After pre-ordering two PS3 controllers designed for disabled gamers, a concerned customer emailed customer service, wondering if the controllers would be delivered by Christmas Day, as promised. What unfolds next, over the course of almost 20 emails, you have to read to believe. It’s that implausible. Lucky for us, Penny Arcade, a videograming-related web comic, posted the entire email chain.

To summarize, the customer service rep, a now infamous Paul Christoforo, President of Ocean Marketing, gets things started by replying simply, “Dec 17.” I have to wonder, if you’re not going to give someone the common courtesy of a full sentence, why bother? Upon following up again (after Dec. 17), the customer was told that Christmas delivery could no longer be guaranteed and he would need to “put on [his] big boy hat and wait it out like everyone else.”

At this point, the customer, a loyal gamer, cc’s a number of prominent bloggers in the videogaming world, including writers for Penny Arcade and Kotaku, on his response. Christoforo, believing he and his product are too big to fail, goes on to ‘reply all’ with what, I’m sure, will haunt him for the rest of his life. “Send that over to Engadget you look like a complete moron swearing and sending your customer service complaints to a magazine as if they will post it or even pay attention do you think you’re the first or the last what are they going to do demand us to tell you were your shipment is or ask for a refund on your behalf … Really … Welcome to the Internet ? Son Im 38 I wwebsite as on the internet when you were a sperm in your daddys balls and before it was the internet, thanks for the welcome to message wurd up.”

Eventually, Mike of Penny Arcade gets involved, and Christoforo is equally as rude in his correspondence with the blogger, leading Mike to post the entire email chain on Penny Arcade. The result? In less than 24 hours, Christoforo’s agency has lost the gaming account, people are coming out of the woodwork to deny any association with him and his company, and there are almost 100,000 search results for “Paul Christoforo.” Let me assure you that none of the search results are positive.

It’s an extreme case, but a great reminder that every customer is essential and deserves your attention. Not because they may know a popular blogger, but because their experience is important and each opportunity to connect is a touchpoint with your brand that you should be grateful for. It’s not hard to imagine an initial response from Christoforo that could have turned the customer into a brand evangelist.

FYI – Here’s the tweet that alerted me to this cautionary tale:

In case you missed it, you must read this tale of jaw-dropping douchebaggery from PR Paul at Ocean Marketing: http://t.co/Qr1JVRe1

December 27, 2011 1:58 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@wilw

Wil Wheaton

Turns out we’re not alone.

A recent study by Yahoo found television alone just isn’t enough for most audiences, as 75 percent of Internet surfers are browsing while watching television. Break it down by device and tablet users are the biggest multitaskers:

Yahoo featured the study on its advertising blog, but the findings confirm what sharper PR and marketing professionals have come to realize. These days, consumers have a voracious, irresistible hunger for media, and it’s completely telling that a favorite television show or big game can no longer completely engross viewers.

Take me, for example. During a single televised Minnesota Vikings game, I keep close watch of my fantasy football team on ESPN.com, I post about the game on Twitter and Facebook, I read player bios on Wikipedia, I read rapid reaction from bloggers, I review statistics on Football Outsiders and I monitor other games on NFL.com. It’s not that I’m distracted. I’m just interested in the broader context of the game and I don’t allow television to limit my experience.

Think about what the multitasking television viewer means for public relations. In the past, landing a client on the six o’clock news gave marketers a chance to positively shape a story and influence consumers. Altogether, a nice win. Now, television is just a jumping off point. You get your client a glowing three-minute segment, that’s just the start. The same consumer you’re trying to reach might visit your client’s website, blog, Facebook page and Twitter account before the segment ends.

The lesson for PR pros? There’s no sense in separating traditional and digital media strategies while consumers are devouring both forms simultaneously. Tell your client’s story on television and viewers will come to the Internet with questions of their own. Viewers aren’t distracted by their devices. The reality is they’ve never been more engaged.

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.”
– Juliet, from William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet”

Forget research and development. The most difficult task when creating a new tech product is giving it a proper name. You don’t believe me? Not only did the Microsoft Zune die yesterday,  the Apple empire damn near collapsed when new Apple CEO Tim Cook unveiled the iPhone 4S and not the iPhone 5, despite expectations of the latter by consumers and the media.

