Pretty Grimm if you ask me! Great lesson in how not to speak to the media.

One doesn't have to be a PR professional to know that Rep. Grimm's (R-NY) behavior towards a NY1 TV Reporter immediately after the State of the Nation on Tuesday, was ridiculous and stupid in the extreme.

It will do immense harm to his media relations going forward and his poor staff will have their work cut out for them if they want anyone else to interview him anytime soon. No one wants to be threatened with bodily harm, even if this is acceptable behavior in a New York borough. Rep. Grimm's future image is grim to say the least.

My New York friends have said - ah nah, move on, its just a New York thing. Well actually, its not. It's rude and I think it will harm him a lot come re-election time. At the very least, he might need some anger management intervention if he loses his temper that easily.

Even though he apologized to the hapless reporter the following morning and it was tacitly accepted, his outburst spread around the world like wild fire. Even the UK press reported on the out of control Congressman from NY!  Watch his 'performance' here. Glad I don't have to pick up those pieces.

Traffic jam in the Governors office

Watching #TrafficGate play out over the last two days, begs for some comment of how he handled this issue. Gov. Christie must be commended for his expert handling of this PR Disaster in every respect.

Firstly, he immediately held a press conference, broke all known records for one lasting 108 minutes or longer, and spoke directly and 'hopefully' honestly to a room full of media, who were transfixed by his frank and no nonsense approach.

Love him or Hate him, he did exactly what any professional PR person worth their salt, would have advised him to do, and he did it brilliantly. Many who have gone before him and mangled their PR crises, could take a leaf out of his book.

The list of political debacles and their media responses to a media outcry is legendary - Clinton, Sanford, Weiner, Spitzer, Radel, and the list goes on.........However, very few of them went straight out and admitted wrong doing or took immediate responsibility for their actions. Hence the fallout was dire and often fatal.

Christie on the other hand, came out with guns blazing. He promptly fired all the offending aides, held a marathon press conference and then drove over to see the NJ Mayor to apologize, even after the hapless Mayor said to delay this trip! This is how one deals effectively with a crisis. With Immediate Effect!

Only time will tell if the Christie teflon will protect him on his journey and his very obvious eye on the White House in 2016. One thing that sadly will affect his bid is his weight. If there is anything he can personally do to fix his image - he would be well advised to do it - and fast!

The Charlie Sheen Debacle

Nothing could be a worse nightmare for a PR professional than what is currently playing out on the world stage, with Charlie Sheen. I heard that his publicist resigned last week amid all the mayhem, and I cant say I blame them.

What is most intriguing is that every few days he appears on a large network morning program and seems to be the picture of a concerned parent, totally lucid, rational and coherent. The next thing you know he has uploaded a web-cam rant, which has been shot in his kitchen with bad lighting and sound, that makes him look like he is a picnic short of a sandwich!

What's to be done with a client that appears out of control and behaving in a most erratic and destructive manner? Well, frankly nothing can be done, if they won't listen. This is a real tragedy for PR people when it does occur, as you can see the damage happening in real-time and can do absolutely nothing about it.

People and companies seem to get totally intoxicated with their own importance, fame, value, whatever they think of themselves and disregard any sensible advice given to them by people who really care, and who they forget, have their reputation inextricably tied to them as well. PR professionals only resign from a client in desperation when they believe that the client has no further trust in them and who goes off the rails while making career or personal decisions.

Why would you want to bite the hand that is helping you and has your very best interest at heart, often at the most critical time in your career? Sheen has obviously lost faith in anyone who is remotely connected to his best interests, financial future, and the very industry who has made him a wealthy man. Deciding rather to go it solo, making one gaff after another. The poor man appears mentally off the reservation at times and the world sits by and watches him self-destruct. Its terribly sad, for himself, his children and his family.

He has an enormous talent and was the highest paid TV actor per episode and yet his life is spiraling towards a crazy, if not tragic end. Medical experts are unanimous in their diagnosis about his mental and physical state and yet no one seems willing to help him. The circus is playing out and the dirty laundry is hanging out for the world to pick over. Even if as they say, he doesn't want to accept any 'help', isn't there some way that he can be gently coaxed to do the right thing? One can only hope.

But this is America, and we do so love a come-back story. Maybe Charlie regains control of his life and resumes it as 'One Whole Man' and not, as it would seem, thinking that he is actually 'Two and a Half Men!' in a world gone crazy around him.

