WELCOME TO THE "BIG LEAGUES"

What do all these organizations and individuals have in common?

1. The Aruban Government after the Natalie Holloway disappearance
2. The Boulder, CO Police Department after the death of Joan Benet Ramsay
3. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin right after Hurricane Katrina

And now …

4. The International Coal Group, Inc.

What they all have in common is that all of these organizations or individuals learned the “hard way” about the big leagues of main stream media public relations.

International Coal is the latest to get hit squarely on the head by a runaway press that they couldn’t control.

And they were doomed from the outset.

I don’t know about others – but whenever a big story like the West Virginia Miners pops into the sights of the MSM – I’m intensely interested. Yes, I’m paying attention to the story but I’m also paying VERY close attention to the public relations game being played out between the media and whatever organization is in the “hot seat”. I want to see just how long the “hot seat” organization can hold it’s own against the MSM. In most cases, these organizations are WAAY out of their league – and lose control of the PR effort very early on.

The main challenge for any organization under the public spotlight is to keep the issues on a relevant level – and not allow the press to drag the situation into chaos. The organization has to do this without looking too defensive – or too “guilty” if you will. The MSM has a knack for finding little inconsistencies that are often irrelevant and turning those anomalies into “the” story. In the case of International Coal – and up until late last night – the anomaly du jour was the fact that word leaked that the mine had been cited for hundreds of “safety violations” prior to the current mishap.

But ICG kept control during that whole flap.

In fact, up until last night – I was extremely impressed with the ICG PR effort and the way it handled the press. First of all – they put Ben Hatfield, the President and CEO of ICG out in front of the press early on. And here’s a note to any big companies out there who are looking for great executive talent – after Ben Hatfield is fired by ICG – HIRE HIM!

Hatfield did a great job on the PR front – up until last night. He held regular press briefings and did better in those briefings than any TRAINED Public Relations guy or gal I have ever seen. When Ben Hatfield spoke – you got the opinion that his number one concern was getting these Miners out. You got the impression that he looked at these guys like family and would do ANYTHING to get ‘em out alive.

And when it’s the President and CEO, the very top guy in the organization, pulling this off – it clearly sends the message that the whole company is doing exactly the right things to help out a bad situation. Not many CEO’s can do this – Tom Benson, the owner of the New Orleans Saints can’t do it. Neither can most of the CEO’s of the tobacco companies or the record companies or the oil companies or …

So how was Ben Hatfield able to pull it off?

Well, he was successful in pulling it off because – it wasn’t acting. Ben Hatfield really cared for these Miners and would have resigned on the spot if that would have brought them up alive. Maybe he’d have done even more to get these guys back alive. His words, demeanor, and actions sent a clear message to everyone – even through the jaded filter of the MSM – that he cared for these guys and wanted them out safe.

Ben Hatfield wasn’t acting – he was being genuine. The man has a good heart – and that’s reason enough for any big company to bring him aboard after he’s fired from ICG - which he almost certainly will be.

Ben was able to successfully deflect the questions about the safety violations and keep the press on the issues of bringing the Miners out alive.

He was successful up until last night – when another anomaly raised its ugly head.

This “anomaly” apparently took the form of a mine foreman, or an EMT, or … somebody who misunderstood a communication from the rescue workers on the scene. Someone who thought they heard that twelve Miners were found alive – and then went and told the family.

The family told the press apparently – and the press, the MSM – the college guys who are supposed to be so thorough in their reporting - broadcast the news as gospel without even checking the sources.

And then it turned out to be exactly opposite – the twelve Miners were, in fact … dead.

I can forgive a Miner’s family member who’s been sitting in a church for over 40 hours waiting, hoping, and praying that their loved-one would come out alive. I don’t expect that such a person would stand on journalistic procedure to challenge “good news” that they’ve been desperately praying to hear.

But I cannot give a pass to the MSM. You boys and girls got it wrong – again.

Just like you got it wrong …

1. When Dan Blather ran around waiving “authentic” letters concerning President Bush’s military service.
2. When you published the story about the “Arms Cache” in Iraq that terrorists raided after our soldiers supposedly neglected to secure those arms.
3. When you screamed out that the U.S. was flushing KORANS down the john in GITMO.
4. When you giddily predicted that John Kerry would win the last election.

You got it WRONG boys – again. So don’t come preach to us about your “professional standards” – show ‘em to us and maybe we can talk someday – but not until then. In my opinion – you guys are now in the back of the line – waaay behind the guy you love to take shots at – Drudge. Enjoy your new position – you’ve earned it.

Getting back to Ben Hatfield though – he did a very admirable job of keeping things under control. However, he should have briefed the rescue workers – and every member of ICG on the scene to NOT TALK to anyone except the company guys. Maybe he did brief them and someone just wasn’t listening – I don’t know – but the error caused ICG to lose the PR effort late in the last quarter of the ballgame. If the erroneous report hadn’t occurred, we’d all be celebrating this morning the fact that, against all hope, ONE member of the Mining team survived.

Instead, ICG is being pummeled over the error – which was, by the way, an innocent error on ICG’s part – if they were even involved in it.

Organizations need to realize that when the media comes to town and puts the spotlight on you – you’re in trouble. You need to call EXPERTS. You need to call in someone who is experienced in dealing with media circuses – someone who can keep control of the MSM. If not, the MSM will make YOU – the main story.

Ben Hatfield almost pulled it off though – but not quite. I give him an “A” for effort but in this game – if you lose (even by a single point) – you need to seek employment elsewhere.

So why did Ben Hatfield and ICG wait for three hours to correct the report?

Don’t take offense, but they were trying to figure out how to “unscrew” a pregnant woman. Of course, that’s impossible – no matter how long you ponder the problem.

Had the MSM not beamed the erroneous report to the entire world the second they heard it – then I suspect ICG would’ve immediately come out with a correction.

I also suspect that when Ben Hatfield saw the entire MSM embracing the report – he may have thought it might be true – he certainly wanted it to be true. I think he may have thought … “My information must be wrong – otherwise, why would this news be universally adopted by the MSM?”

And it probably took him and ICG awhile to come to the realization that the MSM actually had the story wrong.

So rather than asking the question of Ben Hatfield … “Why did you wait 3 hours to correct the report?”

I think we should be asking “Why did the MSM latch on to the ERRONEOUS REPORT without verification and then broadcast it almost instantaneously?”

And that is the question that the press should ask themselves today.

They won’t though.