Cook introduced a new iPhone, sure, but it didn’t carry the pizzazz we are looking for in an iPhone 5. Although the iPhone 4S looks like the iPhone 4, it boasts several new features that put it streets ahead of its predecessor, including:

• A dual core A5 processor
• An 8-megapixel camera capable of shooting 1080p HD video
• Siri, a deeply integrated voice-command system
• …Wait — that’s about it, actually

And that’s why Apple called it the iPhone 4S. If the iPhone 4 was a movie, the 4S would be the original with bonus footage, not a sequel.

I, for one, am relieved Apple didn’t overhaul the iPhone. Like most tech consumers, I agonize over buying the latest devices because it’s a short matter of time before something comes along and makes it obsolete. I’m an unwavering Apple loyalist, but the iPhone 4S isn’t compelling enough to make me upgrade from my iPhone 4. I suspect a lot of people find themselves in a similar place.

What if it had been named the iPhone 5? I admit, I may have been more impressed. I may have upgraded, even while my iPhone 4 is just 16 months old and runs like new.

Apple has an extremely bizarre public relations disaster on its hands, and it all started with a name.

See, Apple never implied it was delivering an entirely new iteration of the iPhone to be named the iPhone 5. That was an assumption made by irresponsible tech media and believed by overzealous consumers. (Tech media’s infatuation with reporting rumors is appalling.)

Instead, Apple, as it had done with the iPhone 3G and 3GS, chose to name its new iPhone the 4S because it utilized the same shape as the previous model with a handful of improvements. Had Apple ignored its own process of naming devices and called this new model the iPhone 5, APPL stock wouldn’t have dropped four percent below opening prices, consumers wouldn’t have been up in arms and tech bloggers wouldn’t have poured kerosene on the very mess they helped create.

Where did Apple go wrong?

It didn’t manage expectations. Over the past few months, nary an Apple employee acknowledged the iPhone 5 wasn’t coming (yet). Apple allowed the legend to become bigger than its actual innovation, the iPhone 4S. Top-secret operations might be Apple’s M.O., but on Tuesday, when Cook pulled the curtain back on the iPhone 4S, consumers and media weren’t disappointed in what it was, but rather, what it wasn’t.

When it lands, the iPhone 4S might just be the best smartphone on the market for the next year. But because it was named the iPhone 4S, a considerable amount of consumers will pass on purchasing as they continue to wait for the illusive iPhone 5.

What’s in a name? As Apple found out the hard way yesterday, everything.

UPDATED FRIDAY, OCT. 7, 3:48 P.M.: So, I caved. I just pre-ordered the iPhone 4S. It wasn’t the Apple hype machine, though, I swear! A little thank you to the memory of Steve Jobs? Sure.

Actually, I took advantage of a great offer through eBay, so I was able to move my iPhone 4 for roughly the same cost of an iPhone 4S.

Hey, we’ve all got our vices.

I Heart Radio Music Festival: September 23 & 24 in Las Vegas

ClearChannel radio tapped Jennifer Lopez on Monday to make what should have been the biggest announcement of the summer.

Not only is ClearChannel entering the online radio market with 10 times the music found on competitor Pandora, but it’s also putting on a two-day music festival featuring some of the biggest artist in the world. The I Heart Radio Music Festival, named after ClearChannel’s web-based radio site, features performances by Lady Gaga, Coldplay, David Guetta, Sting, Carrie Underwood and more.

The only issue? If you were watching the “Today” show on Monday waiting for Jennifer Lopez to make her BIG announcement, the last thing you wanted to hear about or really heard about was the I Heart Radio Music Festival. Everyone, including host Ann Curry, was speculating and hoping that the announcement was related to “American Idol.” Five seconds into the interview, Ann cut to the chase and asked Jennifer to share her big announcement. With America leaning towards the television with big eyes, Jennifer responds, “I’m here to announce I Heart Radio’s launch with their new concert. Me, Lady Gaga, Alicia Keys, Coldplay, Steven Tyler…”

She continued to stumble through a few more key messages before Ann cut her off and called her out for tricking America. Taking control, Ann did not allow the conversation to return back to the subject of the festival, talking instead about Jennifer’s latest album, family life and movie career. An amazing opportunity for ClearChannel, destroyed by speculation and dishonesty.

I’d like to offer some suggestions for ClearChannel, or anyone else looking to use a spokesperson for an upcoming announcement:

1. Find a spokesperson who has something timely and interesting to talk about in addition to your announcement, to fill in any additional time in the interview. Do NOT find someone who has too much to talk about, leaving no time in the interview for your announcement.
2. Find a spokesperson who has the time and desire to learn your key messages. Do NOT find someone who is too busy or does not care to take the time to rehearse your key messages. A great booking is nothing without flawless message delivery.
3. Don’t trick the media. Mystery may get you in the door, but the outcome will not be what you wanted if you have been dishonest. Hell hath no fury like Ann Curry scorned.

