etc....

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2010/1001/Rutgers-student-death-Has-Digital-Age-made-students-callous?sms_ss=email&at_xt=4ca8e26f4da1292e,0

Advertising Strategies Within Youtube and Google

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andy-plesser/video-google-currency-of_b_746922.html

We've talked a lot about how Facebook is using a lot of advertising in different ways including within popular games. Here is an example of advertisers using Google and Youtube. They are offering users a choice of three ads to view before watching a video. The advertiser only has to pay for the add if it is selected to be viewed. Google says that this is ideal because the user has a choice of what they would like to view and can choose what they would find most interesting or entertaining. It's also ideal for the advertiser because they don't have to pay for advertisements that aren't viewed.

I feel that this is a trade off for something that is "free." Youtube and Google are free to use, but forcing advertisement viewing before being able to use their "free" service makes it not longer free. However they are doing this in a way that is somewhat user friendly. What do you think? Is being forced to choose an advertisement still better than having to pay? I would probably say yes, but on the other hand, if it gets too annoying I just won't use it anymore...