PR on the run

Phil Gramm, I’m not whining here. Honest. I finished a really pleasant five-mile run this morning. And picked up my dead-tree edition of the Akron Beacon Journal. The main headline on the front page: “Economic crisis has top leaders at a loss.”

From Tom Raum and the Associated Press:

WASHINGTON: The nation’s leaders are running out of answers to America’s economic crisis.

The Federal Reserve has no more practical room to push interest rates lower; there’s only so much taxpayer money for shoring up housing, and if depositors lose confidence there’s little officials can do to stop a run on banks.

OK. Let’s try for this. How about just one consistent answer? We sure didn’t get that yesterday in separate statements from President Bush and Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve. Bush argues the glass is  half full. Bernanke suggests we drink up before the glass is repossessed.

But at least Bush tried to offer some perspective and context — always good things from a public relations standpoint. In response to a question about high gasoline prices, His Glibness said: “The president doesn’t have a magic wand.” Indeed. So I guess we’re sunk.

Too bad baseball wasn’t invented before our Founding Fathers crafted the Constitution. Otherwise, I bet there would have been a provision allowing us to bring in a relief president. Or to pinch hit for the chairman of the Federal Reserve. But since we are where we are — I guess we’ll have to look to Dr. Phil to cast the tie breaker.

Here’s an interesting read on The Huffington Post — “A Tale of Two Economies.”

Then take General Motors. Please.

GM announced yesterday its latest restructuring — and cutbacks involving employees, facilities and retiree health benefits. This isn’t funny. Quite the opposite. It’s sad. “As GM goes so goes the nation.” Oh, my. Look out below! Let’s hope that GM — and Ford and Chrysler — survive this mess. Management at those companies really didn’t forsee crude oil prices well north of $100 a barrel — and for years they gave us what we wanted: large trucks, gas-hogging SUVs. Bummer. Oops. Meant Hummer.

And one last point. I noticed that Bob Lutz, GM’s resident blogger and vice chairman, wrote about the problems GM is facing on FastLane. I give him credit for doing that — and I know from personal experience that it is difficult for senior executives to talk candidly about problems and management mistakes.

Unfortunately, we may be in an era where global economic and political realities make it impossible for Lutz and his associates to fix GM and return it to being a foundation for our economy.

Bush snickered at the idea of a bailout for GM if the company’s fortunes continue to decline.

Magic wand anyone?

Well, I came back from my run this morning to find out that the major league baseball season in Northeast Ohio is all but kaput. Cleveland Indians GM Mark Shapiro tells the Akron Beacon Journal:

“I believe if guys hadn’t gotten hurt — even with the offense struggling and the disappointing bullpen — we would still be in the hunt, though maybe not in first place,” he said. “Next year, I think we will be contenders, as well.”

Oh, as Brando lamented in On the Waterfront: “I coulda been a contender.” Couldn’t we all.

So I guess that leaves cornhole as the only game in the area. It appears that Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland is organizing a statewide cornhole tournament to finance his campaign. (Good grief. Is he running again. Already?) Here’s from the Akron Beacon Journal story:

And Gov. Ted Strickland has let it be known he will soon hold a cornhole tournament to raise money for his campaign, with regional competitions around Ohio, including one in North Canton.

Not familiar with cornhole? It’s a bean bag-tossing game that’s popular on campuses and at tailgate parties.

First Obama says he won’t accept public money for the upcoming presidential campaign. Now Strickland is going to travel around Ohio and toss a bean bag for dollars.

I’ll just offer one tip to the governor. If the game is close, don’t bring in Joe Borowski, released yesterday as the Indians’ bullpen ace. If that happens, it’s likely the Republicans will sweep Ohio and the nation.

And for the Indians. Hillary was able to hang in there until the bitter end. Couldn’t you have at least faked it until the end of September? By then the Browns will have been eliminated as well.

Wait till next year.

This is a great country. In the span of about 24 hours I’ve had the opportunity to write about the nadir of ethics (Scott McClellan) and the pinnacle of political correctness (Dunkin’ Donuts). And I don’t believe Rachael Ray is a terrorist. There. I’ve said it. Scott McClellan: If you know something I don’t about this Rachael Ray debacle — speak up now.