Weighing in on the NPR Juan Williams Firing

Being a PR professional who interacts with many members of the media on a regular basis, I feel compelled to weigh in on the recent firing of Juan Williams from NPR's news department for stating his "opinion" and "feeling" about traditionally dressed Muslims on aircraft.

At the outset, the fact that he worked for two very different news organizations simultaneously,  must be mentioned and this in itself was poor judgment on all sides, for two such diametrically opposed news outlets to be sharing a contributor. Also relevant to this is that he served NPR for 10 years and they were well aware that he was moonlighting for the Fox News Channel every so often, over the last few years.

I believe that when all is said and done, NPR will discover that it has made some serious errors in this unceremonious firing of someone who on the surface, seems to be a respectable, honorable and honest journalist, who holds his profession in high esteem and upholds its tenets more than most.

Regardless of what was said or how NPR chose to interpret the comment, the manner in which he was terminated was reprehensible. I have some experience in this area, when I was escorted from my office for a trifling reason, a few weeks AFTER I had submitted my resignation to an employer. So incensed was my new incumbent boss, that her only lifeline in the department who could help her complete her duties, was abandoning her and leaving her to fend for herself, that she was determined to get rid of me in the most embarrassing way possible. After much wrangling I got what was due to me, but I could have sued and walked away wealthy. I chose to be more dignified than that and I wasn't working in a country obsessed with litigation either.

Not quite the route taken by NPR. Being escorted from a building is one thing, but being fired by cellphone and email two days after the 'offensive' comment, is clearly cowardice. No exit interview, no discussion and certainly no direct apology from NPR has been forthcoming for Mr Williams for this treatment yet. Not only did the CEO openly discuss his firing at a public venue the very next day, but she slandered him in the process, by referring to his "personal opinion" as a matter between him and his therapist or publicist!

At this point, I have a confession to make. A week after 9/11, my husband and I were New York-bound, on a small plane and seated next to me was a very nervous, sweating and non-English speaking Muslim man aged about 30, clutching a large backpack on his lap, who refused anything to eat or drink and who would not let go of his bag. Under normal circumstances, I would not have paid him any mind, but after the carnage of the previous week, I was on high alert. I was also very aware that the country was still trying to process the horrific event in their minds and so were not paying him much attention either. People were in denial, mostly ignorant about the ramifications of what had actually happened to their country. I remember whispering to my husband, "If he moves and tries to do anything violent - get him!" It was a harrowing journey and something I would rather forget about. I now realize that this was over-reactionary, but the experience had a profound effect on me - and obviously I was not alone in this perception, whichever way I try to rationalize it now.

Juan only shared what millions of travelers the world over  think about when they travel by air these days. This is the reality of the situation. Any traumatic experience stays with one for years after the event, no matter how much we would want to forget it and move on. We all know that all Muslims are not terrorists, but that doesn't make the fear any easier to discard. I still have the fear of being almost killed by a driver hitting me from behind 26 years ago, every time a car comes up fast behind me. No drivers are out to kill me, but the memory and fear still persists. And 9/11 hasn't been a one-off event either. Muslim extremists have continued to sow terror all over the world since then and will no doubt continue to do so.

NPR argues that they cannot and will not accept their news staff, sharing their personal views on any level. It would be an interesting exercise to audit NPR programs and presenters to see if in fact, all concerned adhere to this so-called indifferent and non-partisan behavior.

This brings me to the issue of the right to an opinion. It is my understanding that the Constitution of the United States' Bill of Rights and Amendments, is very clear about Freedom of Speech for all its citizens: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press..... (I guess that includes radio & TV as it hadn't been invented at that stage!)  and I wonder how this plays out in the contract that NPR had with Mr Williams. When are we going to be able to discuss all of the racial, religious, political issues facing us in a rational and non reactionary way. Its about being grown up. I recall reading once that the US could be regarded as the "teenagers" of the world. Maybe its time to put on our big-girl / big-boy panties and move forward. Enough with every single issue being a non-mentionable subject. Only when we are able to face our deep seated guilt and ignorance of the past, can we begin to grow up. No one dares make a political joke or comment about anything for fear of 'offending' someone's delicate sensibilities. This is the land of the free. Lets keep it that way. And be grown-up about it.

If the media is going to actively censure its news departments from sharing their "feelings", could this not be a slippery slope towards censorship in the future?