Martha Stewart. John Rigas. Scott Sullivan. Although they have
not been convicted of any crimes yet, the media have swiftly turned
them into symbols of late-1990s greed run amok. And it's a fairly
safe bet that, regardless of their legal outcomes, Stewart, Rigas,
et al. will become classic case studies in the PR field. But what
should the defendants do now to salvage their (sagging)
reputations? A recent study conducted by the Counselors Academy and
PR NEWS took the pulse of PR execs to find out.
The opinions among PR NEWS subscribers and Counselors Academy
members varied, but one consensus emerged. "In most cases, and
rightly so, the public relations professionals who responded
indicated that, for the most part the lives of these individuals
are in the hands of their legal counsel and the courts," says Mike
Herman, president of the Counselors Academy, a division of the PRSA
whose 700 members own or manage PR agencies, and president-COO of
PR agency Epley Associates. He adds: "PR, in the best of all
possible worlds, cannot, and will not rehabilitate a reputation
burdened by misdeeds, malfeasance and corruption. Once the court
has done its job and the verdict has been rendered, the theme
seemed to be, 'admit it if you were wrong, stand up and take your
punishment and then do your best to make amends.' At that point, an
organized and coordinated effort to communicate your efforts toward
contrition and rehabilitation may result in a certain level of
forgiveness. In that instance PR can help."
Aside from executives on trial we have also included Michael
Jackson, the so-called King of Pop, now facing child molestation
charges, who, for PR folks, is constant grist for the mill.
|
In the Public
Eye |
Run comprehensive PR campaign
to restore public image (including newspaper/magazine/broadcast interviews as well as web site that can be updated daily with your side of the story). |
Lay low; let the legal
process run its course. |
Settle the case; make amends
with the public by serving community service, affiliate with a new charity. |
Do the following to separate
yourself from the other high-profile celebrity trials (make your suggestions here): |
| Martha Stewart (started Jan. 20) accused of securities fraud and obstruction of justice related to trades in ImClone stock. She should: |
17%
|
34%
|
20.8%
|
28.3%
|
| Richard Grasso (no trial being pursued) accepted millions of dollars in back wages during a time of increasing scrutiny of CEO compensation and corporate governance. He should: |
9.6%
|
25%
|
26.9%
|
38.5%
|
| Scott Sullivan, former CFO, Worldcom now MCI (starts Feb 4) accused of securities fraud, submitting false SEC filing. He should: |
3.9%
|
35.3%
|
43.1%
|
17.6%
|
| John Rigas, Adelphia Communications (starts Feb 9) accused of looting more than $1 billion from the company. He should: |
5.9%
|
31.4%
|
45.1%
|
17.6%
|
| Richard Scrushy, former CEO of HealthSouth (started Aug 23) accused of $2.7 billion accounting fraud involving many employees. He should: |
2%
|
46%
|
34%
|
18%
|
| Michael Jackson's case has captured attention around the world. His hijinks have stimulated much debate about his defense approach. He should: |
30.6%
|
30.6%
|
4.1%
|
34.7%
|