Home Link
 
About Us
  • Oct 6

    A Late Night Lesson in Crisis - Jokes Trump Tears?

    Author: Marcy Walsh

    Do I dare follow up Brian Ellis’ Crisis Communications primer by highlighting David Letterman’s recent example? Yes I will.420letterman-420x0

    Letterman’s announcement that he had affairs with staffers was met with laughter, praise and sympathy, with his confession being lauded as “masterful” and “the right way to handle the situation.” Letterman had Brian’s Rules One through Four mastered by the time his strong 10-minute performance began. With complete control of his words and his body language, Letterman owned up to his mistakes, acknowledged that his choices hurt people, particularly his wife, and pointed the anger of the world toward the real bad guy - an alleged extortionist who plotted to profit from Letterman’s error in judgement. Now some felt that joking his way through this was inappropriate, however Letterman’s audience forgives him. Letterman followed up his first confessional with another apology and a plan - of sorts, which included putting the real bad guy behind bars and doing the work to repair the damage done to his marriage. And public opinion continues in his favor.

    Juxtapose that South Carolina Governor Mark Sanders confession gone awry and his tearful press conference, during which he continued to dig himself deeper and deeper into crisis. He lied about his whereabouts, came back with a tan, cried and sobbed, apologised for his behavior but stated his love for the other woman almost in the same breath that he said he was going to work on his marriage. He clearly violated Brian’s Rules One through Four. And maybe five through 10.

    Casting judgements about both Letterman’s and Sander’s choices aside, we can agree that they threatened their livelihoods and reputations. Letterman’s ratings went through the roof after his two announcements. As for Sanders, the South Carolina House continues to push for his resignation and we just can’t get the image of him in tears out of our heads. And while we might view Letterman’s mea culpa as sufficient because he is not an elected officially, his crisis communications performance is must-see TV and a good real-life example for crisis and reputation management. 

    Whether or not jokes trump tears, on the other hand, depends on what your communities will accept from you… and if you’re not Letterman, you might want to stay away from joking through an apology.

    Comments (0)

Leave a Reply