Anyway, here’s the story. Rachael Ray has been doing a series of ads for Dunkin’ Donuts. In the latest one, she was wearing a black-and-white scarf. The problem? Conservative Fox News talking head Michelle Malkin, and others, opined that the scarf looked like a keffiyeh, described in a Boston.com article, “Dunkin’ Donuts yanks Rachael Ray ad,” as a traditional headdress worn by Arab men.

Here’s from the article:

Some observers, including ultra-conservative Fox News commentator Michelle Malkin, were so incensed by the ad that there was even talk of a Dunkin’ Donuts boycott.

‘‘The keffiyeh, for the clueless, is the traditional scarf of Arab men that has come to symbolize murderous Palestinian jihad,’’ Malkin yowls in her syndicated column.

‘‘Popularized by Yasser Arafat and a regular adornment of Muslim terrorists appearing in beheading and hostage-taking videos, the apparel has been mainstreamed by both ignorant and not-so-ignorant fashion designers, celebrities, and left-wing icons.’’

The company at first pooh-poohed the complaints, claiming the black-and-white wrap was not a keffiyeh. But the right-wing drumbeat on the blogosphere continued and by yesterday, Dunkin’ Donuts decided it’d be easier just to yank the ad.

Oh, mama. I wonder what Starbucks would have done?

Adrants puts this fiasco into historical context. Yet it troubles me that Dunkin’ Donuts would cave on this — especially at a time when it appears that we can’t get any honest answers from our own government about the “war on terrorism.” And when companies are lined up to sponsor the Summer Olympics in a country that should raise some concerns beyond who is wearing a black-and-white scarf.

Well, I guess what I am saying is that I would stand next to Rachael Ray on this one even if she were wearing nothing. Ah, that didn’t come out exactly right. But you get the point.

And then there is Scott McClellan. Plenty of articles to read today if you are interested in him and his book. But here’s the lead from a story that was on the front page of the Akron Beacon Journal this morning:

From Beacon Journal wire services
WASHINGTON: In a White House full of Bush loyalists, none was more loyal than Scott McClellan, the bland press secretary who spread the company line for all the government to follow each day. His word, it turns out, was worthless, his confessional memoir a glimpse into Washington’s world of spin and even outright deception.

Gee, wonder what Michele Malkin and her counterparts believe is the bigger threat to our country and democracy. A White House press secretary who can’t tell the truth — or a celebrity who is wearing a scarf in a Dunkin’ Donuts ad?

WTF

I read the news today, oh, boy.

I actually thought that would be a clever opening. And maybe it is. But a Google search produced more than 300,000 hits. Oh, boy. Clearly, just like when I go to Starbucks, I never seem to be at the beginning of the line.

Yet here are a couple of items that caught my eye as I was scanning the Akron Beacon Journal this morning. All have some lessons involving news media relations.

It appears that Peter Raskind, National City Corp. chief executive, took a pay cut last year — to $3.4 million from $4.6 million in 2006. National City isn’t doing so great these days — and I guess Raskind is feeling the shareholders’ pain. In fact, the Beacon Journal said that Raskind told the Columbus Dispatch that shareholders have a right to be angry about National City’s performance and should hold him and other senior managers accountable. For $3.4 million I’d beg for their mercy and offer to come to their homes and do light cleaning. As usual, I digress. I’ve been banking at National City for 30 years or more. Go figure. (Lesson — when you’re putting $3.4 million in the bank — National City? — don’t try to score points with shareholders and employees who stand to lose a lot and can’t quite figure out how you and the other senior managers created this mess. Take a pay cut that really is significant. In this case, actions really would speak louder than words.)

And then there is Roger Clemens. This guy can’t catch a break. First his personal trainer links him to using steroids. Now “several people who asked not to be identified” said that the Rocket had a decadelong relationship with country singer Mindy McCready. Here’s the fun part:

Clemens’ lawyer, Rusty Hardin, confirmed a long-term relationship, but told the newspaper [the Daily News] it was not sexual.

“He flatly denies having had any kind of an inappropriate relationship with her,” Hardin said. “He’s considered her a close family friend…He has never had a sexual relationship with her.”

Oh, boy. Have we ever heard that before? (Lesson: Once trust and credibility are lost don’t expect people to believe you or rush to your defense.)

And how about Miley Cyrus? One day, apparently, she was happy as could be with a provocative photo of her taken by Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair. But later the 15-year-old celebrity had second thoughts. According to the Beacon Journal story, Cyrus said Sunday through her publicist: “I never intended for any of this to happen and I apologize to my fans who I care so deeply about.” (Lesson: Talk to your publicist before you take your clothes off.)

