Drugs & Concussions in the NFL - submitted by PAURIC (not Jenny)

http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/susan-milligan/2014/12/01/the-nfl-has-to-pay-up-for-concussion-and-drug-problems

This topic involving the NFL with drugs and concussions has been floating around the media for quite some time now and although some action has been taken resulting in many lawsuits some may still say it is a problem for the face of the NFL.

Many retired players today are struggling immensely with both physical and mental health issues that will probably end up haunting them for the rest of their lives, but, what are the NFL doing to help these players who used to be the faces that made the league what it is today, a billion dollar industry? The answer is little or nothing. In an article I read in the US News involving a former Buffalo Bills star Darryl Talley wrote that he has been struggling ever since retirement with health and financial issues. Darryl stated that he considered suicide because of the physical pain he endured daily and with little help from the NFL, his previous employer who states they had nothing to do with his injuries, he has no choice but to think that way. He has taken hits, beatings and torment to the head and the body because of the work he put in daily for his team and the NFL.

The NFL needs to be more sensitive to this topic and look after those players who served in the league from past years. According to US News “NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said in 2010 should be making in the neighborhood of $25 billion in revenues a year by 2027. And Goodell, like the owners, doesn’t have to mark notches on pigskin to keep count of how many concussions he’s suffered for the money he’s making.” If the league is making that much revenue then surely they can give the NFL a better name by serving these former players what they deserve for making the NFL a prestige league that it is today.

The NFL must make the field a war of attrition but it must also be safe for the players so that they can live a long healthy life and not just 15 years of glory while being a pro footballer. The NFL’s priority must be health and safety over money that way the reputation of the NFL is good and not always down in the mouth in the media. 

Bill Cosby Scandal - submitted by ANDIE (not Jenny)

I’m sure by now that everyone has heard that more than one woman has now come forward with claims that they were molested by Bill Cosby. More than a dozen women reported being drugged and sexually assaulted by Bill Cosby. This ordeal has had a massive impact on Mr. Cosby’s endorsement deals and fundraising campaigns. For example, Bill was on the board of trustees at Temple University and has recently resigned due to allegations that he molested a woman that worked for the University’s basketball team. “He had been the school's public face, appearing in advertisements, fundraising campaigns and delivering commencement speeches” (McCartney, 2014). According to PR guru and crisis specialist, Howard Bragman, Cosby has little options to rectify the situation and none of them are that great. Here’s what Bragman says Cosby’s options are:

1.    "You can not talk."

2.      "You can go on record and deny it, which he has done and more people keep coming out of the woodwork."

3.      "Or you can say, 'Yes, I did it and I'm going to get help for it,' but that would open up all sorts of litigation and I don't think that's something you can advise him to do."

(Weisman, 2014)

Maybe these sorts of options actually make things easier for a PR professional. Rather than trying to fight it Cosby’s best choice is to slide out of the spotlight and let people forget this ever happened. I would think that keeping the public’s attention away from Cosby would be easier than trying to restore his image.

According to an article from Business Insider,” Netflix and NBC are indefinitely postponing their projects with Cosby” (Weisman, 2014). Two of Cosby’s tour dates have been postponed as well. Unfortunately along with his fall from grace will come a great loss in regards to comedy tours, endorsements and advertisements.

McCartney, Arthur. (2014). Woman claims Bill Cosby sexually assaulted her when she was 15. Retrieved from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/02/woman-bill-cosby-sexual-assault_n_6258594.html

Weisman, Aly. (2014). PR Guru's Advice To Bill Cosby: 'Shut Up And Disappear' Retrieved from: http://www.businessinsider.com/bill-cosby-response-2014-11

I found an article on the NFL, the most popular sports league in Northern America. It talked about the recent accidents involving domestic and child abuse. The article had shown 6 different cases of abuse and or assault from players in the NFL ending in arrest. The most recent shown was a Arizona Cardinal running back Jonathan Dawyer arrested on alleged of having assaulted a 27 year old woman and 18 month old child. Inexcusable. Adrian Peterson and Ray Rice have been at the forefront of this PR nightmare since they were the most popular players. Adrain is deactivated with pay because of child abuse accusations. Ray, hitting his wife knocking her unconscious in an elevator caught on tape.  Other players got turned a blind eye too but had accidents none the less those players and accusations are the following. Greg Hardy of the Carolina Panther defense accused of threatening to kill his then girlfriend. Greg like Adrian was suspend with paid under exempt. Defensive tackle for the 49ners Ray McDonald accused felony domestic violence. Last New York Jets practice player Quincy Enuwa also arrested and charged with simple assault of a woman. All the players were inactive for their teams during this nightmare the NFL faced this season. New penalties and reprimands have since been set in place with the NFL taking a strong stand on this issue. Really taking a no-tolerance stand point which I agree and fully support. There is no time or reason for this problem among everyday civilians and if anything the professional athletes that we see on the television and pay millions every year should be held to a higher standard and should know better.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/09/17/us/nfl-off-field-problems/

