This blog may offend - and that's OK.

Caution: This blog contains overt religious content.
It is rated CS - Common Sense and discretion are advised.

When I started this blog, I fully intended to keep it real and for the most part link it to a public relations or marketing concept so I'm going to start this with a big one. The public relations concept is called The Spiral of Silence. It's a real concept, taught to those gaining accreditation in PR in the book "Effective Public Relations." The spiral of silence refers to a phenomenon where a vast majority of the public disagrees with something, yet, whether through fear, feelings of helplessness or apathy says nothing. When the majority don't speak up, the silence deepens to a deafening roar. Rising to the top to make their voices heard are the vocal minority who are either fanatics or extremely passionate on one side or the other of an issue.

A good example may be the concept of prayer in school. While nearly every person I've ever spoken to supports prayer in school, the spiral of silence effectively allowed legislation to be approved that bans prayer. That's the effect of the spiral of silence.

I introduce this concept to discuss a recent story written in the Fort Myers News-Press by Sam Cook. Now, anyone from Lee County who read this article yesterday, especially my PR buddies, probably just drew in a sharp breath and thought "She is NOT going to go there in public is she?" Well - yes, actually I am. I am not a fanatic, but I am passionate about this subject. I hope it breaks the spiral of silence on this issue.

The Tim Tebow Bashing Story
To recap for those who didn't read the story, allow me to give a quick overview. Sam Cook is a columnist who writes about controversial topics and people in a very confrontational way. Most people either love his style or hate it. Before I go on, I'd like to state my opinion of Sam Cook because I think it's relevant to add credibility to my argument. I really respect Sam as a journalist. Do I think he writes some really bonehead articles sometimes? Absolutely. Frankly, I think he would be flattered by that comment - it's just the way he seems to be. But for the most part, he was hired to write a column based on his opinions that are meant to polarize and cause people to talk. He does that quite well. Sometimes, I even agree with him on some things. He calls it like he sees it and I find that somewhat refreshing, even if he does pick on something that's important to me - like my faith.

Yesterday, Sam, who states he is Lutheran, wrote about Tim Tebow and opined that Tim should not mix sports with religion. He stated that wearing his faith on his eye marks is offensive to many. He also lambasted Tebow's father's mission for being exclusive against every faith view that isn't theirs. OK. Guess what, as a Catholic who is deeply involved with my faith and in love with my God, I can respect that opinion. Why? Because I believe that for the most part, it's wrong. That's ok too. Luckily we live in the United States where Mr. Cook and I can disagree. Fine. This isn't the spiral of silence that I'm talking about. Believe me. Many many many people are telling Mr. Cook exactly what they think of him and his %#&!# opinions.

So, where is my beef?

I have a big problem with a couple of statements that Sam makes to justify his opinion that simply are not based in fact and are promolgated over and over again in the media. There are two things that we hear so often that many have started to believe to be true. The majority remains silent and the lie becomes fact in the world of public opinion.

First, Sam states (not verbatim) that a young Jewish football loving boy who idolizes Tebow cringes when he sees his hero wearing John 3:16 on his face for the cameras around the world to see.

Second, Sam states that we as Christians would be pretty upset if someone wrote God is Dead on their faces, yet we feel justified in promoting scripture verses.

Argument #1
Let's discuss the first argument. Where and how is Sam or the many other journalists who often use this type of argument, getting their facts? I have never spoken to any person of any other religion who is offended or put off because someone professes their faith in public. Maybe if they try to impose their religion on them and forcefully require them to convert, but sharing your faith in public can be a catalyst for learning more about other faiths. As a Christian, I would certainly feel no anger if a football player had the Star of David painted on their face. Are there fanatics who find it offensive? Sure,I'll bet there are, but why do we continue to cater to fanatics? I would also not be upset if a Muslim tatooed Allah! to their forehead. My actual thought would be, "Wow, that's great that the player has such conviction in their faith." Somewhere in the Bible that I believe in (I'm not a Bible quoter, so I don't know the verse - someone else will though, I'm sure of it) there is a quote from Jesus saying, "Anyone who is not against us is with us." Hmmm - what could that possibly mean? Do you think maybe Jesus would have loved Muslims and Hindus and even athiests while he walked the earth? What about Jews - oh, that's right, he was one. And he loved them too. We as Christians believe in our faith. Muslims believe in their faith and Jews in theirs. The list goes on. If that wasn't the case, we'd have one and only one religion. We live in America. We have freedom of religion. Therefore, if you want to show your faith, I'm proud of you for it. If you think faith is a bunch of nonsense and there is no God, I may pity you and pray for you, but I'm certainly not offended by that. If you worship Satan - I really pity you and fear for you, but I'm not offended by that either. How could I be? If you are proud of what you believe in and want to share your belief subtly by wearing it on your sleeve, eye marks or body in any way - I have the complete and total option of ignoring it. Therefore, I take to task this concept that a small Jewish boy would be offended or put off by Tebow's subtle proclamation of his belief. So many people use this argument to justify the elimination of religion and it's just not right. Prove to me that a majority of people feel that way and I may be swayed, but I've never been able to prove it. I have Jewish friends who told me that they receive Christmas cards all the time - some displaying the Christ child. Are they offended? No. They are pleased with the blessing the sender intended. I'll bet - I've never done a formal study - but I'll bet the majority feel that way.

