Month: June 2018

Puerto Rico has introduced a bill in Congress to become a US state. One wonders if this is a dream or a real possibility. Puerto Rico has terrible PR and the island is a ruin since the hurricane savaged it in 2017. Should it become a state rather than a possession, it will quickly hold its hand out for rebuilding funds, something Congress might not want to give. There is good reason for statehood, however. Its citizens are US citizens although they cannot vote in presidential elections. There has long been migration to and from the island to the US mainland. The island has been a US territory since 1898, and has tried before to muster votes for statehood. In its present condition, it might be time for a 51st state to be created. There is a long way to go, however. One shouldn’t expect Congress to pass a resolution quickly, especially with its Nativist philosophy at the fore. The possession has a great deal of work to do in lobbying and PR before it can advance.

The Supreme Court’s decision yesterday to strike down mandatory payments to public employee unions was a blow to the unions, which depend on a consistent flow of money to survive. The leaders must now persuade public servants to join their ranks and fight for better wages and benefits. It is a time for PR — what your union is doing for you. The campaign must be unrelenting because new employees enter the ranks constantly while older ones retire. The unions must also remind their ranks daily of the value of staying together and dealing with government. It is not going to be an easy task, but the unions’ future depends on it.

The Comcast Disney fight over Fox assets might get more bitter as days pass. Comcast is determined to have Fox for its content and networks.  Fox doesn’t want Comcast, however, because it is concerned a merger will be disallowed by the government. Disney and Comcast are engaged in a multi-billions bidding war  Comcast is looking for new funding. Disney has upped the ante. Lost in all this is the fate of Fox employees. They are helpless bystanders to the wrestling of giants. They know in the end someone will own them and their business lives will change. Meanwhile, there is little PR and employee relations can do to ameliorate fears and rumors. Hallway gossip is speculation while everyone waits for Comcast’s next move, if there is going to be one. It is not a good working environment, but it is a reality. There are limits to communications and transparency and this is one of them.

This is a reason why accuracy is of utmost necessity in the media and in PR. The picture of the crying toddler as her mother was detained turns out not to be what it was thought to be. The little girl stayed with her mother and was not ripped away as everyone thought. With heightened attention to border issues, it gave a perfect opening for critics to claim the media was merchandising “fake news.” The mistake diverted attention from the fact that more than 1700 minors were being held away from their parents. PR practitioners know — or should know — not to make unforced errors like this. The media can correct the record and wipe egg off its face. PR often cannot without losing the trust of reporters and journalists they deal with. There is no substitute or getting it right the first time.

Sometimes an organization is boxed in and cannot speak when it should. This is especially true of personnel matters. Consider the case of an African-American, female astronaut who was slated to spend a lengthy period of time on the space station. She trained and was ready to go when NASA cancelled her mission without explanation. Months later, she still doesn’t know why she was barred from the space station and NASA isn’t talking. It doesn’t make NASA look good, but there might not be anything for the agency to say that wouldn’t cause controversy.  Fortunately for NASA, the astronaut, Jeanette Epps, is not making an issue out of the denial although her brother is. In NASA’s defense, other African-Americans have visited the space station and completed missions there. Epps was supposed to take on a long-term role, the first for an African-American woman. So, she now is in limbo working on earth-bound missions and she doesn’t know when or if she will make it into space.  Meanwhile, NASA is silent and letting the situation fester.

IBM is a master of the publicity stunt to demonstrate capabilities of its hardware and software. Here is the latest effort. Apparently, the machine held its own against debate champions in an argument over “whether space exploration should be subsidized, and whether we should increase the use of telemedicine.” The stunt was designed to gain maximum awareness for IBM’s work in artificial intelligence, and it is similar to Watson and its win at Jeopardy. The company has set lofty goals for its machines. It wants to achieve the ability for humans to converse with the software over matters about which there is no clarity. In other words, the machine can infer arguments based on incomplete data. That will be extraordinary progress should IBM reach it. The publicity stunt for such a feat should be amazing.

Last January, Microsoft was only too willing to discuss the company’s work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Today, it is downplaying its efforts and removing mentions of ICE from its communications. The tide turned quickly with the onset of the government’s now-ended practice of separating children from their migrant parents at the border. Microsoft’s employees were furious about the situation and the company was the target of criticism. This is a lesson. Make sure customers you are going to reference are less likely to become controversial.  Microsoft should have been aware that border issues are combustible. There had been anger aimed at ICE well before the service started to take children away from parents. It would have been better to keep the contract quiet. It’s too late now.

Charleston, SC is apologizing for its deep involvement in the slave trade nearly 200 years ago. It is late, but still a good step to acknowledge its error. Nothing can change the fact that nearly 100,000 slaves passed through its market. As the article notes, “Forty percent of Africans forcibly brought to the US set foot on American soil here. In fact, some 80 percent of African-Americans can trace their roots back to Charleston, says the International African-American Museum.” The town oozes Southern charm, but its City Hall was built by forced labor. Its grand old mansions were maintained by slaves. Its kitchens filled with slave cooks. Its gardens tended by slaves. One might say a formal apology is not enough for the ugly past, but it is a formal statement of sorrow and words have some effect. Charleston is building a Museum of Slavery to reveal its past.  That also is overdue, but a step forward. Both actions are good PR.

As if Trump’s border difficulties aren’t enough of bad PR, he is doubling down on Chinese tariffs in another public relations and economic blunder. As noted yesterday, the Trump Administration will long serve as case studies in maladroit public relations and governance. Both his critics and his supporters are left wondering from day to day what new outrage will be effected or announced. Understanding the scope of the damage to allies and the country will take time and will be the province of historians in years to come. Meanwhile, American citizens are helpless but for the ballot box, but that is months and years away. We will learn in time how resilient the economy and international relations are, but for now they are taking daily blows. It shouldn’t be this way, but it is.

President Trump has stepped into another PR crisis of his own making. This time it is the separation of families at the border. Trump claims it is a Democratic law and the Democrats should change it. Impartial observers say the prior law has nothing to do with splitting children away from parents. Condemnation of the action is nearly universal. Yet, the administration continues. It seems this White House is unable to get and understand public opinion. It bases action on a small — and getting smaller — base of supporters, and it makes up facts as it goes along. There is no excuse for taking children away from parents whether or not they are illegal. The administration would have it that the children are being protected while their parents are being processed in the immigration system. Try to tell sobbing boys and girls that. Trump is going down as a prolonged case study in bad PR.