Where Don Imus Went Wrong
Shock jock Don Imus was wrenched today from his CBS radio program and yesterday from the MSNBC television simulcast. In an era of bawdry lyrics in rap music, increased debauchery on public and cable television and a host of other foul-mouthed radio personalities, how did Imus find himself on such a slippery slope?
He violated three basic rules in good crisis communications.
First, pardon my language but I must be blunt, in a crisis communications situation you can’t make chicken salad out of chicken shit. His despicable, sexist and racist description of the Rutgers women’s basketball team is indefensible. In crisis work we are asked often to wave a magic wand over a deplorable act, thus righting the wrong. There is no such thing and no one can “spin” the Imus tale into a positive.
Second, the Imus team failed miserably in good crisis response by letting the story drag out for seven full days before MSNBC pulled the plug on his television simulcast. Anyone can withstand a body blow in times of crisis; it is the day to day pummeling that proves fatal. Imus and his team should have brainstormed worst case scenarios the day after his comment when the story became white hot in the media. Anyone with crisis experience could have suggested a worst case – and likely – outcome involving the story spinning out of control and ending with his show being yanked off the air. By not addressing the situation on day one, two or three, he allowed the nation to speculate if his show should be removed from TV and radio.
The original comment and subsequent poor planning led to Imus being firing twice in two days. In retrospect, when the story became national news, Imus should have suspended himself indefinitely from radio and TV – buying time and not giving his opponents a clear opening to attack. Instead, he appeared each day on radio and TV debating the issues, which brought the story front and center in the national news. Further, when the story grew larger he should have moved immediately to meet with the Rutgers team – not 13 days after the story broke. The players and coach may hold his fate long-term, and his odds of returning in any format worsen with each passing day.
Third, never, never, never get into a PR battle with someone holding the majority of the cards. If you saw the Rutgers women’s press conference day five of the story, you saw 10 very poised, impressive, intelligent and articulate young women who simply asked, “how can this man rob us of one of the most important moments in our lives?” He called them by a guttural term; then we learned the team captain, for example, is a straight A student, piano virtuoso and, by the way, impressive as hell on the basketball court. No one could be further from the grotesque description Imus used than the young women who spoke at the press conference.
In violating these rules, he may have ended his long media career.