Social Media as a Rallying Tool - Creates Crisis for Police

            In recent days, the news of Trayvon Martin’s death has resurfaced a multitude of times on every news station, in every newspaper, and on a number of social media sites. Didn’t expect the last medium to be a strong player in the story? Neither did I.

            The first time I heard about Martin’s death was on the Today Show earlier this week. Like many others, I found the incident to be shocking, sad, and unnecessary. Martin’s life was far too short and was taken away by someone who did not have the right to do so. It was a tragedy in the world of his family and friends and touched the hearts of many around the world.

            What I didn’t know up until recently was the role social media played in the case. Essentially, social media got the ball rolling on the news coverage about Trayvon Martin. Messages began surfacing about Martin’s death on Twitter and other social media sites. Radio host Michael Baisden tweeted to his 65,000 followers just a day later: “Unarmed 17-year-old boy shot by neighborhood watch captain in Sanford, FL outside of Orlando”. The tweet included a link to a story about the incident. Baisden also posted the message on his Facebook wall, where he has 585,000 fans.

            The pick-up in social media is fast and cannot be denied when there is passion behind the message. Outraged citizens took to social media as a form of expression – expressing their anger, disappointment, and confusion regarding the lack of justice being served. The story has been mentioned on Twitter almost 600,000 times, according to PeopleBrowsr. A Facebook page has been created in support of Martin’s family and rallying for justice to be served. The page has more than 78,000 likes.

            With the vast amount of support on social media from citizens across the United States, Sanford Police Department is challenged to provide justice for the heinous crime. The voice of the people is strong and loud, it cannot be ignored. Only time will tell if the police department will eventually charge George Zimmerman for the killing of Trayvon Martin. It is a crisis they must face immediately, for fear of loss of trust and reputation.

            What do you think will happen?

Apologizing in the Heart of a Crisis

Photo Courtesy of:
http://www.inquisitr.com/200801/rush-limbaugh-apologizes-to-sarah-fluke-for-calling-her-a-slut/

            Rush Limbaugh: radio talk show host, conservative, politically outspoken. Most recently, many have began associating Limbaugh as being anti-women’s rights (particularly in regards to birth control). By this point, most of us have heard about the disparaging remarks by Mr. Limbaugh about Georgetown University law student, Sandra Fluke. When I first heard Limbaugh’s comments, I remember feeling angry, shocked and frustrated. Who is he to question the character of women throughout America (particularly Ms. Fluke’s) who use prescription birth control? After all, he is not a woman.

After my feelings of anger and resentment had subsided to a manageable level, I immediately went into my public relations mentality. I began thinking about how (and if) Limbaugh could recover from this situation – or, shall I say, crisis? His words received intense backlash and criticisms from many. Advertisers and musicians began pulling their ads and songs from Mr. Limbaugh’s show, communicating that they do not support his perspective on a woman’s right to obtain prescription birth control. What would be the next step that Limbaugh would take?

That next step turned out to be an apology for the comments he made on his show. Mr. Limbaugh explained that he stooped to a level that was below his standards as a conservative, stating, “I acted too much like the leftists who despise me. I descended to their level, using names and exaggerations to describe Sandra Fluke. It’s what we have come to know and expect from them, but it’s way beneath me.”

Photo courtesy of:
http://blisstree.com/live/why-rush-limbaugh-and-sandra-fluke-matter-for-your-health-993/

From a public relations viewpoint, this apology falls short of what should have been delivered. It’s a start, but there are still things left unsaid. Instead of explaining that this is the type of action one would expect from the “leftists,” Limbaugh should have left them out of his apology completely. Own up to your actions, instead of shining the light onto a different group of individuals other than yourself. Mr. Limbaugh should have simply stated he was wrong, and not placed any attention on the (expected) actions of others.

His apology did not include a personal apology to Sandra Fluke. While Limbaugh did express his sincere apologies for using those words to personally attack Ms. Fluke, he did not reach out to her in any other means than that. Calling Ms. Fluke on the telephone to personally apologize for his words would have taken the sincerity of the apology a step further. After all, it was she that the comments were directed towards. She is the number one audience in this crisis.

It will be interesting to see how Mr. Limbaugh’s reputation and radio show will recover from this crisis. Personally, the apology fell short of what it should have (and could have) been. If I were Sandra Fluke, I would want Mr. Limbaugh to personally apologize to me, express his disappointment in his words to me, and show that he has learned something from his actions. I guess only time will tell if he has learned or not.