2007 PR Winners and Losers

PR LOSERS

1. Marion County Democrats
Politics takes central stage in the state capital where a once-popular Democratic mayor slides down the polls so quickly losing to an unknown and unsupported challenger that even the winning Republican officials are slack-jawed and speechless by the win. And so are the media momentarily, though quickly regaining composure enough to chase the newly coined “accidental mayor” for new fodder. Bart Peterson and his band recede from public view to recover from the one-two punch and still haven’t figured it all out. Lesson learned: While some say only crackpots may come out to publicly protest and wave signs, a diverse pool of voters were silently fuming and came out in just enough numbers to register a real protest where it mattered—at the polls. Republicans may quickly move to the PR Winners list in 2008 if they don’t get comfortable like the Democrats did.

2. Indiana Pacers
“That’s all I wanted to do was have fun,” said Pacers point guard Jamaal Tinsley after the early morning shooting outside the Conrad hotel in the heart of downtown. Late-night clubbing put Tinsley, again, smack in the front of the trouble line. Scorecard, please. First, there was the shooting incident in October 2006. Then a bar fight in February. Enough. Grow up and park the Rolls at home for a change of pace. The Pacers, though, must be lucky. The streets were mostly empty at 3 a.m. when Tinsley’s party was fired on with by suspects wielding an assault weapon. Had there been a bystander struck, it would have spelled catastrophic trouble. All the marketing finesse that money can buy can’t wash out these headlines and lead stories on TV news. Pacers attendance is down more than 16 percent from 1999-2000. Imagine if the public had a say about the bad-boy behavior like the tax protesters. Now can the league get a handle on it?

3. BP Whiting Refinery
The BP Whiting Refinery has sustained its own bad news for months, unable to either explain its message or be succinct in its message—with the community, elected officials or the media. You can reach back to April when a cloud of naphtha settled over neighbors from a fire caused by a power failure. What did the plant have to say in concern? “Like any hydrocarbon, you want to remove it from your clothing and skin as soon as possible.” From there, it was all downhill. All different spokespeople, muddled messages about jobs and economy, critical pile-on statements published by Federal News Services from members of the Illinois Congressional delegation, and much more media scrutiny on permits and discharges than ever before. Anyone can guess the obvious hit on quarterly earnings in what the company’s own CEO called “dreadful.” Perhaps this is what happens when the office in London calls the shots. By late November, no one was available: “Repeated attempts to contact BP spokesmen for comment were unsuccessful.”

4. Randall Tobias
What’s a decent PR catastrophe list without a sex scandal? Or alleged sex scandal. Caught in the snare of an investigation into a 13-year escort service-slash-prostitution ring in the D.C.-area, Randall Tobias quickly resigned as this nation’s secretary of state. Tobias’ official tasks as a state department official had included enforcing a prostitution ban on countries receiving support to fight AIDS. The former Eli Lilly CEO had an otherwise spotless record not only in the business world but also in public service. Tobias said he only engaged the service for massages only and his Hoosier friends were quick to rally—including recognizing him as an “Indiana living legend.” Other friends and colleagues came to his defense with “supportive” editorials in The Indianapolis Star that read like obituaries. Not much has been said to save the day. Looks like Deborah Jeane Palfrey, the accused D.C. madam, will be using her hefty client list as leverage in criminal and civil cases—so there’s no end in sight for who else might be potentially publicly outed. Palfrey has said that she provided only a fantasy service, not sex-for-hire, for her clients.

5. The Indianapolis Star’s online TalkBack
The Indianapolis Star wasn’t the first newspaper to let random readers post random rants under articles posted on its Web site, but we hope it’s one of the last. As newspapers continue to struggle between their print products and posting to the Internet, they still can’t make sense of what exactly is a profitable model for shareholders and a model that makes sense to advertisers. No one is winning, including the readers. The Star relies on its readers to “flag” inappropriate posts and offensive material posted online while playing ad hoc copy editors. Intelligent opinions are hard to find here. And if anyone has bothered to read the “terms of service” for those who post, you will find the policies are violated daily. In the spirit of a 1950s schoolhouse admonition, The Star does remind its not-so-gentle readers: Be Polite.

PR WINNERS

1. Indianapolis Museum of Art
Here’s a winner that didn’t get as much media attention as the move deserved and we have to wonder why. Few cultural spots in this city open the doors for free to the public, either for special occasions or just on any old day of the week. No, we’re still not of the likes of big cities where tourists and home-towners alike can while away a Sunday afternoon in awe of artistic treasures. About two-thirds of museums nationwide charge for admission, but the IMA made a bold stroke with a decision by the new CEO to open the doors wide. Museums that have done so elsewhere, including Baltimore, Kansas City and Cincinnati, have noticed a drop in memberships, but overall increases in donations. The IMA’s decision to drop its $7 admission is paying off much the same.

2. Peyton Manning
Our TV-shiny Peyton Manning has done more to put Indianapolis on the map than decades of expenditures and extended PR from the city, convention bureau or tourism agencies. Give a rest to the coin spent by the city to pay travel writers to come here. Who needs ‘em? Not only does Manning have a knack with and for media (so far), but he’s also been able to translate his guy-pal personality into multiple endorsements and public service plugs. Not everyone can pop into the SNL host’s job so easily and his TV buddies at home couldn’t enough of running those late-night tapes to boost their own ratings. Now we’re wondering if Manning will translate his winning smile like many celebrities do—into mega special causes. Global warming with Leo and Al?

3. Property tax protestors
It’s not often that the public shows up in large numbers anywhere in Indiana with protest signs and makes a point—especially middle-class white folks with college degrees who are longtime property owners, taxpayers and voters who generally don’t make much rabblerousing noise from street corners. No matter who took the lead and rallied the troops, they PTPs became a block force and pulled some effective public stunts to stay noticed. Like all grassroots campaigns, this one at least seemed untainted by well organized special interest groups who may have had a stake in the outcome. The bottom line is that politicians who generally listen only when the noise gets loud are forced to pay attention.

4. Eugene White
The superintendent of the state’s largest school district is not the most media accessible guy and takes his lumps accordingly. But in or out of the public eye, he’s making positive strides—which is more than we can say about the last superintendent. His most ardent admirers embrace the internal “Revolution,” as Dr. W likes to call it with a capital R. Some laudable changes this year included a district-wide school uniform dress code policy, new alternative education and retention programs to stem the drop-out rate and better ISTEP scores. So he can get away with not always being on camera and available for a soundbite, though he really should reconsider. Here’s hoping for the city’s sake he can keep up the progress and not let the IPS bureaucracy of too many tired teachers who don’t do lesson plans get in the way.

5. Mitch Daniels
Politicians slip and slide from winners to losers as quickly as an Internet post, so we offer the disclaimer for no permanency here (or favoritism). But Gov. Daniels executed a perfect how-to guide for pols this year when he actually seemed in charge of fixing nagging property tax issues. He assembled a bipartisan commission to chew on it with public testimony during various meetings and hearings. Additionally, he pulled back an elder statesman Democrat for the show—the guy who previously had his job at the Statehouse. Smart move and one from which all Hoosier officials could learn. Even if a nettlesome problem isn’t entirely your fault, show a little leadership and attempt to make repairs. It also puts the others who showed less leadership at a distinct political disadvantage, being shoved into the negative corner of whiners and naysayers.