An Apple a Day

Steve Jobs' own ignorance and failure to see the implications of his not divulging information on his health was definitely suggestive of a potential if not full-on crisis. Obviously Jobs' appearance at Apple when its was losing significantly in the market showed that consumers held him in high confidence. His lack of concern for these same consumers led the brand to suffer because of his unnecessary secrecy. A company should always be willing to give a report about the state of its CEO, the person in charge of making sure the company is handling business in the best fashion. If a company's CEO falls ill, that presents numerous questions about the future of the company's leadership. Steve Jobs apparently didn't think this to be important information to his various publics and his reputation suffered. I would have advised Jobs to be frank with his publics especially his shareholders. He could easily have explained his ailment situation while still maintaining confidence in the Apple brand. By not speaking, Jobs was himself sending out a message. And the consumers listening heard loud and clear that Steve Jobs cared more about his ego than informing the people around him.

The Way the Cookie Crumbles

Wild Freeborn's ethical thoughts were probably that Girl Scout cookie sales were what would get the troop to camp, no matter how they were sold. She probably thought it was an ingenious idea to use a personal video of herself to magnify the power of cookie selling far beyond that of a few hundred door knocks. Her intentions were most likely not to try to flout the tradition of Girl Scout cookie selling, it was just to raise money for her troop. However, the Girl Scouts most likely were unhappy with the idea of one Girl Scout being able to unfairly surpass other troops who kept to traditional methods of selling. They probably also felt that Freeborn would be sparking a dangerous trend of other Girl Scouts competing to see who can create the most outlandish video to sell cookies, which has a slightly exploitative connotation. I don't think the Girl Scouts should have come down so harshly on one of its own members. After all, it wasn't like she was making a profit of her own. The money she was raising was for her entire troop to go to scout camp. I think the Girl Scouts should have banned future use of the Internet to sell cookies but should have let Wild raise enough money for her troop to go to camp.

The Last Laugh

With the serious and grave publicity stunt that Cartoon Network had decided to pull in order to promote Aqua Teen Hunger Force, I felt that their course of action in rectifying the situation was appropriate. Instead of trying to displace responsibility or burying their heads in the sand, Cartoon Network took full responsibility for its actions and the head of Cartoon Network understood the consequences when announcing he felt it best if he stepped down. Cartoon Network recognized the legal implications of their actions and also anticipated the public fallout after they were discovered. Although many viewers of Cartoon Network would not have felt the incident was a reason to stop watching the network, CN still took the time to make sure that their public understood how apologetic they were and that the situation was now under control. Cartoon Network for sure will understand now the importance of keeping advertising legal and not misleading.

Behind Every Bad Politican

Had I been Ron Blagojevich's PR specialist, I would have advised him to not respond to Roland Burris' appointment as Senate due to his already tense relationship with his fellow Democratic senators. The amount of furor that would abound after his speaking on or confirming Roland Burris' election would be detrimental to his success in disproving the rumors of him selling the U.S. Senate seat especially after other senators had warned him of his actions. While his trial was pending, I would have advise Blago not to make any public statements regarding the case or to make any public statements about his character or the character of Roland Burris. I would have advised him to step down from promoting Burris and to focus more attention on minimizing media spotlight and disproving the rumors. His insistence in the matter was his downfall  because his insistence on pressing Burris as Senator caused others to believe that he may well have had a hand in getting Burris the seat.

Hot Pockets in the Hot Seat

I agree with Porter Novelli on defending the press release. The release did not attempt to make an insensitive interjection of the product in regards to 9/11 nor did it make any comment on whether or not the situation was grave. The press release simply acknowledged that the company understood the magnitude of the event and was trying to help people as they returned to living their lives. I don't think that this makes Hot Pockets an item that is trying to brush off the effects of a terrorist attack nor is it trying to determine why consumers bu Hot Pockets. It would not be common sense for Porter Novelli to believe that a terrorist attack could possibly make consumers vulnerable to a Hot Pockets PR pitch. Rather, Porter Novelli simply wanted to both make a public statement about the nature of the recent events and also encourage new customers of the brand to find Hot Pockets a continually delicious home food.

Throwing the Book at Him

In the case of Zell's new handbook, his insistence on giving employees a chance to dispute certain rules does allow for democracy in the workplace which improves employee relations. However, his lack of regard for the quality of the work from his employees or his own interest in the company's output indicated a disregard for employee relations in the company. His myopic view of his employees only as moneymakers caused the photographer to be offended that Zell had no interest in the content made by employees. Also, it is most likely that employees felt resentment towards Zell at the idea of being used for his personal gain rather than giving the journalists opportunities to display their work and create objective, truthful, and informative news content. Also, the ethical boundaries of journalism were crossed when Zell stated he only cared about profits. Journalism should seek to find and report news as well as act for the good of the people they serve not to exploit them for their money. Zell's comment certainly slashed an ounce of integrity that he had built up with his employees.

Tragedy in Myanmar

The Myanmar junta's attempts to influence pick opinion were bot extremely dangerous and unethical. Their inability to look beyond politic suspicions to assist the welfare of the country's people cost many their lives. Their subsequent attempts at creating the farce that they were the ones providing aid damaged diplomatic relations and also community relations. China understood that responding quickly to the earthquake was important be aide the country was under a microscope for the Olympics. To fail to do so would incite a PR disaster that China would not be able to handle. The public opinion of China from other countries would have dropped significantly damaging future international relations. China, being the major power player that it is, has a great deal of self-consciousness when it comes to PR. China's history of the use of propaganda and control of messages within the country elude to the fact that China doesn't like when messages are being fabricated about the country without China's input.