Public relations professionals for years have tried to overcome some of the more “negative” nicknames that people have given them. The most common name would be “spin doctors.” There have been people who have tried to “spin” stories for their clients to present them in a more positive light. But when does spin become “slime”?
What I mean by slime is that you see that someone is saying the right things in the situation, but it just sounds so fake. It’s almost like in the movie “Ghostbusters” and Bill Murray’s character gets slimed– that’s what I feel like when I see some of these statements people are making. Instead of “You’ve Got Mail”– you got slime!
For example, even though this is outside of my usual topic of sports and PR– I consider this a good example to see it if is “spin” or “slime.” The San Francisco Chronicle published an article about how CSU presidents were getting huge paychecks for taking on “special assignments” right before they left the university. By taking these special assignments, they were increasing their income and these quote “assignments” didn’t require the CSU presidents to turn in a final report. In the CSU, retirement pensions are based on the last year of pay, so these “extras” will cost the taxpayers as long as the ex-president lives.
Chancellor Reed, the top executive of the CSU system, sent out a letter to staff and faculty at the universities that I felt was pretty interesting. Here are some of the points that Reed made in his letter:
“As a public institution, we are deeply committed to being transparent in our actions as a Board. Some of the criticisms voiced by individuals quoted in the news coverage invlove the public disclosure of the Board policies, the process of assigning duties and compensation to executives and the briefing of our Trustees. We can assure you there was nothing secretive about these agreements and that, in every instance, details were reported in accordance with Board policy. We are, however, sensitive to the need to ensure that we are upholding the public trust and, for this reason, will be reexamining how we can be more proactive about letting the public know about our operations.”
Okay– Reed states that he wants to be proactive and transparent– but if you read between the lines– it’s like– OOPS! We got busted and we want you all to still trust us and think we did nothing wrong.
There are several things that you have to look at when deciding if a statement is just spin or is it slime.
1. Look at the source. It is important to see where the statement comes from. What is the person really like as a person? Are they someone that you would invite for dinner or are they the type of person which you want to keep as far away from you as possible. If someone is a complete “hamster” (A term that is used in my family to describe someone completely yucky and annoying to be around), then when they try to say the right things, it doesn’t come out right. They are saying the right things, but it’s them– their character affects the message being presented in a negative way, so it turns to slime instead of spin.
2. Read between the lines. Okay, you really need to see what is going on beyond the statement. If someone says that they are sorry for screwing up or they are apologizing– you have to wonder if this was because they have a conscience and want to do the right thing– or is this the last option that they have because they are becoming a “PR Nightmare”? You also have to look at the tone of the statement. It’s harder to do when it’s written, but this helps if you know the person who is sending out the statement.
3. Slime is over-the-top in most cases compared to spin. When I mean over the top, I mean that they use more words to describe their feelings than they really need to. For example, if someone has a statement that says “We are deeply sorry and regretful for this incident”– it shows that they are going way beyond to describe how they are feeling. It’s best to just say, “Hey, we made a mistake, and we are sorry.” It shows that you are human– and spin is simple, but still creative. Slime is creative as well– but you really have to look at the tone and the person who is saying the statement.
So– public relations professionals have to not only deal with people trying to “spin” their stories, but you have to deal with those that are making statements that are a bit “slimey”. You just have to be aware of what is out there and be prepared for any given situation. 🙂
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