By Kathleen Mongero

To quote a recent N&O article, “it’s not close to being over for Mike Easley.”  As late October court proceeding played out, the jury and the public were showered with copies of invoices showing Mike Easley’s use of campaign funds for extras such as undocumented travel, a car and personal home repairs.  Relying heavily on hours of testimony from former aide McQueen Campbell, who provided insight into the Easley financial allegations as well as the controversial hiring oh his wife at N.C. State University, the court went so far as to discuss criminal charges that may still be in the cards for the former governor.

And the Easleys aren’t the only ones being forced to face some all-too-familiar demons.  Former N.C. State Chancellor James Oblinger, who resigned from his post this past summer of 2009, is still feeling the aftershocks of the Mary Easley debacle.  A recent article in The Round Up, a popular student newspaper at New Mexico University where Oblinger is a top-five finalist for president, reminisces on the traces of shame leftover from the recent allegations and even includes disdainful quotes from various NMU staff members on the topic of his possible hiring.

So what is next for individuals like Easley, Campbell and Oblinger? Will Campbell’s attempt to take the focus off of his own misdeeds by openly testifying against Easley ultimately come back to haunt him in the end?  Does a potential position of presidency at a new university present Oblinger with the tools to mend his career faux pas, even if it means being met with initial resistance?  And finally, will Easley ever recover from this ordeal? It may be time to call in the Blagojevich PR team.

Knightdale McDonald’s Reacts to Hazardous Materials in the Restaurant

By Audrey Beckett

Examples of crisis public relations in our area are always noteworthy topics for this blog. Watching organizations communicate when they are forced to deal with bad press is an important indicator of the quality of their public relations. This past weekend a McDonald’s franchise in Knightdale, N.C., faced an unexpected PR challenge when 31 people were exposed to an unknown hazardous material in the restaurant around 10:15 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 8. Six of those individuals were taken to local hospitals after having minor reactions such as burning eyes, nose and mouth.

The hazardous materials team from Raleigh Fire Department, Knightdale police, and firefighters and EMS personnel all responded to the situation. Authorities closed the store while searching for the source of the problem. They were unable to identify anything wrong with the store and allowed it to reopen at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. As of early Monday morning, authorities were still unsure of the cause or the identification of the material.

Thus far, McDonald’s response has been appropriate and praiseworthy. Franchise owner, Gary Thill released a statement on Sunday afternoon explaining that his business’ primary concern was the safety of customers and employees. He expressed that McDonald’s worked with authorities to investigate and emphasized that nothing was wrong with the restaurant’s air quality or ventilation system. He ended by assuring people the investigation will continue.

The statement was clearly directed by good PR counsel. Thill covered all the important crisis communication bases: he was honest and transparent about the situation, he emphasized the positives by letting people know no fault was found with the restaurant and indicated his restaurant would continue to investigate, reassuring people that he was taking the situation seriously and wouldn’t risk the health of his workers or customers.

Having good public relations in the immediate aftermath of a crisis is crucial and the Knightdale McDonald’s has done well with this. However, effective crisis communication requires that an organization continue to deal with the situation. Time will tell whether or not McDonald’s handles this crisis well.

The Mike Easley Campaign Finance Hearing Highlights Bad PR

by Audrey Beckett

This blog topic was way too easy to select. When thinking about the area’s current events, the folding story of former Governor Mike Easley’s possible misconduct presented a blatantly obvious case study in bad PR.

Over the past few months Easley’s reputation has been tarnished as one criminal, unethical charge after another has been brought against him. At this point, it seems unlikely that either his personal image or that of his administration will ever recover.

Easley’s State Board of Elections campaign finance hearing began on Oct. 26 and has generated an enormous amount of unfavorable press for the former governor and those linked to his administration. The News and Observer has slammed those in Easley’s camp for their inability to remember basic information while on the stand. North Carolinians aren’t buying the idea that these intelligent business and political leaders collectively have horrible memories. The Easley camp’s “we just don’t remember” approach has left the public skeptical and is undeniably an example of poor PR.

When not repeating the phrase “we don’t remember,” Easley and those from his administration are usually not talking at all. Easley’s absence at the first two days of the hearing was true to form for the former governor who has been very quiet as new allegations against him have come in waves over the past few months. His response has been lacking and any PR professional will tell you that no matter how bad the situation is, silence won’t make it better.

The most obvious PR issue here goes back to the allegations. If true, they represent a number of unethical and criminal activities. Good public relations requires both the PR representation and the client to be on the same page and to be acting ethically.  Granted, it’s hard to imagine what actions could have saved Easley’s image given the circumstances. It is painfully obvious, however, that the responses (and often lack thereof) are a case study for bad public relations.