You can watch Jennifer’s announcement here:

It was one year ago today a former college professor emailed me about an internship opportunity at an integrated consumer marketing agency in Minneapolis.

The hiring process was fairly unconventional: Submit a resume, per usual, but along with it, a three-minute video cover letter. If you make it through interviews, show off your social media chops by earning the most Likes for your video cover letter via Facebook. Winner gets the gig.

Long story short, I didn’t arrive at Fast Horse through a traditional hiring process. (I probably wouldn’t have been hired if that was the case.) We just recently launched the 2011 Summer Intern Search, which has me thinking a lot about the boatloads of talent graduating college this spring, on the verge of entering the marketing and public relations world. My experience may have been unique, but I still think there’s plenty to be taken for those just starting the job hunt:

Don’t sell yourself short
Reading newspaper headlines, you’d think the meager American job market has taken unemployed college grads hostage. If you can find a job — take it, right? Not necessarily. It’s important to know your first job probably won’t be your last, but that doesn’t mean you should settle for something that’s clearly a poor fit. When you’re applying for jobs, ask yourself, “Could I spend two years here?” Think of your first job as the chance to adjust to the rigors of a full-time job. It’s a totally different ball game.

Professional development over income
Don’t let money dictate the jobs you pursue. Instead, consider professional development opportunities. What I knew about marketing and public relations before starting at Fast Horse could’ve fit in a shot glass. Here, I have been given chances to try and, sometimes, fail, all with the space and understanding I can learn and grow and do it better next time. You can take agency in your own professional development by seeking out mentors and continuing your college education, but nothing beats on-the-job training and a place that embraces trial and error. Although, a respectable income is nice, too.

It is who you know
Had I not stayed in touch with my college professor, I probably never would’ve discovered the Fast Horse internship opportunity. Make it a habit to recognize your mentors and understand the power of relationships and network and blah blah blah — I’m not saying anything you don’t know. However, there was a time after college where I saw relying on who I knew as a weakness. If I was going to get a job, I wanted to land it on my own merit. Now, I view my relationships as a testament to my abilities. Don’t be stubborn and go it alone. Be aware of the people who can vouch for you when an opportunity arises.

It’s not just who you know, though
Sure, knowing the right person might move the needle just enough to get you hired somewhere, but at some point, you have to show your worth. Know your skill set and and utilize your strengths. Recognize your shortcomings and look for opportunities to improve them. Project yourself as someone who brings a desirable set of skills, but will still jump at every opportunity to learn something new.

You might have heard the story — reported by USA Today and given even more legs by Business Insider and several other outlets — about the big-PR firm execs who were “busted” doing, well, their job. Former CNBC news anchor Jim Goldman and former political columnist John Mercurio aren’t exactly saints, but the substance of the criticism of the two seems off-base.

Yes, it’s a crafty form of hardball to pitch stories that tear down a competitor rather than build up a client, but sometimes high-level PR can be a dirty game. (Fortunately, the type of work we do and clients we have at Fast Horse, we spend much more time on the friendly, positive side of things, and media relations is but a part of what we do.) And in refusing to disclose the company or organization for which they were working, the PR pros are definitely on the wrong side of the Public Relations Society of America’s code of ethics, if that sort of thing means anything to you (emphasis mine):

DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION: Open communication fosters informed decision making in a democratic society.
Intent: To build trust with the public by revealing all information needed for responsible decision making.
Guidelines: A member shall:

• Be honest and accurate in all communications.
• Act promptly to correct erroneous communications for which the member is responsible.
• Investigate the truthfulness and accuracy of information released on behalf of those represented.
• Reveal the sponsors for causes and interests represented.
• Disclose financial interest (such as stock ownership) in a client’s organization.
• Avoid deceptive practices.

But in the stories I read, neither of those items gets much criticism. Instead, the focus is on two points:

• the PR pros in question were spreading lies, and
• the PR pros’ position as “high-profile media figures,” as USA Today described them

On the lying: USA Today and Business Insider — and probably many of the other outlets rehashing this story — mention that these PR pros were spreading lies about Google in this “whisper campaign” (which, by the way, really just seems like a fairly standard media relations effort, albeit negative). “After Goldman’s pitch proved largely untrue, he subsequently declined USA TODAY’s requests for comment,” the paper wrote. But there’s no explanation of exactly what’s untrue or how that’s the case. Rather, it seems like they’re dealing information that’s highly debatable, information that makes accusations with some support but that isn’t quite proven. That’s a hell of a lot different than “untrue.”

