Obama Speech Scandal

The 2008 Presidential Campaign has a lot of people talking. The real battle and much of the spotlight has been turned on to the Democratic race between Barack Obama Senator form Illinois and Hillary Clinton Senator from New York. This week CNN.com reported that Senator Clinton's camp accused Barack Obama for borrowing lines from the speech of Governor Deval Patrick, a friend of Obama's. The Clinton campaign the used the PR tactic of leaking a video comparing Obama's speech with Patrick's speech to youtube for the public to see. Now more than ever it is vital to have a quick and effective crisis management on your campaign team to tame scandals like this quickly before it can seriously injure a campaign.

In a great crisis management move Obama's camp first addressed the statements, then made sure all parties involved were on the same team and the pointed out Clinton had borrowed lines as well, in an attempt to discredit her. Obama addressed the accusations by stating "I've written two books, wrote most of my speeches. So I think putting aside the question ... in terms of whether my words are my own, I think that would be carrying it too far." His camp admitted that there might be some borrowed words between the two men because they share ideas with each other and are friends. The Obama campagin made sure all parties were on the same page and had Patrick issued a statement to the media stating that "Senator Obama and I are long-time friends and allies. We often share ideas about politics, policy and language." The Obama campaign even went so far as to check statements made by David Axelrod, who was an advisor for both Obama's Senate campaign and for Patrick's gubernatorial run, talk about getting all your people on the same page. The Obama camp then stated that Clinton had borrowed lines from some of Obama's speeches as well. This was a great reaction by his team. They addressed the situation before it could really harm the race. In fact today he won Wisconsin today, his ninth straight win in a row.

Largest Meat Recall in History

PR STORY: The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced the recall of approx. 143 million pounds of raw and frozen beef from a Chino meat-packing company, proclaiming that it was unfit for human consumption because of repeated failures and lapses in required inspections. According to the department, this has been the largest beef recall that the United States has ever suffered. They also claimed that the there could be serious health consequences if the meat was in fact consumed, but officials say some of the recalled meat has already been distributed and consumed. (obviously a scary situation needing immediate attention) According to a news release issued by the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service in Washington, D.C., the cattle did not undergo proper inspection. There has been information and evidence received by the agency shows that Hallmark/Westland Meat Packing Co. "did not consistently contact the FSIS public health veterinarian" as required when cattle became nonambulatory after being inspected, the release said. Department spokesman Keith Williams noted that today's beef recall was not based on the same levels of concern for public health as in some prior recalls. "There is a remote probability of any serious health concern . . . but we are taking this action because of our regulations" and in abundance of caution, Williams said of the recall. The first problems at the plant began when there was a release of a video showing inhumane treatment towards animals at the plant which occurred sometime between October 11th and November 9th of 2007. The video was captured by the Humane Society and prompted schools all over the nation to pull the beef from their cafeteria menus. This video shows a plant manager abusing and paddling a nonamulatory cow in order to get it to get up so they can take it to be slaughtered. According to the United States laws, cattle that aren’t able to walk, are not allowed to be slaughtered and processed for human consumption because they are more likely to carry mad cow disease. (Now the issue is not just the recalled meat, but animal cruelty, which fuels the crisis) Last week, the U.S Department of Agriculture suspended inspections at Hallmark, which immediately closed the plant (A first step in handingling the crisis). Earlier this month, several California lawmakers, including Rep. George Miller, called for an independent investigation (2nd step of action) into the National School Lunch Program, for which Hallmark was a top supplier. San Bernardino County prosecutors last week filed felony charges of animal cruelty and illegal movement of nonambulatory animals against the manager (Third Step of action). The agency placed a Jan. 30 hold on all Westland products in federal outlets, including the National School Lunch Program, the Emergency Food Assistance Program and the Food Assistance Program on Indian Reservations, USDA officials said Sunday (Another step of taking action). The USDA now has a recall list that they issued which includes several beef products with many of its vendors.

Watch News Report

NEWS REPORT TWO

APPLIED CONCEPT: The PR concept was crisis response/management. Although the response was not necessarily directed at the media, although there were several news reports, it is apparent the USDA officials took the situation in to control and did what they thought was necessary. After the problem became apparent, they immediately acknowledged it, researched/investigated, and handled it. The publics they talked to were clients and vendors of their meat product and also the department spokesperson, in this case Keith Williams, and the manager. After conclusive research, they recalled the 143 million pounds of raw meat and the San Bernardino Country prosecutors got involved with the animal cruelty aspect and took matters into their hands to charge this as a felony. Also another form of written PR they used as part of the crisis response is that the USDA sent out a news release discussing the situation and inspection process that was being undergone.

Watch movies just like BATMAN!

Canadian based, Elite Home Theater Company, is now marketing it's latest custom home theater decore. Look familiar? It is themed after Bob Kane's Batman comic. Elite Home Theater Co. has released this information via press releases to news outlets and media aficionado websites. The "Bat Cave" theater buzz has gone viral. Rumors of the unusually interesting home theater has shocked many. PR for this product has been the hype. The product is public specific to very wealthy people with over-the-top tastes. The positioning of the product is extravagance and entertainment.

I think the company is doing a good job of letting the product do it's own PR. All you have to do is put out a couple of press releases to a few media outlets and with the internet these days, it's easy to have a buzz spread without much of any cost at all. Which is extremely beneficial to the company being that the product itself is so expensive. More and more companies are coming to this realization.

