Newspaper Headlines Provide PR Lessons Not Taught in Communication School Texts

For years, I’ve been telling PR staffers who reported to me that there are PR lessons they can learn that are probably not taught in communications school texts. And the cost of being exposed to these lessons is the price of a major print daily.

As usual, newspaper stories and their headlines last year, in 2022, provided tuition-free PR lessons that might be used on accounts you’re involved with. And newspaper headlines in 2023 will provide many new lessons.        

The first working day of last year, 2022, provided the initial tutorials.

Situation: On January 3, a headline in the Wall Street Journal read, “AT&T, Verizon Rebuff Request To Delay 5G Over Flight Safety.” The headlined summarized the gist of the article.

My Take: Refusing to voluntarily delay the launch until airline safety issues could be resolved positioned the telecom companies as putting profits ahead of the safety of airline passengers. Private businesses should always accede to a request from states or the federal government over a public safety issue.   Doing so always tarnishes the reputation of the companies. The two companies subsequently agreed to a two week delay, but the damage was already done.

Situation: On January 5, the Wall Street Journal headlined an article, “Critics of Treatment of Uyghurs Hit Olympics.” The story revealed how Anta Sports Products, the sportswear company that is the official supplier of IOC uniforms for the Beijing Winter Olympics, has been accused of using forced labor.  A similar story was front page news in the January 5 New York Times. It was headlined, “Olympic Officials Deflect Calls To Press China on Forced Labor” and continued for half a page inside the first section.

My Take: When a PR crisis develops any company associated with the main entity, in this case it was the Beijing Olympics itself, can be dragged into the controversy. Savvy PR people should be aware that their client might receive negative media coverage in such a situation and have a plan to respond if the negative coverage continues. 

Situation: On January 9, the New York Times headlined an article, “No More Working For Jerks!” Which summed up the contents of the story.

My Take: Ours is not a “what did you do for me yesterday” or “what did you do for me today business. “It’s a high-pressure “what are you going to do for me tomorrow” business. Thus, supervisors are on constant pressure from clients to deliver. It has been my experience that office politics and friendships often determine promotions instead of competency. Thus many supervisors do not have the skills necessary for helping people reporting to them and instead use abusive language and threaten them with being fired.

I always felt that when an account team cannot deliver the desired results, the main fault lies with management for faulty hiring and appointing supervisors who are not qualified for their positions, in addition to making promises to clients that are unrealistic about programs that should never have been offered. In my case, I never threatened or berated people reporting to me. Instead I always pitched in and helped, regardless of my title. Often, I was accused by high management of acting like a camp counselor instead of as a harsh supervisor.  My philosophy of always being nice to co-workers paid off when I left Burson-Marsteller after nearly a quarter of a century and began my own consultancy. People who reported to me, or who I worked with and advanced in agencies or moved to client jobs, provided me with numerous projects. Lesson to be remembered. Don’t be a jerk. Be nice.

Situation: The “Work Friend” column in the April 24 N.Y. Times had a subhead titled, “The Mandatory Superspreader Event.” It was, of course, about a company sales meeting over a weekend at which no masks, testing or proof of vaccination was required, said the article. Roxane Gay, the columnist replied, in part to a reader “You shouldn’t have to risk your life for your job. And your employer should care enough about its employees to ensure that everyone…can participate in work-related activities safely.”

My Take: Experience proves that ours is not an employee friendly business. If fact, on an employee friendly scale of 1 to 100, public relations would rank 101. During my early days at Burson-Marsteller, which was never considered a caring employer, and became much less so when Mr. Marsteller retired, I was asked, “If the need arises, would you give your life for the company? “No,” I replied. “Would you?” End of conversation. To this day I’m not certain if the question was asked to determine my loyalty or as a joke, although if I had to guess I would choose the former. That’s because at another time I was asked if I would say I was Harold Burson during a hostage takeover. So my advice to employees in our business, and in other businesses as well, is to always do what’s best for you, because you can be assured that your employer will always do what’s best for the company. 

Situation: On April 26 the Wall Street Journal headlined an article, “Some Workers Who Jumped Ship Now Say They Regret It.” The article was about the disappointment some people experienced at a new job. 

My Take: As readers of my columns know, I have always believed that people in our business should not take the promises that management makes seriously. These bait and switch promises are made when management needs to fill a spot on its organization chart. Most often, managements' promises are like clouds in the sky and dissipate when an employee is no longer considered essential.  By all means employees should investigate opportunities to better their careers. But employees should not believe the promises made by recruiters or H.R. personnel during job interviews. Do your own research about a firm before abandoning your old ship.

Situation: On June 23 the Wall Street Journal headlined an article, “When You Accept a Job - And the Offer is Rescinded.” The article described situations in which people were offered jobs, but before they could start the offers were withdrawn, because of the changing economy. Sadly, the individuals stopped job hunting because they believed that they had firm offers, perhaps causing them to miss out on positions at other firms.

