Rupert Murdoch and his cast of characters are a train wreck. To quote Rolling Stone one hour ago, “At long last, Rupert Murdoch has made it onto the Mount Rushmore of whiners.” I couldn’t agree more.
What did he do wrong? Everything beginning with believing his own press, ignoring the seriousness of the issue and not owning up to horrible missteps executed by his favorite lieutenants. Crisis management 101.
His letter today to his employees was a step in the right direction, though one wonders about the sincerity of the content: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/rupert-murdoch-outlines-accountability-plan-213019 . I mean, … really?
Talk about crisis management and what not to do, future PR scholars will have field days as one of the most prominent figures in media history becomes the PR gift that keeps on giving.
It is classic “Ivory Tower” thinking, “The rules don’t apply to me.” And as we have seen with countless downfalls of public persona in the past year, they never think the rules apply to them.
At least this news frenzy accomplished one thing – removing Casey Anthony off the front pages.