The PR Breakdown with Molly McPherson 229: When a Disliked Staff Member Causes PR Chaos: Don Lemon and CNN
Recently, Don Lemon, co-anchor of CNN This Morning, went off script and made news by stating that presidential candidate Nikki Haley was past her prime at the age of 51. This episode covers the things you should do immediately when an employee causes a PR crisis of this nature. Hear the full exchange of exactly what was said by Don Lemon and how he doubled down on his mistake, before learning how CNN responded. Hear about the importance of acting quickly, the difference between an effective apology and a non-apology, whether or not your company may need to terminate the employment of that staff member, and additional things you may need to do to mitigate further damage to its reputation. The Indestructible PR® tip for the day includes a helpful resource that you may want to keep on hand for the event of a crisis like this one.
Key Points From This Episode:
- The details of the PR crisis caused by Don Lemon on CNN This Morning.
- Recent PR crises on other morning television news shows.
- Cohosts Poppy Harlow and Kaitlan Collins’ responses to Don Lemon’s statement.
- The full exchange of what Don Lemon said.
- A breakdown of where he went wrong and how he continued to make it worse.
- The things you should do immediately when an employee causes a PR crisis.
- What CNN did directly following this incident.
- The training that Don Lemon was forced to do.
- The importance of a public statement.
- Don Lemon’s initial apology and what was wrong with it.
- Why your company may need to consider terminating the employment of that staff member.
- The importance of transparency.
- Additional things you may need to do to mitigate further damage to the company’s reputation.
- The Indestructible PR® tip for the day about where you can find a helpful tool for handling a crisis like this.
Links Mentioned in Tod
If you work in strategy or communication, join Molly on December 17 at 12 PM ET for a 60-minute live media training that breaks down a crisis in real time. RFK Jr is being hit from two sides at once. Now Olivia Nuzzi’s memoir is out, weeks after Tatiana Schlossberg’s essay landed a punch. We'll walk through the headlines, the data, the sentiment, press coverage, then map out what a competent response would actually look like. Click here to attend.
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