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"Iraqi Abuse Photos, NBA Brawls Among Worst PR Blunders"
"SAN FRANCISCO -- Defense Department black eye, showcasing violence, a corporate scrooge, and unexpected prime time sex highlight this year's 10th anniversary list of public relations blunders compiled by Fineman PR. The annual list is a collection of some of the year's worst public relations gaffes. Selections are limited to avoidable acts or omissions that cause adverse publicity, image damage was done to self, company, society or others and those that were widely reported in 2004. And the "winners" for 2004 are:Rumsfeld's Abu Ghraib Scandal. Photos of Iraqi prisoner abuse festered at the Pentagon for half a year, eventually leading to a "public relations Pearl Harbor," according to Republican Rep. Tom Cole. Pentagon head Donald Rumsfeld refused to release the photos for six months after 60 Minutes II aired an exclusive look at the alleged prison abuse. Several photos leaked out and became available on the Internet before the scandal resulted in a congressional investigation in May. The stories kept coming with every new leak and photo. " ... put out everything immediately. A delay only causes people to suspect your motives and your competence," former PepsiCo chief executive officer. Roger Enrico told the Wall Street Journal. A PR blunder for the Department of Defense, but the biggest loser was America and its image around the world.National Brawlers Association. When NBA star and part-time rapper Ron Artest went into the not-so-cheap seats to punch out a Detroit Pistons fan in November, he sparked a mini-riot between players and fans. The media lambasted the surly players for fighting with the people who help pay their salaries but also accused the NBA of a total program failure. Tim Kawakami opined in the San Jose Mercury News, "the problem is that the NBA tacitly approves its fans' most ridiculous behavior, and practically begs Artest and his peers to retaliate against any slight, because that is the dumb gladiator's credo. The way of the fake superhero.""Rathergate." Dan Rather's expose attacking President Bush's National Guard service in September led to the kind of accusations against him that he leveled during his illustrious 24-year run as CBS News' anchorman. Major newspapers, including the Washington Post, charged CBS with stonewalling and corporate foot-dragging. Two weeks after the story broke, CBS admitted its "mistake in judgment" in relying on bogus documents, but the damage was done. "Had Rather and CBS management been more serious about viewer input and fairness they would never have had to stonewall about a story they shouldn't have run," longtime Rather critic Matthew Sheffield was quoted by the Los Angeles Times.Target Plays Scrooge. Those Salvation Army bell ringers with collection kettles outside department stores have been around for a century and are as meaningful to many consumers as any store-hired Santa Claus. So when Minneapolis-based Target announced it would ban Salvation Army collectors at all its stores, outraged consumers called for a national boycott. As the complaints rose, Target said it was trying to draw the line on increasing solicitation requests. The press saw it as just another symbol of "American life becoming too corporate" according to the Indianapolis Star. "It's a disgrace. The bell ringers remind you of the meaning of Christmas, that it's about love, caring, and giving," shopper Phyllis McElaney told the Boston Globe. In response, retail rival Wal-Mart offered to match its customer donations to the red kettles at all the retailer's locations.Janet's Peek-a-Boob. With 100 million watching the Super Bowl, Janet Jackson picked the wrong time for a "wardrobe malfunction." When Justin Timberlake ripped off her leather top during an MTV- produced half time show in New Orleans last February, Jackson's left breast -- sheathed only in a solar nipple ring -- popped out. The FCC instituted stricter controls and came down on CBS and its 20 stations with a $500,000 fine. Jackson's excuse that her costume failed didn't appease anyone in the media, many of whom suspected that the whole thing was staged. "Like millions of Americans, my family and I gathered around the television for a celebration. Instead, that celebration was tainted by a classless, crass and deplorable stunt," said FCC chief Michael Powell as quoted by the Associated Press.ABC's Locker Room Scene. Just a few days after family values issues helped reelect President Bush, ABC led off its "Monday Night Football" telecast with a pre-taped segment showing wide receiver Terrell Owens being wooed in the locker room by a blond siren in a towel. Nicollette Sheridan stars on the network's "Desperate Housewives," and when her towel dropped, the phones at ABC lit up. The public had appeared to accept raunch in prime time until it invaded their living rooms and children's imaginations before a football game. Media critics chastised ABC. "Parents have little control when something sexy spontaneously airs before a football game," the Associated Press wrote. ABC's desperate thirst for higher ratings begat disingenuous apologies, but it may not be in the entertainment industry's interest to ignore the drumbeat of an increasingly conservative public.Outsourcing Carly Fiorina. With white-collar jobs increasingly going overseas, Silicon Valley's attempts to prevent Congress from passing legislation to slow the trend was tactless. Appearing to bash the skills of American workers, Hewlett Packard's Carly Fiorina became the poster girl in media across the country for offshoring America's jobs in January saying, "There is no job that is America's God-given right anymore." Rich Heintz, editor of California Job Journal, wrote in the San Francisco Chronicle, "This Marie Antoinette-inspired remark makes me wonder if HP hasn't already offshored its public-relations department."Baseball's Juiced. Baseball's steroid scandal was festering for at least six years with stars such as Jose Canseco, Ken Caminiti and Mark McGwire reported to be using performance enhancers. The game's commissioner, Bud Selig, didn't take action, so when the San Francisco Chronicle printed a series of Grand Jury leaks from the BALCO investigation, the press took swings of its own. "That head in the sand mentality has come back to haunt the game and tarnish Bonds' pursuit of Babe Ruth and Hank Aaron's career home run marks," wrote Steve Wilstein of the Associated Press.Cablevision Dumps Marv Albert. Marv Albert has not been shy about criticizing the New York Knicks during his 36 years as its broadcaster, but his honesty got him fired by the team's owner/ broadcaster Cablevision last July. The New York Post accused Cablevision CEO James Dolan of using phony excuses for firing him. "OK, so Dolan dumped the guy whose voice, talent and good faith treatment of fans made him, over three generations, synonymous with sports in this city ... But stop with the Pinocchio." The PR lesson registered nationally. "Cablevision failed to grasp that its employees' honesty -- even if negative -- resonates better with the public than the appearance of being a puppeteer," wrote Gideon Fidelzeid in PR Week.Northwest Airlines. After Northwest's CEO Richard Anderson said in September 2003 that the airline does not provide the government with its customer information, the Washington Post reported in January that Minnesota's NWA did provide NASA with private customer files. Instead of apologizing, Anderson said he didn't know the airline was cooperating with the government. "When you break someone's trust an apology is the first step back toward regaining it," Kevin Mitchell, head of the Business Travel Coalition, told the Twin Cities Pioneer Press. Instead of apologizing, though, the CEO only appeared to shift the blame."