On their positions as “high-profile media figures”: Remember my description from the second sentence of this post? “Former.” They’re both former high-profile media figures. They both now work for a giant, well-known PR firm. Therefore, it’s not a scandal to be caught shaping how a story unfolds in the media. In fact, it’s their job.

UPDATE at 10 a.m. on 5/12: Writing for the Daily Beast, Dan Lyons came up with an article on this matter that’s well-reported and clarifies much of the gray area around this story. Among other things, he found that Facebook is the unnamed client who hired the PR guns to take shots at Google, and he actually points out the specific claims USA Today called “untrue.” Quoting the blogger who initially exposed the PR guys’ efforts, they’re not really “untrue” so much as they are “making a mountain out of a molehill.” Again, big difference.

[photo courtesy of captainslack on Flickr]

Need a hand, Allison?

The Fast Horse crew attended the Minnesota PRSA 33rd Annual Classics on Thursday at Windows on Minnesota, located on the 50th floor of the IDS Tower. We brought along five graduating college seniors who were invited to network among the local PR community’s elite and, perhaps more importantly in the short term, score a free meal.

Here’s a very exact account of how the night went down:

5:09 p.m. Suited and dressed in our Sunday’s best, we converge on Club Jäger to trade intros with our college guests before attending the show. We’re impressed by a strong group made of University of Minnesota and St. Cloud State University students. Also impressive– baseball banter! “What do you want to do after college?” is frequently followed by “How many games will the Twins win this year?” (The consensus: 93)

6:04 p.m. We arrive at the IDS Tower. One of our college guests let’s out a gasp when she crosses local TV personality Jason Matheson in the lobby. We tell the young woman he’s one of the emcees for the show. The awards are still an hour away and we’ve almost lost our first student.

6:06 p.m. We arrive at Windows on Minnesota, 50 floors up, where Target Field is in plain sight, featuring the only green grass this side of the Mason-Dixon Line. Also, we can see our office from here!

6:07 to 6:34 p.m. Hundreds of PR professionals eagerly network, exchanging business cards, Twitter handles, Facebook pages, LinkedIn invites, MySpace requests, etc. Some time later when the show starts, emcee Kelly Groehler invites attendees to follow the night’s events through #MNClassics, even though the crowd is notably present. Nevertheless, #MNClassics trends locally.

6:37 p.m. We take our table. I wind up seated next to John Reinan. A month ago, I would’ve said, “Duh. Winning.”

7:03 p.m. Dave Fransen and I decided to wear sweaters instead of suits.

Reinan points to each of us and says, “You two are bringing sexy back!”

Scott Broberg says, “Do you think you just invented that?”

Without hesitation, Reinan says, “Drop it like it’s hot, baby!”

7:32 p.m. After the first few awards have been given out, George Fiddler and I cave to our vice: Betting. Our NCAA Tournament brackets long worthless, George and I start betting on Classics. In categories with three finalists, we both choose wrong. Every time. We discuss a 64-campaign bracket for next year’s Classics.

7:35 p.m. Following through on an earlier promise, emcee Matheson uses a megaphone to quiet a loud crowd member. Idle banter continues undeterred. Matheson remembers what kind of people he’s surrounded by.

7:40 p.m. We win our first award– the Research category for our work with scrapbooking company Creative Memories. There’s no getting Lucci’d tonight!

8:10 p.m. Reinan pulls out the double guns after we claim Institutional Programs (Government/Nonprofit) for work with MinnPost.com.

8:12 p.m. Expedition 206 for The Coca-Cola Company earns Special Events/Observances (More than seven days; business industry).

8:16 p.m. Now, we’ve got a rally going. Our agency marketing efforts earn us Marketing Services (Established– Budget less than $75,000.)

8:17 p.m. We win Marketing Products (New– Budget less than $75,000)  for work with growers’ cooperative Next Big Thing.

8:23 p.m. George and I bet correctly when Expedition 206 wins Multicultural Public Relations after being the only finalist.

8:24 p.m. Expedition 206 wins Industry Campaign of the Year (Consumer Products)– our biggest win of the night.