Oh, boy. This will be on the cable news shows for at least the next several weeks. Thankfully the presidential election is over and the troops are home from Iraq. And I tagged this post Miley Cyrus. Don’t know if that means anything. But I sure don’t want to miss out on the media frenzy.

Ah, by the way. Who is Miley Cyrus?

And I couldn’t find references to any of these stories on the Beacon Journal’s Web site. Maybe the Beacon Journal is using its pathetic Web site as a way to keep readers like me buying the printed version.

Oh, boy.

Well, I spent the afternoon grading student papers for my ethics class at Kent State. But, hey. Things could be worse. I could have be watching golf on TV. Other than Tiger Woods I can’t name a handful of other pro golfers. Although Gary Player was at Augusta Thursday and Friday. Remember him?

And I expect many students were working this afternoon to come up with enough money to pay for at least some of the cost of their college education. I was reminded of that fact this morning. The Akron Beacon Journal had an article by David Giffels, “Banking on a degree,” that really shines the spotlight on a big problem: students are working more, taking on more debt and facing a job market where “wages have declined dramatically for most college graduates as they start their careers.”

Eric Fingerhut, the chancellor of the Board of Regents, provided details two weeks ago of a 10-year strategic plan for higher education in Ohio. I’ll admit I didn’t pay a whole lot of attention to it. Ten-year strategic plans seem like the things dreams are made of. But let’s hope there is something in there that helps students and their families manage the cost — without, as the Beacon Journal headline says, “taking on crushing debt for higher education.”

I also saw in Parade this morning that a psychic in Albuquerque, N.M., makes the same as a teacher in Fairhaven, Mass.: $38,000 a year. Mama don’t let your babies grow up to be…teachers.

But here’s an idea. While the state works on its strategic plan, let’s hire the psychic. Maybe she can see a more immediate solution to this problem.

I say this because I believe education is important. It’s important to the students as individuals. And it’s important to Ohio — where we have an older population and an economy that doesn’t help to attract or retain college graduates.

Something has to be done to allow students in Ohio to attend and graduate from college without taking on such a large amount of debt that it compromises their futures.

And something has to be done to get students in high school to the point where college is an alternative in any event. As many as 50 percent — particularly in urban areas — don’t even finish high school. That folks is a national crisis — and shame.

So while we continue to spend around $3 billion a week in the Iraq debacle, remember the college students who are working hard and still going into debt by about $20,000 on average when they finally graduate.

I’m not sure that all of us as classroom instructors always take into consideration how tough it is these days for students to balance classroom demands with the realities of the costs of higher educations.

And I’m not sure that college administrators realize this either. Otherwise they wouldn’t be taking outrageous trips to Europe — or giving highly paid adminstrators special tuition benefits.

Bring on the psychic.

Hope my mom and dad don’t read the story in the Akron Beacon Journal this morning about the “superstar” faculty members who are being hired at Kent State. I guess we can paraphrase Garrison Keillor: Kent State — where all the faculty are “superstars.” Uh, not quite. Here’s the story.

It seems that the university administration has hired and awarded tenure to a new professor in the School of Fashion Design and Merchandising: Vince Quevedo. That prompted an unfair labor practice charge from the faculty union at Kent. It’s a long story. Trust me. But here’s what’s interesting to me from the standpoint of communications.

The Beacon Journal story reports that Steve Michael, the university’s associate provost for diversity, said that Kent State makes extra money available to hire “rising stars” or “superstars” who can help to elevate programs nationally. I don’t know anything about Professor Quevedo. Maybe he merits the “superstar” title and the big money and instant tenure that goes with it.

But apparently the rest of the faculty in the fashion school are not quite as enthusiastic about Quevedo, and the article indicates that the fashion advisory committee passed on hiring him two times previously.  Carol Biliczky is an excellent reporter. I’ll proceed on the belief that all this is fair and accurate. And the point of this is not to look at the qualifications of Professor Quevedo for this position.

The point is I believe there is a lesson or two here from the standpoint of communications.

First, I give Michael credit for stepping up and commenting on the story. But there are a lot of different audiences involved here. And if Quevedo rates “superstar” status — what’s that say about the rest of us who apparently didn’t? Or don’t? And what’s it say to others who are applying for faculty positions at Kent? Words matter folks. And you really do need to know in advance of an interview what you want to say — and why.

