Public Apologies In An Age Of Transparency

(CBS)  You will get caught. In an instant, the world will know.

A lot has changed since President Kennedy's apology for the Bay of Pigs actually drove his approval ratings higher. Now there are cameras everywhere. Nothing is ever really off the record. Digital media ensures maximum public access to Mark Foley's lurid emails. Larry Craig's wide stance defines his career, not the senator's legislative record.

Today's digital universe presents a triple whammy for errant politicians as well as celebrities and corporate executives. First, exposure is probably inevitable. It's a lot easier to be the next than errant governors can imagine. Second, the revelations spread virally and universally. Third, the demand for accountability is exponentially ratcheted up. The faster the world learns, the less time it allows for reflection and the more urgent its demand for an on-the-spot response.

Recent months have produced a bumper crop of "how-not-to-apologize" apologies suggesting important survival tactics for public figures under siege.

Be Sincere: Chicago Mayor Richard Daley recently dealt himself a serious body blow. A text of his apology for the Second City parking meter lease debacle leaked by his office had him saying, "I'll be the first to admit that we screwed up." But then confronted with a microphone, Daley simply could not utter those words. "Daley is obviously not sincere because inside he's seething with anger, you can see it in his scowl, you can hear it in his tone," wrote ChicagoNow.

There is no worse lie than to get caught in an aborted or mendacious apology. It will permanently deplete credibility as you're held accountable for both the original transgression and your dishonest response.

Keep Public Public and Private Private: Save your sensitive emotions for your most sensitive audiences; don't expose your deepest feelings to faceless mass audiences. Even when you are at fault, you can and must show a leader's strength and dignity. By contrast, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford babbled his way to political ignominy. His self-lacerations have garnered no support while his scandal drones on from news cycle to news cycle. Nevada Senator John Ensign, on the other hand, spoke once only and straightforwardly. Sure enough, the Sanford circus drove Ensign off the front page even though Ensign's story was potentially more lurid, as the woman involved is married.

The world may take morbid delight in bathos but you serve your own interests by confining intense emotion to the privacy of your home.

Stop Apologizing: To paraphrase Denis Healey, "When you're in a hole, stop digging." New York governor David Paterson apologized for his allegations of media racism, only to then explain his apology so verbosely that he seemed to deny saying what he said. "In true Paterson style, the longer he spoke, the murkier the situation became," commented the Daily News.

Consider the decisive step - resignation. It's the coup de grace that deprives all media, online or off, of a protracted story. Lay low. Rebuild your life and your career. Former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer - alias Client Number Nine - is apparently doing just that, and his future could be brighter than was imaginable a year ago.

Richard S. Levick is the President and CEO of Levick Strategic Communications, a crisis communications firm. He is the co-author of Stop the Presses: The Crisis & Litigation PR Desk Reference and writes for Bulletproof.com. You can reach him at [e-mail].

By Richard S. Levick
Special to CBSNews.com

[dontknowitall]

Why is it, when a politian takes something that isn't theirs all they need to do is shed a false tear and all is well. But when a civilian does the same thing they go to jail? No double standard here? Or are there

[bmirarck2]

Sanford is the typical hypocrite!!!

[hologram5]

Daley is obviously not sincere because inside he's seething with anger, you can see it in his scowl, you can hear it in his tone," wrote ChicagoNow.
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Time to "REBOOT" the Federal Government. Time to "Start Over". Vote them ALL out and start fresh. It is our ONLY HOPE!