Fashion Sense

It’s what we do every morning, find something to wear. Believe it or not, each and every time we all dig through our closets we are inspired by the fashion world. There are many people out in society that do not think they are associated with the big designer names, simply because they do not wear them, but little do they know that inspiration for any style originates from the creations of that “big designer”. A prominent time and place to find these big time designers is New York Fashion Week, which has become a popular event. The fashion industry is no longer just buried inside your closet; it is becoming an everyday necessity for celebrities and the everyday citizen thanks to Fashion Week.
When I received the phone call from my friend begging me to take a week off from school and fly to New York for Fashion Weekhttp://www.mbfashionweek.com/newyork/fall2008/sponsors/index.html, I thought he was absurd. How can I take a whole week off from my everyday life, just to go to an event that, I thought, was strictly for models and designers? As days went by, I began seeing more daily entertainment news about which actress was attending the fashion shows or which singer was solely at fashion week for their favorite designer. The Bush twins have reportedly been seen out at the shows. Even people who are not celebrities, my friend for example, are going to the event. A lot has changed since 1993 when Fashion Week was first created by the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Now, it is an event of who is there and for which designer.
Fashion is, without a doubt, making it a point to be noticed in our everyday lives with various media such as the 2006 film, The Devil Wears Prada, to a whole television station devoted to style, the Style Networkhttp://www.mystyle.com/. Fashion is definitely making its permanent mark on society. Even the top fashion magazine, Vogue, no longer focuses on supermodels for their covers. Today, movie stars and singers, people society idolize, now grace the covers. Oddly enough, even phones are beginning to receive high fashion makeovers. Dolce & Gabbana now has a special edition Motorola Razr. Coco Channel also has a phone design of her own, which is highly recommended by musician, Kanye West.
With Fashion Week being held twice a year, once for the Fall lines, and a second time for Spring lines, allows society, as a whole, a chance to soak up some fashion sense. You can fly to New York, watch the updates on television, or even keep up with your favorite designers online. So the next time you step into your closet for a clothing item that might not have a designer label, you can still thank the fashion industry as a whole.

Tragedy strikes a college campus...yet again

Northern Illinois University's website currently features information on the tragedy that occured yesterday. Former NIU student Stephan Kazmierczak, 27, killed five students while injuring 16 others. Classes have been canceled through the weekend, as well as sporting events. The website includes important information about the tragedy, such as the latest information, vigils, important phone numbers, counceling information, and support from the community.

This is great crisis control on behalf of the university. It shows that this is a very serious matter, and all this information is rezdily available to those affected by the tragedy. The layout of the page is simple, which I think is appropriate and show's their sorrows. There are no pictures on the page, except for the black ribbon. It is also a good step in not having pictures of the victims killed on their website. By not featuring pictures, it allows the families to grieve in peace. Previous to this event, I had never been to the NIU website, but at the bery bottom of the page are links to information that I am guessing is on their homepage on any other given day.

Jane Fonda Celebrates a V-Day Crisis

NBC apologized Thursday for itself and actress Jane Fonda, after an offensive word was spoken on the “Today Show.”
Jane Fonda sat alongside writer and feminist activist Eve Ensler on the set of the “Today Show,” to discuss Ensler’s work, “The Vagina Monologues.” “The Vagina Monologues” is a play in which women speak openly about their bodies and sexuality. It focuses on female empowerment and the woman as an individual. Fonda will be appearing in the 10th anniversary performance.
Fonda was answering a questioned posed by “Today Show” co-host Meredith Vieira, and accidentally used the exact term for the monologue. Fonda was explaining her reason why she declined when the term was uttered. NBC felt the need to address this issue and appointed Co-host Vieira to inform the viewers of the apology ten minutes later. Fonda’s use of the c-word may have offended a number of viewers. Consequently, “Today” used a still photograph of Fonda during later airings of the show in order to cover-up the mistake.

This was quick thinking on behalf of NBC, who was forced to handle the sudden “crisis” in a timely manner. The television network NBC, nor the “Today Show” host had any inclination that Fonda was going to utter this remark. However, in television, these mishaps occur. Therefore, effective crisis management is imperative. The crisis must be identified, if possible, before it occurs and handled before it becomes a major issue. The public relations effort was effective. Before this information could hit the high-speed internet, NBC took control of the situation by offering an apology on air. It was important that NBC took the drama out of the crisis. If NBC had not apologized for this mishap, perhaps a media backlash would have occurred and the outcome would have been worse.

Barcelona: a growing hot spot

Ellen Ognitz from tribune media services inc. has proved that Barcelona has become one of the fastest growing travel destinations for families and teens favorite places to travel and go abroad.  With all this city has to offer including new housing, parks, great art and architecture, wonderful food, close beaches and plenty of cool hotels.

She has included the names of some interesting sites and hotels to help advertise what Barcelona has to offer.  She focuses on places that would specifically interest kids, teens and families and welcome more questions and comments at www.takingthekids.com.  She adds her favorite cites including the infamous Piccaso museum and Spain's most visited Sagrada Famillia that some 2.5 million people visited last year.  

Ognitz does a good job in representing Barcelona and everything it has to offer.  She could be seen as doing PR for the different places that she names and the city in general by explaining how it is such a wonderful place with so much beauty, culture and fun and that it can be enjoyed by people of all ages. 

www.cnn.com/2008/TRAVEL/getaways/02/04/barcelona/index.html