Waiting for Tiger

As a golf enthusiast and PR pro, I'm doubly eager to see how the Tiger Woods saga will unfold over the next few months. While the PGA Tour won't be the same without everyone gunning for arguably the greatest golfer to ever play the game, I'm more curious to see how the fallen hero will seek to repair his image off the golf course.

I applaud Tiger for making it his top priority to repair the damage in his family . . . if that's even possible. But his choice to go into hiding instead of confronting his situation in a more complete and forthright manner is troubling evidence of the "above-it-all" arrogance that helped land him in hot water in the first place.

My question is, why aren't Tiger's advisers providing him with more effective counsel during this tragic episode? His painstakingly crafted mea culpas, placed in the secure domain of his personal Website, fall far short of the honest acknowledgment his sponsors and supporters deserve.

Let's face it: Tiger's star power is such that he could command any public forum, under the most favorable terms, for his "come clean" interview. A guest spot on Oprah would go a long way toward restoring his integrity, with little threat of the kind of questioning a more cutthroat interviewer might employ.

Instead, Tiger continues to exhibit the stubborn behavior personified by Kevin Costner's Roy McAvoy in the movie "Tin Cup." Struggling on the fringes of golf for over a decade, McAvoy amazingly needs only to par the final hole to win the U.S. Open and the woman of his dreams. Instead of playing safe by laying up on the long par 5, he goes for the green in two, putting five shots in the water before miraculously holing out for a scorecard-bloating 12.

My advice to Tiger: put the 3 wood back in the bag, lay up, and get on with the business of winning golf tournaments.

Crisis Communications: If You Can't Beat 'Em, Mimic 'Em?

I was troubled but not surprised to learn that Chevron hired former CNN reporter Gene Randall to put together a story rebutting a "60 Minutes" piece on the $27 billion environmental lawsuit the company faces over alleged damage to the Amazon rainforest.

Telling your side of the story in the face of scathing news coverage is a tried and true PR tactic. But the piece is produced to appear like a purely journalistic exercise, with no attribution to Chevron. Randall is identified with an on-screen super that reads "Gene Randall Reporting," and he signs off the piece with the same language.

The 14-minute video is posted on YouTube and no doubt making the rounds of other social media channels, avoiding the scrutiny and editorial objectivity of mainstream news organizations. Regardless of the facts, I can't help but believe it's intent is not to inform, but to obfuscate. And how could a guy like Randall allow his name and reputation to be used in such a manner?

More troubling, and particularly surprising, are the number of seasoned PR pros who are defending the practice, suggesting the existence of social media channels makes such blatantly one-side, pseudo-journalism permissible. That's like saying it's OK to cheat on your taxes as long as you don't get caught.

There's an old saying in crisis PR that the court of public opinion can be more damaging than the court of law, so it's easy to understand Chevron's motivation in mounting this defense. But that's no excuse for tossing aside transparency, a crucial ingredient to earning trust and corporate reputation.

"Say It Ain't So, Mike"

It'll be interesting to see what kind of fallout results from the picture of Michael Phelps smoking pot that ran in a British tabloid.

Still basking in the adulation earned through his herculean feats at the Beijing Olympics, Phelps proved he was human after all -- not because he smoked marijuana, but by being foolish enough to do so in the presence of strangers. To his credit, he issued a prompt, sincere and painfully scripted statement admitting his poor judgment.


Phelps caught a lucky break by having the news break on the day of Super Bowl XLIII. I suspect he'll catch another break from sponsors who won't toss him overboard -- unlike, say, Michael Vick -- because marijuana use is considered a pretty minor indiscretion these days.


Good crisis management? Unfortunately, probably just a sign of our times.