Argument #2
The second item - Would Christians be offended if someone had God is Dead written under their cheeks? Well,duh, of course we would. This kind of argument seems valid until you dissect it a little. God is dead is not really a tenet of any religion. Possibly it's a statement by Satanists, but I doubt it. Athiests don't believe God exists, so it's not their mantra. God is dead is a mean spirited way of attempting to hurt someone's feelings. Back to my former argument. If that athiest or Satanist wrote on their cheeks, There is no God or I hate God, I would not be offended. I would pity and pray for them, but those two statements are true facts for that person, not a shot at someone's religion. If Tim Tebow wrote, "Athiests are idiots" I would think that truly would be offensive.

I guess the bottom line is that people of faith - any faith, or lack there of, have a right to display their beliefs in any way that they want to. We must stop allowing arbitrary examples of supposed political correctness to turn our country into an athiest nation. While Christians and others are criticized for spreading their beliefs and forced to defend unsubstantiated lies, the athiests are eating our lunch. Because of the spiral of silence, they are slowly furthering their cause against all religions. Sam Cook is a perfect example of this influence. Here's a man who claims to be Christian and has fallen hook line and sinker for the lies spread by non-believers. Why is it that athiests are permitted to get their agendas passed through governmental red tape while faithful people sit and watch with horror? It's the spiral of silence ladies and gentlemen. And I for one, am not willing to sit silent on this any longer. Is anyone with me? Or have I become a fanatic?

Headline Grabbers - Great PR Opportunities

Gaining publicity these days can be challenging. Unless there is a tragedy or controversy, your news may just be one of hundreds of pieces of information recieved by reporters daily. I'd like to take this opportunity to introduce you to PR. For those of you not in the biz, PR does not stand for publicity - which is uncontrolled, but free media coverage. It does not stand for press release. It does stand for Public Relations. Many people get that mixed up. I've heard many people incorrectly say, "We'd like to get some PR on this item. Can you get the press here to cover it?"

Why worry about semantics? Because one local company took the concept of PR and creatively used it to their advantage. How? By scouring the headlines and making their idea relevant to today's news. The company? GrubCab.com. The idea - a $2 discount for anyone who donates a non-perishable food item when they order from GrubCab. GrubCab is a meal delivery service that allows you to go online, order from one of many popular restaurants and have the food delivered to you hot and fresh at a reasonable cost. During the month of October, they are asking for food donations in return for a discount.

Today's headlines in the local newspaper described a food shortage crisis in Lee County. Many food banks are empty or struggling. GrubCab seized the opportunity to help the community. But they accomplished more than that. They built their public relations standing in the community. They are not seeking publicity - in other words, they are not saying, "Hey, look at this great thing we're doing - will the media cover it?" Instead, they are building up good will with their primary public - their customers.

By utilizing social media to spread the word, they are gaining even more recognition as locals who read the headlines today know how important it is to help get these food banks filled again. It's a win-win situation and not one press release had to be sent out. What do you think the chances are of a media person or blogger seeing this act of good will and reporting about it. (Uh, really good as evidenced by this post, I would say)

But even if they don't get any publicity, the positive P.R. they are getting is priceless. Even if someone doesn't buy today, they will have a good feeling about GrubCab and may buy tomorrow.

Today's lesson:

1. Grab headlines and support causes that gain publicity and are near to your heart.
2. Understand the difference between publicity and public relations.
3. Recognize opportunities that can help the community and build positive public relations.
   

Oh, and if you want to get a great lunch or dinner delivered to your door for just a few dollars for delivery, go to www.grubcab.com and place an order. Have a non-perishable food item ready and it will cost you even less - AND you can feel good about feeding someone less fortunate.

Kamasutra - The Art of Getting Global Media Attention

Who knew?
What started out as a silly complaint by an overactive helicopter parent, turned into a global news story overnight. Without even trying, my client was in the news in every country you can name - and some that you can't even pronounce - all for doing exactly what they were supposed to be doing - teaching an approved advanced placement class. There are many different ways I could go with this story - all of which would leave you shaking your head in disbelief, but I'm going to try to remain focused on the moral of the story - which is assess the damage and act accordingly. The second moral, keep your boss or client calm and ride the storm out. Here's the story.

One of my clients is a charter school company that manages schools throughout the state of Florida. Part of the curriculum in the high schools offer advanced placement classes - which are college level classes. These classes are accredited nationally, so the books that are used are used throughout the country in one form or the other in every high school. All of the content is similar. The book in question in this instance contains the offending word - Kamasutra.

Imagine my surprise when I received a call from a news reporter who was contacted by a parent and told that the high school was teaching Kamasutra in class.

Really?!

Man, I wish I had that class!

Guess, what class it is? World History. Oh. Well, let me take that back. I was hoping for health class, but I digress.

