Don’t Hold Your Future Hostage

As hip-hop artist LL Cool J (Ladies Love Cool James) often says, “You can’t let your past hold your future hostage.” And  sometimes, past communication mistakes can more than tie up your future. Milwaukee Brewers’ relief pitcher Josh Hader, 24, found himself in a bind when past racist and homophobic tweets resurfaced at this summer’s All-Star Game in Washington D.C. After …

To Snap or Not to Snap

The once seemingly successful app that erases our pictures after ten seconds has been declining in popularity the past few years. Not only has Snapchat lost its uniqueness of story features to its competitors, Instagram and Facebook; CEO Evan Spiegel has negatively affected Snapchat’s public image with media mistakes. Let’s take a look at some examples of Snapchat getting it wrong. …

Three Strikes … You’re Out

In mid September, New York TIMES reporter Kenneth Vogel sat down at a Washington D.C. restaurant, BLT Steak, expecting a routine lunch meeting. However, a media mistake of not so rare proportions was about to fall in his lap. Over a salad of tuna nicoise and iced tea, he overheard a public conversation between Ty Cobb, who is overseeing the White …

Consistent Messaging Not a Slam Dunk

Consistent messaging is one of READY FOR MEDIA’s 12 C’s of communication, and one of the most important. If you cannot effectively communicate with members of your own team, how can you expect to communicate with the public? In a recent playoff game, the Cleveland Cavaliers undermined their own emphasis against domestic violence with a video broadcast depicting a woman …

Minding Your Own Business

Practicing what you preach is good advice. But even those who are accustomed to helping others can themselves mishandle the media. Edelman Public Relations, the largest independent public relations firm in the world by revenue, specializes in crisis control. However, Edelman has run into a few media predicaments of their own lately. The Guardian recently reported on a survey by …

Bridge Over Troubled Waters

In their classic hit, Bridge Over Troubled Waters, Simon and Garfunkel offer a message to Cameron Diaz: Take the high road, not the bait! Acknowledge the interview question then bridge to the answer you’ve come to give. Anyone can fall prey to media mistakes if she hasn’t had media coaching, and the typically well-mannered romcom actress, Cameron Diaz, is no …

Everybody Makes Mistakes

Everyone needs media coaching once in a while, including Pope Francis. The Vatican has been recently involved in embarrassing situations due to poor media preparation. Time after time, Vatican spokesmen have been forced to release awkward clarifications after failed media opportunities. And more often than not, these clarifications cause more confusion. Pope Francis’ latest interview with 90-year old journalist Eugenio …

T.M.I. (Too Much Information)

Probably every poor reader and/or contact wearer in the audience of Sunday night’s Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas felt vindicated when TV reality star and aspiring model Kendall Jenner fumbled her teleprompter introduction of Australia’s boy band, “5 Seconds of Summer.”  She said, “And now we welcome, One…” before stopping abruptly. Everyone, including 5SOS’s British rival “One Direction,” assumed that …

Apology Not Accepted

As a follow up to his racist ramblings, Donald Sterling appeared in an exclusive interview with journalist Anderson Cooper on CNN to “apologize.” During the interview, Mr. Sterling once again made general remarks about African Americans and even added Jews to his diatribe. He assured viewers that he is not a racist, but was rather tricked by his ex-girlfriend and …