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Who
Stepped In It
Don’t let explicit e-mails take you down
By Mark McDonald
Transparency is a good thing for public organizations. Elected officials, the military, police and educators among others deserve heightened scrutiny in all that they do. They should be held to a higher standard. Often the public depends on the news media to help maintain that transparency.
Frequently public organizations and senior executives are tempted to keep information out of the news by trying to cover up issues that they feel might be detrimental to their mission or personally embarrassing. This is a natural act of self-preservation, but in the public sector as a public relations figure, this approach should be avoided like the plague.
The fact is people talk. Leaders of public institutions and public relations consultants should know this better than anyone. The question is how much information meets the requirement of public awareness yet maintains an appropriate level of privacy for individuals?
My counsel to senior leaders in Lincoln, Omaha, Hastings, Fremont, York, Eastern Nebraska, and throughout Nebraska is typically to engage media head on. While the ability to effectively communicate an organization’s message while maintaining credibility is not a natural skill, done correctly it will work wonders in keeping a bad news issue a one-day story. Mess it up and you will be talked about by in the news for weeks – and not in a good way. A solid public relations agency that offers media training can help you in these efforts.
Recently this issue came to light when the city of Omaha, Neb., hired Nancy Sebring to be the new superintendant for Omaha Public Schools. She had been hired from Des Moines, Iowa, where she had been serving in the same position.
Sebring abruptly resigned her post in Des Moines saying she needed to prepare for her new gig in Omaha. What she or the Des Moines school district did not mention publicly or to Omaha was that her departure was a result of a series of inappropriate e-mails from her to her lover from her school district computer during working hours. Can you see a huge public relations disaster brewing on the horizon?
Sebring was quick to resign in Omaha when she learned that the Omaha World Herald had received her personal e-mails. How the World Herald knew about the e-mails is anyone’s guess, but people talk. At this point one might suspect that with Sebring out of her position in Des Moines and not headed for a new job in Omaha the paper would leave it at that. With appropriate coverage mentioning the fact that inappropriate emails were at the source of her demise.
Sadly, the Omaha World Herald took it further. Even after the damage was done, the paper felt it was in the public interest to print redacted copies of the sordid e-mails. In my opinion, they took it too far.
So what could have gone better? When Des Moines Schools confronted Sebring on the e-mails and immediately relieved her, their rationale for terminating her should have been part of the public discussion. Why their public relations agency didn’t accomplish this is unknown.
Des Moines could have given her time to notify Omaha of the situation and let them decide whether her actions would prevent them from hiring her. The school district and Sebring could have controlled the public discussion of and access to the e-mails. She still could have been forgiven with an appropriate public acknowledgement of her mistake.
We all make mistakes and the public often forgives. This is especially true in Lincoln, Omaha, Hastings, Fremont, York, Eastern Nebraska, and throughout Nebraska. Leaders often think they will be the one who gets away with their mistake, but it rarely works out that way. The lesson for the day is to get out in front of the issue even if it hurts. Face the music and get ready for your next challenge. If you can’t manage these issues, hire a public relations agency or public relations consultants who can – and live to work another day.
For a no-cost phone consultation, call crisis management and reputation management expert Mark McDonald at (402) 309-0721.
Serving clients nationwide including Nebraska, Lincoln, Omaha, Fremont, Hastings, York, and Eastern Nebraska.
About our crisis management firm
The Rourk Public Relations agency and its public relations consultants are experts at crisis management, reputation management, media training, media relations, public relations crisis management and more for clients in Lincoln, Omaha, Hastings, Fremont, York, Eastern Nebraska, and throughout Nebraska.
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