I would think that Kamasutra in a class like World History would be referring to the literary work from India written in the 4th century. I was right. One sentence in the entire book states that the Kamasutra was a literary work written in the 4th century that discusses relationships between males and females. That's it. Finito. End of sentence. End of story, right?

Well not according to the above referenced helicopter parents. They contend that having a word like that in the text is wrong because it's teaching the art of sex to 15 year old children. (Won't even blab on about how all 15 year olds know about the art of sex anyway!)

Hmmm. I had a hard time making that connection and here is where I could rail on the ridiculousness of these parents, but I'm not going to do that. I'll stick with the facts - which is something I wish the news reporter would have done, but she chose not to. Another area into which I could delve at great lengths, but I won't.

In a nutshell, even though other media called to check out the story and dismissed it for the nonsense that it was, one television station decided to run with it. They wanted me to get the principal to go on camera and I refused. I told them that the story didn't derserve to get any more credibility and we would simply issue a statement.

The story aired. It led with the complaint of the parents, incorrectly stated that a handful of parents were complaining instead of just the mother and stepfather of one boy, finished with half of the client's prepared statement, showed video of the wrong school and that was it. Right? No - that would be boring.

Two days later, after I had already forgotten the nonsense, I started getting news alerts in my email that Pakistan Times and Uzbekistan News and about 20 other countries that I've come to know as the "stans" all picked up part of the story. Every stan in the world, plus Beijing, Amsterdam, Phillipines and many many other countries, some of which I truly cannot pronounce led with a headline that said, "Kamasutra just a "word" at Florida school."

As I watched the news reports filing into my inbox, I was shocked. The lead sentence was "India's love tome, Kamasutra has caused a huge stir in Florida where one school has chosen to teach it as a vocabulary word."

Um, no it didn't. This was the complaint of one parent - no huge stir. The book - or a similar book with the same word - is used in all high schools that teach advanced placement classes. I was beginning to think that this was going to cause an international incident. What if the Kamasutra is as important to the Hindus as the Bible is to Christians. How would people react to what sounded like a major diss to an important literary work. OH BOY.

Well - had to kick into crisis mode, but took a step back and analyzed the situation. First, the name of the school is rather generic and therefore unrecognizable outside of the immediate geographic area. The article that was picked up on the newswire did not include the name of the management company. No other local news stations reported on the situation. So what does that leave us with?

1. No one knows who the school is outside of the local area, so in reality, it's not important that the name is out there.
2. The global news story will not be seen by local people near the school, so enrollment will not be affected.
3. The corporate identity was safe.
4. The story ended up sounding like the school did what it was supposed to do and the parents were a little wacko.

The net result - this wasn't really going to affect the school or its management company at all. Now I just had to convince the president of the company that it really wasn't a big deal. I gave him my synopsis and my recommendation that we do nothing - just let it pass. After I explained my thought process, he agreed. But then, I started to second-guess myself. As more "stans" came in and I heard that CNN and FoxNews picked it up, I wondered if I should do something more proactive.

Utilizing facebook, I contacted several PR pros who I admire greatly, laid out the situation and received feedback in a really cool forum. I was able to gather some of the best minds in the business in a single place where everyone could see each other's comments (It was in the private inbox - not on the wall) and respond with their opinions. Here's the net result of the plan:

1. Prepare a crisis communication plan to include designated spokesperson and key messages in the event that CNN or Tjekbaianstan News showed up at the school.
2. Contact the news director and explain the situation - requesting that the story be removed from the Website since there were inaccuracies in the story and misleading content.
3. Sit back and wait for the storm to pass, continually monitoring to make sure no collateral damage would occur.

Although that sounds like shutting the barn door after the horse has escaped, I realized quickly that there was no way to get in front of the tidal wave of news. I could only pick up the pieces of what was left behind. I wanted to make sure that anyone who goes to the news site in the future doesn't stumble across the story or be able to search it.

I have to say that it is both thrilling and scary to see how quickly news gets disseminated these days. I also learned an important lesson. No matter how minor an error is in a news report - tell the news director or editor. Make sure it is a true error - not just an annoying spin. I never complained to the news director that the fact that the parents said sex was being taught in the classrooms was untrue. It was true that the parents said that. Sex wasn't being taught in World History, but it was true that the parents said that. What I called to task was the incorrect comment about a handful of parents and the wrong video. Those were true errors. The one word that helped this go global - other than Kamasutra - was handful. Imagine how ridiculous the story would have sounded if it was accurate. "One student's parents are outraged that a word in a nationally accredited book that is used in hundreds of thousands of books across the United States is offensive to them personally."

Looking back, I wish I would have contacted the news director sooner and had the error fixed then. I never in a million years would have imagined that the news would go global. I figured that I would just let it go and choose another more significant battle. We live, we learn.

One more tip for all of you PR pros out there - if you want to get the media to cover your groundbreaking ceremonies in the future, offer a complimentary copy of the World History Advanced Placement Book as a prize for the first to arrive. I figure that if this book causes this much of a stir, it must be a pretty darn good book!