Most Scandalous Business Events of 2013 - posted by MICHAEL (not Jenny)

http://fortune.com/2013/12/27/11-most-scandalous-business-events-of-2013/

In this article from fortune.com is goes over the most scandalous business events of 2013.  Each one of these were huge at the time they came out and were total PR nightmares.  Some of the biggest ones were the NSA leaks, healthcare.gov launch, and Lance Armstrong’s doping scandal.  From a PR standpoint these were all nightmares at the time.  Looking at them now they certainly aren’t in the news near as much and they have seemed to calm down.  For example the healthcare.gov launch was nothing short of a total failure of launch.  Glitches, crashes, incredibly low enrollment numbers were just a few problems.  There was such a big deal made about the launch of the site that it put a lot of pressure on those in charge.  The first month the site was offline more than it was online.  Needless to say the president and the government had to tread lightly during those curtail months.  

Another good one was the Lance Armstrong doping scandal.  After years and years of denial Lance Armstrong finally came clean to none other than Oprah.  He lost most of his sponsors and more importantly all of his titles.  PR teams were put to work over that scandal and it already seems like a distant memory almost a year later.  All of the scandalous events could have certainly been handled worse and made the problem much bigger, but for the most part these all were handled as best as they could. 

Why Discovery Channel's 'Eaten Alive' failed to consume its audience

Last Sunday the Discovery channel aired a show called “Eaten Alive” that had everything but someone being eaten alive. Paul Rosolie was supposed to be swallowed by a giant anaconda for the show. For the vast majority of the show viewers spent time watching Rosolie try to find the large reptile only to fail when the snake started to wrap around him. Discovery built up suspense and interest only to fail by a mile. Discoveries views have since been down and many frequent audience members have lost trust. Brand managers are going to have to work twice as hard to promote shows from now on. They do not look every good in the public’s eye when they lie or fail to meet promises. If a show is called eaten alive, people are going to expect that. Viewers joked on twitter of posting pictures of their dog biting their finger, asking for their own show. Or humoring tweets about the snake wasting hours of its own life on the show. Rosolie was even mocked by being squeezed by a possibly fake snake and having to be saved at the first sign of pain. People are very upset with Discovery and the PR team has a lot of work to do.

http://www.prdaily.com/socialmedia/Articles/17754.aspx

- David

Timing is Everything! - Submitted by NATOSHA (not Jenny)

In this first weeks of class, I had finally saved enough money to go get a new Galaxy S4. I was so excited. When I went and bought my phone there was a new app that they promote called ISIS. When you downloaded the app were given $25.00 as a promotion for their new mobile payment app. Shortly after that the terrorist group ISIS was all over the news. I remember thinking what a complete "nightmare" for the PR representatives. This is something they couldn't possibly have accounted for. What terrible timing!!! They were forced to re-brand their app, it is now SoftCard. There is a firm in the UK who had the same issue. They were forced to rename their company after the name ISIS became associated with the terrorist group. 

http://www.saltshein.com.au/corporate-affairs-insights/isis-forcing-companies-to-re-brand

"Diversity" - submitted by JESSICCA (not Jenny)

I would like to talk about a recent article By Marielle Legair called “A Cultural Code: Will the PR Profession Ever Reflect the Society It Serves?” This article explains how Marielle is one of very few black, female public relations professionals and how the concept of diversity should be simple to grasp.

Marielle explains that accepting diversity is as easy as three simple steps.  First accept that everyone looks different.  This is self-explanatory.  By accepting that everyone looks different and speaking to everyone as whole, this will help messages to be received effectively.  This does not mean to eliminate culture, just simple embrace it and make necessary changes for languages barriers.

Second, recognize the value in diversity.  Marielle explains that having friends from different cultures makes the process rich with synergy.  I think that having the knowledge of how to relay messages to many different cultures is beautiful.  I also think that having different cultures in the room allows you to have the best possible sounding board.  This means you can make sure your message is sent in the right context at all times.

Third, she says that your network is your net worth.  This applies to everyone everywhere.  Having professionals that you keep in touch with that are related to your field is an asset that is very valuable.  I feel that being able to pick up the phone and figure out the answer to any question is amazing.  I appreciate having those people in my corner when I need it.

There is diversity in our world and that is what makes it amazing.  Having many different cultures allows us to continue learning and developing.  It is also important to keep in mind we need it in the business world to help reach those different cultures.  Without learning about a culture or having someone who knows the culture we are setting ourselves up for failure, and possibly even hatred from others. 

Here is a link to the article in case anyone would like to read it. http://www.prsa.org/Intelligence/Tactics/Articles/view/10867/1102/A_Cultural_Code_Will_the_PR_Profession_Ever_Reflec#.VH_T6tLF-T8