8:35 p.m. The Classics end. We’ve collected seven pillar-shaped awards. Allison Checco yanks our starstruck college student for a quick introduction to Matheson. We’re all winners at this point.

9:31 p.m. For our post-game celebration, we ascend on The Local with awards in tow. We hope we’ve shown our guests a good night as we toast to our successful evening, even while most of us think about tomorrow’s work. It was a good evening, indeed.

The announcement is a big one for Fast Horse: We’ve been named a finalist in three categories for the 2011 Silver Anvil awards. These are the Oscars of the public relations industry — and plenty of top agencies from around the country apply.

The Public Relations Society of America has been naming Silver Anvil winners for more than 60 years. Here’s how the organization describes the honor:

The Silver Anvil, symbolizing the forging of public opinion, is awarded annually to organizations that have successfully addressed a contemporary issue with exemplary professional skill, creativity and resourcefulness.

The public relations profession’s most prestigious honor, the Silver Anvil Award acknowledges the very highest level of achievement and is the established icon of the “best of the best” public relations practices.

So you can see why we’re excited. There were more than 800 entries this year and about 120 finalists.

Fast Horse made the grade in the professional services category, with an entry focused on marketing our own agency. The entry detailed all we do to tell our story and recruit top talent in creative ways, including the Idea Peepshow, our summer intern search, special events such as “Park(ing) Day” and The Fast Horse Experience on Facebook.

Our work on the Coca-Cola Expedition 206 campaign landed us finalist nods in global communications and reputation/brand management. We worked with Coke to send three young travelers to nearly 200 countries last year on a mission to explore what makes people happy. The campaign combined live events, consumer participation and social media tools to build brand loyalty among a specific audience on a global scale.

The winners in each category will be announced June 9 during the Silver Anvil Awards Ceremony at Equitable Tower in New York City. And that brings us to that random drawing. Jörg tossed everyone’s name into a giant beer mug and announced he’d pull out one name. The lucky Pony would get to accompany him to New York for the ceremony. The winner: John Reinan, shown here shortly after the drawing with a self-described “girly drink.”

So kudos to everyone at Fast Horse and here’s hoping we bring home some hardware in June.

Mustafa Stefan Dill

Islam has a big PR problem, especially in America.

We’re nearly a decade past the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks — and yet the suspicion and derision American Muslims and institutions face appear more widespread than ever. The vitriol over a proposed mosque and community center near Ground Zero in Manhattan was but one prominent example.

No matter how many times Islamic groups in America condemn violence, a wide swath of the population either doesn’t get the message or purposely blocks it out. So the divisions get deeper and the mistrust lives on.

Into this tangle steps former journalist Mustafa Stefan Dill. He’s launching a Ummah Relations, a new PR firm with a gigantic mission — bridging the divide between Muslims in America and their non-Muslim neighbors. “Ummah” is an Arabic word that translates to “community.”

Dill, who lives in New Mexico, took some time to answer a few questions about his firm. [DISCLOSURE: I used to work with Dill at Internet Broadcasting, a St. Paul-based digital media company that employs web producers all over the country.]

Q: Why are you tackling this huge PR challenge?

This all stems from over a year of thinking about the Muslim identity issue, analyzing it, as I was reconnecting with my Muslim life around the time of the Fort Hood incident. As I reacquainted with ongoing Muslim dialogues and the Islamosphere, I saw that not a lot had changed — the same questions were being asked, the same concerns were being raised.

It’s clear to me that since Sept. 11, Islamic groups have pointed to their efforts in decrying terrorism or to their responses to the oft-asked question, “Where is the moderate Muslim voice?” Yet Islamophobia has never been higher.  So the questions for me are Why, and how to fix it.

Those questions — and a burning resolve to do my part to help answer them — have consumed me for the better part of a year.

When I looked at this from a professional perspective, through that lens of media experience, it was immediately clear that the Muslim community isn’t being very effective in their media work, in their connectability to the non-Muslim public.  Whatever they’re doing for the past nine years isn’t working, so I broke it down, looked at their media output and strategies, their releases, their web use, and saw huge, huge failures at a professional media level. That in turn inspired me to put my skill set on the table.

We’ve failed to adequately transmit our experiences, our diversity, our values convincingly to those who most need to understand it. I want to help build that bridge, make those connections.

Q: What are some key messages that you think Islamic groups U.S. should be getting across?

