Roy’s Ploys
September 9, 2010 - by
In PR it’s called “getting ahead of the story.”
Roy Cooper has tried it twice on the SBI story. Not happening. The N&O owns this story. Another Pulitzer is in sight. And today the N&O showed Cooper again that it, not he, is driving this train.
Yesterday Cooper tried to get ahead by announcing Gerald Arnold to oversee the crime lab. But that news was relegated to the second line of a photo caption – and inside coverage. The big headlines were about more problems and Cooper’s political future.
(By the way, Cooper has now officially been a rising political star in four consecutive decades, going back to the 1980s.)
Cooper first tried to get in front of the story before it even ran. He moved Robin Pendergraft from the SBI days before the N&O series started. That may have given him some breathing room. Or it may have just made him look panicky.
Here’s some advice earned during Governor Jim Hunt’s 16 years in office: Stop. Stop trying to get ahead of tomorrow’s story, or next week’s, or next month’s.
This story will go on at least another two years. The right PR thing to do is the right thing to do – period. And you’re not going to figure out what that is if you approach this as a daily PR battle.
Cooper & Co. need to take a breath. Realize they’re in a marathon, not a sprint. Take the time – and invest whatever brainpower it takes – to figure out exactly what is wrong and what is the best long-term fix. Then do it.
It would be even worse if he was trying to solve this problem in the middle of a campaign. Fortunately for Cooper – and the state – he has two years before he has to face the voters again.
Fortunately also, the legislature isn’t in session. Cooper and the law enforcement community have a few months to prevent the honorables from doing permanent damage to the justice system.
The SBI story may have hurt Cooper’s chances to be UNC President, although a lot of influential university people already had been arguing that a “politician” shouldn’t run the system.
Cooper has time to do this right. He needs to take it.
Roy’s Ploys
September 9, 2010/
In PR it’s called “getting ahead of the story.”
Roy Cooper has tried it twice on the SBI story. Not happening. The N&O owns this story. Another Pulitzer is in sight. And today the N&O showed Cooper again that it, not he, is driving this train.
Yesterday Cooper tried to get ahead by announcing Gerald Arnold to oversee the crime lab. But that news was relegated to the second line of a photo caption – and inside coverage. The big headlines were about more problems and Cooper’s political future.
(By the way, Cooper has now officially been a rising political star in four consecutive decades, going back to the 1980s.)
Cooper first tried to get in front of the story before it even ran. He moved Robin Pendergraft from the SBI days before the N&O series started. That may have given him some breathing room. Or it may have just made him look panicky.
Here’s some advice earned during Governor Jim Hunt’s 16 years in office: Stop. Stop trying to get ahead of tomorrow’s story, or next week’s, or next month’s.
This story will go on at least another two years. The right PR thing to do is the right thing to do – period. And you’re not going to figure out what that is if you approach this as a daily PR battle.
Cooper & Co. need to take a breath. Realize they’re in a marathon, not a sprint. Take the time – and invest whatever brainpower it takes – to figure out exactly what is wrong and what is the best long-term fix. Then do it.
It would be even worse if he was trying to solve this problem in the middle of a campaign. Fortunately for Cooper – and the state – he has two years before he has to face the voters again.
Fortunately also, the legislature isn’t in session. Cooper and the law enforcement community have a few months to prevent the honorables from doing permanent damage to the justice system.
The SBI story may have hurt Cooper’s chances to be UNC President, although a lot of influential university people already had been arguing that a “politician” shouldn’t run the system.
Cooper has time to do this right. He needs to take it.