Your most embarrassing moments immortalized
Video has made the transition into the Internet age easily, thriving in the culture of fast news, social sharing and smartphones. Of course, this means that when public figures slip up, it’s not only talked about, but also seen by millions of people.
“Mr. Media Training,” Brad Phillips, has collected the very worst (and usually most entertaining) recorded gaffes from this past month, and presents them in his, “Five Worst Video Media Disasters.” Here’s the winner:
#1: Anthony Weiner’s Offensive PR Offensive
Not fair, Anthony Weiner. Your self immolation was so spectacular, no one on this list even had a chance of catching up with you. After getting caught sexting naughty photos to strangers, Mr. Weiner:
- Denied the charges, claiming his account had been hacked.
- Said that although he hadn’t sent the photos, he couldn’t rule out “with certitude” that the erect undies shot was of him.
- Held a tearful press conference to admit he had sexted the photos himself, but would refuse to resign.
- Watched helplessly as a nude photo of his…ahem…member…was released.
- Saw his private news about his wife’s early-term pregnancy announced to the world.
- Saw yet another batch of sexy gym photos released.
- Resigned in shame.
Although his two press conferences were also dreadful, this month’s winning losing video belongs to Mr. Weiner’s first defiant hallway interview, in which he sanctimoniously blasted reporters.
The lesson here is that Internet videos never truly go away. Even if an embarrassing video is deleted from the original posting site, there’s an extremely high probability that it’s saved somewhere and can be drudged up under the right conditions.
If you do find yourself in this position, one approach to crisis management that has proved effective is to respond with a video of your own. While the problem footage will still exist, the idea is to bring your side of the story, or even an apology, to the same eyes that saw the original.
The BCM Blogging Team
https://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com/