And one more thing. I understand that it is important to attract the best faculty possible. And I imagine that involves offering some more than others. Here’s another paragraph from the Beacon Journal article:

He [Michael] said the extra funding helps to expand the diversity of candidates, which in addition to women and African-Americans, can include white men in nontraditional fields like nursing.

Fair enough.

Yet to paraphrase the great American philosopher Willie Nelson: Momma, don’t let your babies grow up to be … PR teachers like Rob Jewell — nonsuperstar.

I wonder if the University of Akron has a department of management. If so, it might want to send someone — during normal office hours, please — to visit with Ronald Levant, dean of the university’s College of Arts and Sciences. Seems the dean is in some administrative doo-doo.

As Channel 19 in Cleveland would say — Bill Sledzik had this story exclusively in this area last week on his ToughSledding blog. I won’t go into the details. Bill does that, as usual, very well.

But the story basically is this. Howard Ducharme, a tenured UA professor and now former chair of the philosophy department, claims he was fired from that position by Levant for not being in his office every weekday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Almost too funny to be true. But that’s the story, and Ducharme is sticking to it.

Last week, Carol Biliczky wrote an article in the Akron Beacon Journal about this: “Professor says he lost chair job for lacking chair time.” (I’m not going to provide a link. They disappear from the Beacon Journal’s Web site faster than Joe Biden in a presidential primary.)

But here’s one part of the story:

“Levant declined to disclose why he relieved Ducharme of his duties, but said the issue of office hours ‘”was not the driver of that decision.”‘

So that statement gave Bob Dyer, a Beacon Journal columnist, the opportunity to join in the fun this morning. He writes:

“Dean Ronald Levant apparently believes his people should be chained to their desks.”

“Levant denies it. [Removing Ducharme as department chair for not being in his office 8 to 5.] He told the Beacon Journal’s Carol Biliczky that Ducharme’s office hours  were ‘”not the driver of (the) decision,’” but declined to identify the driver.”

“Autopilot, perhaps?”

Ouch.

A national story in the Chronicle of Higher Education. Bill Sledzik’s blog. Two stories in the Akron Beacon Journal.

Who says the University of Akron can’t generate media coverage? Of course, this makes Levant and the university look ridiculous. And here’s my point. From a public relations perspective, why let this happen?

If Ducharme’s allegations are true — then best to say nothing. And I’m not an advocate of a “no comment.” But the fact is that a management decision has been made that can’t be explained with any credibility. Why try? But if there is more to the story from Levant’s perspective, then why not be specific? Or if the situation involves personnel issues that can’t be discussed publicly, then say so. If true, that’s at least a credible response. As it stands now, Levant is giving what former Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee called the “nondenial denial. “

And when I first read about this on Bill’s blog I thought Professor Ducharme would be philosophical about this. Apparently not. And since UA apparently has no communications strategy here, stay tuned.

And talking about management, just another quick thought. The NCAA tournament continues tonight and by now my picks are mostly sitting at home watching TV. But I was thinking about this while running this morning.

Doesn’t it seem like the person who organizes and conducts the office pool is the same person who doesn’t seem to have anything to do the rest of the year? Well, if nothing else, I hope he/she at the University of Akron is doing it 8 to 5.

I’m really cranky this morning. I wanted to run outside. But freezing rain greeted me at 6 a.m. So I headed for the treadmill in our bedroom. I’m sure my wife will start talking to me again sometime this afternoon.

But the freezing rain wasn’t the worst part. Four weeks ago I subscribed to the Sunday edition of The New York Times. I read The Times – the actual printed version – every day. And I figured this would save me a few minutes on Sunday mornings since the paper would be delivered along with the Akron Beacon Journal.

Wrong. After four weeks the Beacon Journal delivery guy is two for four.  Not bad in baseball. Not great when it comes to getting the paper. I can read both online virtually anytime I want, day or night.

But I love to read the print editions. Is there anything better than sitting in a comfy chair, reading The Times after work, watching Wolf Blitzer and Jack Cafferty on CNN and nursing a double gin and tonic? Hey, at my age it doesn’t get any better than that.

So I called the Beacon Journal and pleaded my case. Wouldn’t it be possible for the delivery guy to take The Times in one hand and the Beacon Journal in the other and head the 10 yards from the street to my porch? It doesn’t even require two trips. Well, the customer service person told me she would make a note of it. But if I were really unhappy about it I would probably have to call The Times and cancel delivery.