Frankly, we need to do some work in our own community before we can leverage what I believe is a key message, which is that Muslims are here because they want to be here, because of what America offers, because we share American values. But by and large, Muslim communities tend to be isolationist and don’t really engage with their non-Muslim colleagues.

We need to engage, befriend, partake in America, because the only kind of Muslims people know about are the terrorists that make the news — our seclusion prevents them from experiencing any other kind of Muslim. So we don’t have the right to complain that we’re negatively portrayed in the media when we haven’t adequately surfaced better, alternative narratives.

I tell Muslims who get upset about media coverage, “Change it! Do something fantastic and beautiful. Go create more options.”

I think the other key messages that need to surface is that Islam has been around here, relatively painlessly, for quite some time. Look at the history of the African-American Muslim community and its relative ease of integration with the rest of America, for example.

Their history is an important aspect of American Islam that must be surfaced. I don’t see a lot of the current “Islamophobia” directed at this segment, which reinforces my belief that current fears aren’t based so much on theology but out of subconscious racial profiling borne of a wound incurred on Sept. 11 that simply hasn’t healed: Middle Easterners or South Asians are “Islamophobe” targets because they “look like”, at a subliminal level, the perpetrators of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Q: What obstacles do you foresee in getting the stories of Muslims into the mainstream?

For me the essence, the core of this challenge is this: Muslims need their stories told; Newsrooms need to tell stories; non-Muslims want to connect to these stories. So there’s a number of bridges that need to built across and between all those points, and that’s the mission of the firm.

The set of problems that emerges from that core are immense, varied and deep, but it’s doable, through a variety of means: training, PR services, social media initiatives, etc. I see how it can be done. We can do this.

We’ve talked about the grassroots part, and that’s something I plan to develop  — I have some interesting social media initiatives or events in mind to ramp that up. The other aspect is the media skill set in institutions or groups, and that’s where the official Ummah Relations, as a PR service, can come in.

I’m actually more interested in doing intensive training with post-support rather than setting up a retainer or billable hours arrangement; I believe in empowering these groups to do it in their own. It’s a unique thing that I don’t think a lot of PR firms do, but I see it as win-win.

Q: Who are your target clients?

I think the major groups and institutions could use some support and outside perspective; they generally have PR or communications departments, but I’d like to help them optimize. I’m known for raining hard on them, but it isn’t about a beat down — call it “tough love.” It’s about working together to help improve identity, perception. What’s at stake is bigger than any one person or group.

Most major cities have a masjid and/or a community center, I can see us being of service there as well. Interfaith groups and initiatives could be better known. I’ll look at businesses as well, but more from a story point of view rather than a strictly sales campaign.

One of my training/speeches is a diversity training segment for journalism and press groups, news outlets — how to deal with  and understand your Muslim community, etc. Newsrooms need to understand Muslims just as much as Muslims need to understand newsrooms. National news groups may have a religion beat reporter, but mid size markets and lower probably won’t, local TV affiliates won’t.

Q: Have you had much response or any takers yet?

Not yet, but we’re just born. We did a quiet soft launch in September, went through a couple of web site iterations, sought some feedback then tweaked the services, mainly by adding the training and speaking engagements. Our more visible rollout was Dec.1.

Q: Any negative response from anyone? Threats or nasty messages?

Not yet, but I’m not worried.

Q: Tell us a bit about yourself. How did your personal and professional background influence this endeavor?

With nine years experience in mainstream news media — first in radio, then web and social media for both print and television  — I have a pretty good understanding of what makes an effective press release and what doesn’t, what qualities newsrooms need in a story and what they’ll pass on, what solutions users are seeking as they use social media.

There’s a big disconnect in what Islamic groups are supplying and what news outlets and social media outlets can actually use, and that’s another gap Ummah Relations can help close.

The Rev. John Jenkins

That’s why I was so impressed — moved, even — by the simple and direct apology delivered by the president of the University of Notre Dame last week. The Rev. John Jenkins expressed his regret for the death of a student videographer, 20-year-old Declan Sullivan, who was killed when the scissor lift he was on toppled over in high winds as Sullivan was filming a football practice.

“Declan Sullivan was entrusted to our care, and we failed to keep him safe,” Jenkins wrote in an open letter to the university community. “We at Notre Dame, and ultimately I, as president, are responsible. Words cannot express our sorrow to the Sullivan family and to all involved.”

I’m sure that letter caused a collective heart attack among Notre Dame’s legal staff. But Jenkins is answering to a higher judge — and his heartfelt statement was the right response to this tragedy.