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January 22, 2008 |
Golfweek didn't act fast enough
Jeremy Fowler | Golf Confidential
Between comments of lynchings in back alleys or noose images on magazine covers or the perpetual echoes of racism in golf, there was a subtle lesson in recent weeks that every media outlet or company should learn.
When you think the public will brand you with the racist tag, do your best to squash it within hours, not days.
It can be the difference between important people saving or losing their jobs, between manageable backlash or a life-long public relations ulcer.
Golfweek magazine reminded the golf world last week of a worst-case scenario in its attempt to cover the saga of Kelly Tilghman, the Golf Channel anchor who said in a Jan. 4 broadcast that young golfers should "lynch [Tiger Woods] in a back alley" because of his dominance.
Despite the decision to publish their dreadful cover with a swinging noose and the headline "Caught in a noose," perhaps Golfweek could have softened the blow with a little crisis management.
If it had cut off all of Dave Seanor's media interviews on Wednesday -- the day the Internet roared with reports of the cover -- issued an apologetic statement that day and pledged money to an African-American coalition or charity, maybe Seanor would still be the editor.
The Golf Channel still has its employee in question, thanks largely to Tiger Woods' grace by calling her comment a "non issue." Tilghman received much-deserved verbal flogging, but she wasn't suspended until hours after the Rev. Al Sharpton called for her firing Jan. 9.
If TGC had tried to talk with Sharpton, maybe persuading him not to attack her through the airwaves, perhaps Tilghman would have dodged her two-week suspension and echoes of her firing.
Public embarrassment and punishments are unavoidable for such racial gaffes, and it should be that way.
But that doesn't mean both golf media outlets couldn't have dodged part of the avalanche.
Gene Grabowski, who heads crisis management for Levick Strategic Communications, said Golfweek should have acted quicker on an apology that took nearly 48 hours from when the Internet buzz grew, proliferated and eventually crushed the magazine.
"It's always best to rip the Band-Aid off," Grabowski said. "The fact that they had time to think about the cover before putting it out really didn't help their cause, but oftentimes how you handle it in the first 24 hours determines whether or not your company will succeed in the crisis."
Obviously the noose on the cover is the problem, but Grabowski said Seanor's numerous interviews Wednesday worsened Golfweek's headache. Seanor attempted to publicly defend the cover, but Golfweek should have decided quickly that it wasn't worth defending.
Seanor, who was replaced by Jeff Babineau, exposed himself when he said African Americans who worked in Golfweek's Orlando office were asked about the cover before it went to print.
Babineau formerly covered golf for the Orlando Sentinel.
This was to random-sampling research what a wet rat is to attractive.
More than 80 employees are listed on Golfweek's Web site, and Seanor's reasoning would have been poor even if 75 percent of that staff list was African American.
All day Thursday, everyone with an opinion was able to pick apart a company that hadn't issued an apology for the slap in the face to black history.
Golfweek even gave out free copies of the Jan. 19 issue at last week's PGA Merchandise Show. Seanor could not be reached for comment this week.
"You've just got to apologize early in the process, then take action for what you've done," Grabowski said. "Your apology should be thought-out and well-spoken."
Grabowski recommends three "A's" to crisis management: Apologize, [take] Action and Atonement.
The Golf Channel apologized on Jan. 4, and you'd like to think they took action by igniting Woods' camp to go public with his make-or-break statement.
Atonement -- in this case, the follow through -- could come this week by Tilghman's and Golf Channel's actions.
Tilghman's two weeks are officially up tonight and she flew to La Jolla, Calif., on Tuesday to get ready to cover the Buick Invitational.
The fact Tilghman is returning punctuates the fact that Golf Channel handled their crisis somewhat skillfully. Golfweek doesn't have that same fortune.
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