This was the question our very own Melanie McBride was asked by ABC15.com for its “Hear Me Out” feature. Below is her response, which can also be found at this link: http://bit.ly/5h9wgp
Yesterday as my flight approached landing, a complete stranger in the seat next to me asked me what I thought of the Tiger Woods situation from a woman’s perspective.
I swear, he didn’t know my profession in public relations, and he certainly didn’t know I would be writing this piece. Coincidence? Perhaps. But there’s a reason that weeks later even amongst strangers, we’re still chatting about golf’s golden boy falling from grace.
We continue to talk because Tiger didn’t.
If Tiger hasn’t noticed, the world of communication has dramatically changed. In one single minute, millions of 140-character Tweets of information are being shared across all continents.
Headline news is updated on hundreds of television stations by the second. Text messaging, which apparently Tiger does know about, is being used more frequently than email and phone calling. We walk around with the worldwide web at out fingertips, even on airplanes thousands of feet above ground. Through this explosion of easy access, we have become blatantly transparent and we expect the same in return – especially by those whom we revere as our heroes.
Hopefully Tiger has learned that his disappearing act was a bad idea. He knew the mess of a story he had made yet day after day he allowed others (all 13 of them) to tell it.
Tiger’s loyalist of fans surely wanted the bleeding to stop, but the disaster kept unfolding in slow motion and we kept watching. What’s done is done, but I suspect if Tiger’s draconian father were still alive, he would have his boy enrolled in an intense course of media training rather than sex addiction rehab.
America loves a hero and we love Tiger. We will forgive and Tiger will get another chance to win back our hearts if he plays it right. Just like his next Master’s, he needs a strategy and I recommend his playbook look something like this.
Move fast. It was a wise move for Tiger to go into hiding for a while. This will afford him the opportunity to make a big entrance back into the public eye. But here is where Tiger could take a lesson from David Letterman. Speculation has a short lifespan if it doesn’t have time to grow. Letterman publicly admitted to relationships with his employees less than twenty-four hours of being accused. As a result, his ratings have soared, particularly among men, which is no surprise. Tiger would do well to exit rehab to an audience of eager press double the population of Wickenburg. With all eyes, ears and cameras on him, no one can tell his story before he does.
Be brief. The biggest mistake Tiger made when he finally did go public was his press release that was near the length of the Bible. I wasn’t feeling much sympathy until hearing that copious confession. It pained me. Giving the public that much unnecessary information made Tiger look even worse, and only encouraged the water cooler talk. With any crisis communications, brevity helps manage the message and doesn’t breed more questions. Hopefully Tiger will have practiced a well-written, sensitive statement. And unless his rehab included a session or two on media training, I don’t recommend he take questions.
Facts. I have to give Tiger credit for trying to make up for lost time with his lengthy press release, but he mistakenly offered up pages of arbitrary information when all we hoped for were the facts. We are curious, but we’re not into fluff. Notice how we glommed on to interviews by the mistresses. We knew they had nothing to lose, so we trusted that we would get the facts. And we did. A lot of them. When Tiger reenters his public life, we simply want the facts – and we’ll be satisfied by the smallest portions.
Honesty. I realize the laughable irony in advising Tiger to be honest, but I suppose having hundreds of cameras and microphones in his face when he leaves rehab is a good place to start. No matter the crisis, the truth always comes to surface – even if you have more money than royalty. To have fallen so far from the family image Tiger sold us makes his climb that much more difficult. Time is the only thing that can help regain trust, but Tiger must allow the public the chance to see him being trustworthy – and I mean frequently. I don’t completely buy into the sex addiction rehab, but it’s a good move and at least I know it for the PR tactic that it is. If Tiger is open and honest about the experience, even better.
The only good thing that came from Tiger’s nightmare is it derailed the media and us from talking about Michael Jackson. We want to forgive Tiger and we want him back to his amazing game of golf. Humility and remorse is one thing, but docility and surrender will not win championships. We’re well aware that Tiger has masterfully created and protected his squeaky-clean image, but now he has a chance for the first time, to continue showing us that he is actually human.
So do you agree or disagree? Let your take be heard in the comments below (and you know you have one).
It’s that time of year again when soon-to-be college grads are sending out resumes for their first job and students are trying to get a leg up on the rest of their peers by seeking internships before they head out to the real world. According to the National Association of College and Employers, 83 percent of college students had some type of internship before they graduated in 2008. So what does this mean? Internships are vital to the learning experience, but now, everyone is doing them.
Omar Z
