May 25 by Virgil Scudder
Former CBS News anchor and managing editor Dan Rather dazzled the crowd at the 25th Annual Big Apple Awards in Manhattan last night. Rather was the keynote speaker for PRSA-New York’s biggest annual event where 26 organizations from the tri-state area were honored for excellence in public relations programs.
Rather was humble, charming, and full of good stories about his half century as a broadcast news reporter. He also had some criticism of state of journalism today, saying “the public interest has been squeezed out of journalism.” He told the over 200 PR professionals assembled at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel that they play a critical role as a catalyst for the open dialogue essential to the functioning of a democracy, noting: “This country needs you and your best work now. Yours is essential and noble work that can help restore a sense of credibility and public trust.”
After the talk, Rather autographed copies of his latest book, Rather Outspoken: My life in the News and chatted freely with anyone who came up to his table. He was warm and engaging with everyone.
The Best of the Best award went to M Booth for Small Business Saturday for American Expres OPEN. Other leading award winners were MWW Group for their work with JetBlue, and Ketchum for their work with IBM.
As usual, WABC-TV newscasters Phil Lipoff and Michelle Charlesworth did a superb job of emceeing the awards presentation. Once again, the Oscar-style awards script was written by Ken Scudder.
It was another great night for PRSA-New York, one of the 20,000-member organization’s strongest chapters.
May 17 by Virgil Scudder
Newspapers—both print and online—are often accused by public figures of showing bias in their coverage of news stories. Sometimes it’s true, sometimes it’s not. But, you can often get a picture of a news outlet’s editorial stance or the tenor of its local market by a careful reading of the headlines.
In this context, it was especially enjoyable to survey the headlines that followed President Obama’s announcement that he now favors gay marriage.
Fox Nation: Obama flip-flops, declares war on marriage
Salon: Evolution over
Los Angeles Times: Obama takes a stand for gay marriage
Philadelphia Daily News: Obama on gay marriage—I do, I do. What took him so long?
Miami Herald: Obama says he’s now for gay marriage
Washington Post: Historic step by Obama on gay marriage
Washington Times: Obama buckles on gay marriage
San Francisco Chronicle (with picture of embracing lesbians): Obama gives voters reason to choose sides
And, here’s my favorite from the hometown-centric Burlington (Vt.) Free Press: Obama comes around to Vermont’s view.
Mar 30 by Ken Scudder
Since it is impossible to anticipate every type of crisis your company or organization may face, it is important that your response plan be grouped by “types” of crises. Instead of having separate plans for “hurricane,” “tornado,” and “tsunami,” you should have a plan that says what to do in case of a natural disaster. There will be areas of your plan that may not be as specific as you would like, but it is better than having to find the exact crisis response page in a 500 page manual while you are attempting to evacuate the plant and deal with flooded facilities.
I doubt that JetBlue’s crisis plan has a specific section for “pilot has what appears to be a mental breakdown.” But, whatever part of their plan is covered by it seems to have worked exceptionally well. The onboard reaction to the events of March 27 by JetBlue’s crew, as well as the passengers, was exemplary. But, the crisis response by JetBlue’s communications team was almost as good. (more…)
Feb 29 by Virgil Scudder
The best communicators learn from each other. If Mitt Romney wants to win the Republican presidential nomination and unseat President Obama, he needs to learn public speaking from the man he wishes to beat.
Romney’s presentations are dull and not well delivered. He also has a tendency to say things his audience can’t relate to, things that re-emphasize his wealth and apparent disconnect with the needs and lifestyle of the average American. Asked at the rain-delayed Daytona 500, a popular blue collar event, if he followed auto racing, he said not ardently but some of his best friends are NASCAR owners. Owners, you’ll note, not drivers. This came a few days after he pointed out that he had two American cars and his wife owned two (very expensive) Cadillacs. Earlier, he offered to bet a campaign opponent $10,000, small change to him, at a time when great numbers of Americans are cash-strapped and jobless. It’s hard to win working class votes that way. (more…)
Jan 25 by Virgil Scudder
Barack Obama is running for president. Mitch Daniels isn’t. It’s too bad. Last night’s State of the Union address by the president, and Daniels’ response on behalf of the Republicans, was the most intelligent exchange of political views we’ve heard in a long time.
For starters, both are good speakers. Obama projects energy and passion; Daniels conveys seriousness and sincerity. As a result, each enjoys a high level of credibility.