My Take: People in our business should remember this article, because in our business, despite the praises a person receives from management, when conditions change you’re just another employee number. People in our business should never tie themselves to management’s apron strings and always take what management says with several grains of salt. My advice is to always do what’s best for you, not what’s best for the company.

Situation: On September 23 the Wall Street Journal headlined an article, “Boeing Agrees to Settle SEC’s 737 MAX Probe.” (A similar article was featured in the New York Times business section.) The stories said that Boeing and its then CEO Dennis Mullenburgh made misleading comments about the 737 MAX’s safety problems.

My Take: There are two important lessons that I’ve always stressed regarding companies and individuals involved in a PR crises. 1) Never lie. 2) Once an entity or individual is involved in a PR crisis it becomes part of its DNA and the problem can resurface at any time. The 737 MAX crisis dates back to 2018, when the first of two jets crashed. The situation was again revisited in another Wall Street Journal article regarding Boeing’s problems with regulators on October 18. And negative articles about Boeing continued in the early days of 2023.

Situation: On September 26 a column by Pamela Paul in the New York Times was headlined, “Do Not Bring Your ‘Whole Self’ to Work.” The essay was about the “whole self” mantra now being urged on workers returning to the office and promoted by H.R. departments. In her article, Ms. Paul urges readers to “Defy the latest catchphrase of human resources and leave a good portion of you back home.”

My Take: I agree with Ms. Paul regarding her take about H.R. departments.  In fact, over the years I have gone much further than Ms. Paul and have written many times that employee should not trust the human resources departments because their job is to protect management, not help employees. Don’t confide in them. If you have a legitimate employee problem consult a labor attorney. But make certain it’s one who represents employees.

Situation: On October 2, the New York Times headlined an article, “How McKinsey Got Into the Business of Addiction.” The huge article by investigative reporters Walt Bogdanich and Michael Forsythe, adapted from a book they wrote, detailed McKinsey’s work over the decades for Big Tobacco and Juul.

My Take: As I’ve written for decades, once an entity or individual has been involved in a PR crisis it becomes part of their DNA and can be reported on years later. Again, in the October 23 New York Times, a company’s past crisis made news when the paper headlined an article, “Judge Clears Way for Families to Challenge Boeing Crash Settlement.” The Boeing PR crisis dates back to 2018 and 2019, when 346 people were killed in its 737 Max crashes. Account handlers should always have a prepared plan that can be activated if a past PR crisis becomes part of a current happening.

Situation: The New York Times, on October 11, headlined an article, “Habit of the Storyteller in Chief: Spinning Yarns That Unravel.” It was about President Biden embellishing facts of his past experiences when trying to connect with an audience.

My Take: When discussing a possible story idea with a media contact, or in a written pitch, PR people should never embellish the facts. Doing so can result in a reporter or producer not trusting your future pitches.

Situation: In its October 15-16 edition, the Wall Street Journal headlined an article, “Want to Get Ahead? Pick the Right Company.”  The article, based on a study by the Burning Glass Institute, a Philadelphia think tank, detailed why choosing the right company can affect a person’s career.

My Take: In our business, new graduates of communications schools usually have their sights on landing a job at the large prestigious pubic relations agencies. In my opinion, this is a mistake because the larger the agency the less likely it is for a novice employee to be given any immediate responsibility. Often, they are given what amounts to lackey assignments. I’ve always believed it’s better for a new graduate to seek employment at a small to mid-size agency, because at these agencies novice employees are immediately given an opportunity to show their skills, thus  strengthening  their résumés for future employment opportunities at larger agencies or corporations.

Situation: On October 18, the New York Times headlined an article “Patients and Doctors On a First-Name Basis.” It was about patients calling physicians by their first names instead of “Doctor.”

My Take: The informality of calling persons by their first names, and who are not friends, is old hat to our business.  Journalist pals have told me that they often receive written pitches and telephone calls from PR practitioners they do not know who address them by their first names instead of Mr. or Ms. This often immediately results in negative reactions from the journalists, as does misspelling their names in written communications. Young PR practitioners should realize that contacting a journalist is a business decision and the proper way to communicate with a journalist is by using Mr. or Ms. unless you are on a first name basis. When reporters contact me for information, they always begin their written requests by saying, “Dear Mr. Solomon.” Only reporters that I have a long-time friendly association with call me “Arthur.” And I never call a reporter by their first name unless they tell me to do so. Neither should you.

Situation: On November 27, the New York Times headlined an article, “Our Ex-Colleague Won’t Leave Us Alone.” It told about how a disgruntled ex-worker would complain about working situations to former colleagues at her former company.

My Take: At every agency there are employees who are unhappy about their situation and complain to present or former  co-workers. My advice is to ignore those malcontents. Do not be influenced by them. Concentrate on your own situation and if you’re dissatisfied keep it to yourself until either the situation improves or you decide to leave. If you’re unhappy because you feel that you’re not getting the credit you deserve from your supervisor, take you case directly to top management, but never to Human Resources.