Ouch. Maybe the newspaper industry isn’t in as bad shape as I thought. OK. I’ll play along. My reply: How about if I don’t get The Times delivered next Sunday I’ll cancel both.

Goodbye Akron Beacon Journal.

I’ve been a subscriber for more than 30 years. But truthfully, I take the Beacon Journal now mostly out of habit, not because there is much worth reading in it. My uninformed opinion is that some poor management and lack of corporate support over the last few years have crippled the paper’s ability to be much more than an OK local newspaper, if that.  I can scan the headlines online – and I can head to Starbucks Sunday morning and get The Times.

But thinking about that, I wonder if newspapers like the Akron Beacon Journal are working toward the day when there are no print editions. If newspapers lose people like me (and I probably won’t be around forever in any event) who is going to read the print editions? Not the generation that is in high school and college today. They haven’t developed the habit. They won’t either.

Oh well. I started in the newspaper business delivering copies of The Pittsburgh Press after school. I placed a printed copy on almost every home in the neighborhood, seven days a week. The Pittsburgh Press is gone now. Too bad. I bet there is a kid somewhere in Pittsburgh who could deliver a copy of that paper and The New York Times at the same time. Of course, that’s if anybody still wanted either.

I had a super run this morning. Temperature in the upper 20s. No wind to speak of. No cars. So now I’m ready for Super Bowl Sunday, a day of debauchery for fans of football and advertising.

I’m not sure I’m much of a fan of either, particularly since my Terrible Towel, the original from the early ‘70s, remains folded today in the closet. I’ll root for the advertisers.

When I was at BFGoodrich, we had a rather modest corporate advertising budget of about $4 million a year. And during the annual budget reviews, I always had such an enjoyable time trying to demonstrate the effectiveness of that advertising. Those were the days when BFGoodrich, the company, was trying to convince investors and analysts that it was no longer a tire manufacturer. At the same time another company, Michelin, was spending about $25 million a year promoting BFGoodrich brand tires. It’s a long story. Trust me.

So every year I went to the budget reviews wearing my protective cup and hoping for the best.

I thought about that this morning when I read in the Akron Beacon Journal that Kent State and the University of Akron are going to advertise regionally before, during and after the game. Both according to the article are going to “pitch academic excellence.”

That to me makes sense. If you are trying to reach a mass audience then you might as well take advantage of this national holiday and go for it.

But I’ll admit that I did chuckle a little while reading the article written by Carol Biliczky. Carol, by the way, used to work with me at BFGoodrich. Here is what she wrote that grabbed my attention. I inserted the info in brackets.

There is no way to gauge their [the ads] effectiveness, he [UA spokesman Ken Torisky] said, but one measure is the feedback that Proenza [UA President Luis Proenza] has received in previous years from people who tell him they saw the commercial.

Proenza has appeared in most of them, Torisky said.

“People make it a point to tell him they saw it,” Torisky said.

Please. I beg you. On behalf of anyone who has ever had to try to demonstrate the effectiveness of a costly ad buy, next time you see Dr. Proenza tell him you saw the ads. Even if you really were in the bathroom or getting another can of Iron City. (Please don’t tell the students in my ethics class I just said that.)

And I know that this will get me into trouble. But I’m looking forward to the Victoria’s Secret ad featuring model Adriana Lama.

Now that should be excellent.

My friend and colleague at Kent State, Jeanette Drake, has an excellent op-ed article in the Akron Beacon Journal this morning. (Most likely only available free online for a few days.) She is writing about an issue that honestly I wasn’t aware of, but it’s important and should concern all of us.

Most basically, it’s about whether “consumers have a right to know what’s in food, where it comes from and how it was produced.” That’s important, certainly.

But equally important, from a public relations standpoint, it provides another example of just how shameless some organizations and companies can be when it comes to dealing openly and honestly with the public.

Jeanette combines a strong educational background with substantial professional experience. That says a lot about her and her commitment to public relations and public relations education. I also believe it says something about the overall quality of the public relations program at Kent State. Yeah, I’m an unapologetic booster. But her article reflects the kind of perspective on public relations that our students get in class every day.

And I really believe that ethical conduct is the foundation for effective public relations. Reading Jeanette’s article suggests that in many cases we still have a long way to go.