President Obama was at his best last night. He focused on the key issues of our time—economic disparity, joblessness, and the need to come together as a nation. He used all of the techniques of a good public speaker—voice rising and falling, changes of pace and volume, and effective pauses at the right times. He both criticized and challenged the Republican-dominated Congress, often saying “send me a bill that does (fill in blank) and I will sign it immediately.” In other words, stop blaming the president for everything and take some positive action as a Congress. (more…)
Jan 25 by Virgil Scudder
The most challenging role of the night had to be that of John Boehner.
As speaker of the House, Republican Boehner had to sit behind the president, in constant view of the cameras, and look interested in what the chief executive was saying. Since Boehner and Obama agree on very few things and have been unable to work out a satisfactory relationship, Boehner essentially needed to put on a non-committal poker face for the more than one hour that the talk lasted. Results were mixed.
At times he carried off the part well. But, he too often was seen with a sour look or a grimace that seemed to say, “When, oh when, can we get out of here?”
Take comfort, John. Even an Oscar-winner actor would be challenged by the role you had last night.
Jan 19 by Ken Scudder
For years clients, colleagues, friends, family members, and employees have been telling Virgil “you should write a book!”
Well, he is.
Virgil Scudder & Associates is happy to announce that Virgil has signed a contract with John Wiley & Sons for a book on CEO communication. Titled World Class Communication: How great CEO’s win with the public, shareholders, employees, and the media, it will be published this fall.
Virgil signs the contract with John Wiley & Sons for his book
Virgil says “I’m writing World Class Communication for several purposes: to help sitting CEO’s improve their performance, to provide useful information for executives who aspire to the top spot, and to aid such professionals as heads of public relations and investor relations as they guide their bosses to greater success.”
We’ll keep you posted as his writing continues and the publication date nears.
Jan 12 by Virgil Scudder
If you claim that BP badly handled its public relations in the wake of the fatal Gulf of Mexico explosion and oil spill in 2010, you’ll get little attention and probably no argument. What is less known, however, and more worthy of current discussion, is the new tack BP is taking.
I was recently struck by a series of excellent television ads promoting tourism in the Gulf states that was underwritten by BP. They featured local tourism officials on location in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana saying the beaches are in great shape and it’s the perfect time to “come on down.” There was no BP-touting; just a simple mention at the end of each commercial saying that BP had paid for it. The ads were both appealing and persuasive. They should produce some real value for the industry and region that BP’s actions, or inactions, damaged.
This is in stark contrast to the self-serving and, in my view, somewhat cynical commercials the company ran in the immediate aftermath of the accident. They featured blue collar BP employees talking about how great and responsible the company was and how important it was to the region. I could hardly bear to watch. (more…)
Jan 10 by Ken Scudder
A few months ago we had the privilege of preparing Bernard Ferrari, chairman and founder of Ferrari Consultancy, for interviews he was going to give promoting his book Power Listening: Mastering the Most Critical Business Skill of All. We learned a lot, to the point that Virgil devoted his “In the C-Suite” column in this quarter’s Public Relations Strategist to Ferrari’s ideas and lessons.
Along with giving management tips on listening, Virgil also analyzes how MF Global, Netflix, Bank of America, and Penn State University did not properly listen, and the disastrous results it had for each. The online version includes a short video of Virgil interviewing Ferrari and discussing listening and its importance.
You can read the article, and watch the video, here.
Jan 9 by Virgil Scudder
Are you wondering what you can do now to prepare for a crisis?
Ken Scudder, VS&A’s vice president, offers some great tips in the current issue of Tactics, the award-winning monthly newspaper of the Public Relations Society of America. The print version is sent to the organization’s nearly 20,000 members, and the online version is viewed by 70,000 unique visitors each month.
Ken’s article is entitled: Be prepared: 10 steps to take now for crisis readiness. His tips are based on his 20 years of experience in helping clients through a wide variety of crises including closings and layoffs, government investigations, and suspected product tamperings. Ken also has designed and conducted crisis readiness programs for a wide range of clients.
In the article, he notes that “companies are not immune to misconduct by employees, the sudden resignation of your CEO, recalls, or natural disasters.” He advises every organization to prepare now to manage every possible crisis.
His tips include the following: identify potential crises now, analyze your company’s state of readiness for them, research your company’s previous crisis record, build the public image of key leaders, schedule media training for principals, and stage crisis readiness simulations.
Ken is an active member of PRSA who serves on the board of directors of its New York chapter and pens the highly-praised scripts for the Oscar-like presentation of the annual Big Apple Awards.
If you have any questions about crisis preparation or crisis handling, feel free to call Ken at 212-627-4400 or via email: ken@virgilscudder.com.
