Maj. Gen. Robert Smalls...who?

I found the Washington Post's article, "An Invader in Navy's Home Waters" very interesting. The article introduced me to Maj. Gen. Robert Smalls, a notable African-American in history who like so many others, never received the honors he deserved.

Apparently Smalls escaped slavery to become a Civil War hero and eventually, a U.S. congressman. In 1862, Smalls commandeered the Confederate steamer where he worked out of Fort Sumtner, while its White crew was asleep on shore. He surrendered the steamer to the nearest Union ship.

Smalls was hailed as a hero, met President Lincoln and embarked on a speaking tour to rally support of the Union. The next year he became the first black captain of a U.S. vessell and eventually bought his prior slave master's house. Smalls was a major general in the South Carolina malitia and served five terms as a congressman. Incredible!

Despite his fascinating life, it was a State Department employee who was determined to promote his legacy after she met Small's great-grandaughter, who got an Army ship named after him. Maj. Gen. Small received his honors just two months ago! I suppose it's better last than never.

Learning from Mistakes

The American Red Cross asked its CEO, Mark W. Everson, to resign after the nonprofit learned he had a personal relationship with a subordinate employee. Everson is married with two children.

As a longtime Red Cross volunteer and blood donor, I am disappointed. As a public relations student, I am impressed that the Red Cross released the specifics of his departure.

Everson’s resignation comes just as the Red Cross was recovering from public relations setbacks. The organization’s sterling reputation was tarnished after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks when Americans stood in long lines to donate blood, only to learn the Red Cross destroyed excess donations when the blood expired. Americans who donated money to the Red Cross after the attacks felt misled when it was disclosed that some of the donations would be reserved for future terrorism victims. Donors complained, and in the end all money went to the Sept. 11 victims.

The Red Cross, headquartered in Washington, learned from these missteps.

It could have issued a cryptic press release about Everson’s resignation this week. That would’ve led to speculative stories in the press. The story would have dragged out for weeks until the true reason for his departure was known. Instead, the Red Cross was honest, even though the news unpleasant. The result? It’s a one-day story. Two days at most. It lets everyone move on to the mission of the Red Cross, helping people in crisis.

Sources:
American Red Cross
www.redcross.org

The New York Times
www.nytimes.com

Whole Foods and the twilight of "Organic Blogging"

Whole Foods Markets, which generates roughly 10percent of its business in the DC area, has changed its business code of conducts. As of Nov. 6, Whole Foods senior officials can no longer post comments anonymously or otherwise about the business, competitors or vendors on forums, chat rooms or blogs not sponsored by the company.

The amendment is mainly motivated by FTC’s informal investigation on Internet postings by Whole Foods’ CEO John Mackey. Since 1999, he posts anonymous comments on Yahoo Finance forums, being his latest , negative criticism against competitor and acquisition target Wild Oats Markets.

Although blogs, forums, message boards and chat rooms will remain at the cutting edge of public opinion making in the 21st century, Whole Foods announcement ends an era of virtually no censorship that started in June, 2003 when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals granted libel protection to bloggers, webmasters and e-mail list editors.

Although financial blogs and forums gain notoriety and influence over traditional sources of financial information and analysis, corporations have to live in a post-Enron era governed by Sarbanes-Oxley, where analysts and conflicts of interest are closely monitored.

Any company that has benefited from hyped up profit projections or has sustained loses from unjustified rumors knows the immediate repercussions of public opinion on investor perceptions, not to mention stock prices. It was just a matter of time before corporate censorship reached blogs, chat rooms and forums where investors once freely challenged analysts.

John Mackey’s anonymous postings and Whole Foods' updated business conduct code have set an interesting precedent that enabled the first form of censorship in an environment perceived as the epitome of freedom of speech. A precedent soon to be followed by other corporations, but most importantly a precedent with great potential to extend beyond the business world.

We enter a new era of censorship, not driven by federal regulatory bodies, but by self governance of public institutions. Do online comments from lobby groups, should be governed by internal codes of ethics? Should NGOs refrain from blogging on websites related to their fundraising? Should federal employees refrain from participating in forums where their agencies are being questioned?

For now the story has a happy ending, in spite of the FTC’s efforts, Wild Oats Markets was successfully acquired and Whole Foods’ stock price rose to the occasion. John Mackey was forgiven by his board as he remains CEO and only Whole Foods quarter earnings report, out next week, could prevent shareholders from being as forgiving as its board.

Since we are not Whole Foods officials we can still blog, comment, and rant and rave freely about pretty much everything on the Internet, but from now on it wouldn't hurt to think once or twice about conflict of interests before hitting that “post comment” button.

Sources:

Reuters
Wall Street Journal
NY Times
Wired.com

"I'll Have a Wash 'n Set with a Blood-Pressure Check"

The Post's article "Clipping Away at Illness" discusses how the health care industry is enlisting beauty salons and barber shops to help educate African Americans about heart disease. As a part of the Hair, Heart and Health Program, professional stylists are trained and provided the necessary equipment to screen for obesity and high blood pressure in their clients - a fabulous idea.

As a Black woman who has spent countless hours in hair salons, I'm convinced that an initiative like this is bound to be successful. First off, in the African American community barbers and beauticians are viewed as experts on a variety of subjects. During my visits to salons I have either received or overheard advice and opinions being dished out on cooking, relationships, beauty, religion, health, politics - you name it. These hair care professionals have a captive audience of people who respect thier opinions. Secondly, you'll find people in beauty and barber shops who may not have visited a doctor in years, but dare not miss thier weekly hair appointment.

Unfortunately many people do not participate in preventive health care do to fear or lack of insurance; some people just don't see the need. However bringing health care to these folks in an environment that is familiar and comfortable could have a positive impact. Now men and women can not only leave thier stylist looking good, but also equipped with information that may help to keep them alive for beauty and barber shop visits for years to come.

Media List Meltdown

A Pulitzer Prize-winning critic at The Washington Post was reprimanded after he sent a scathing e-mail to an aide for D.C. Council member Marion Barry. The flap started after Tim Page, a classical music critic at the Post, got one too many unwanted press releases from Barry’s office.

Last week, Page received a release about Barry and Greater Southeast Community Hospital. Page replied to the release, sent the aide an e-mail that accused Barry of political grandstanding, and asked to be taken off the media distribution list. Page added he would not be interested in anything Barry did, including dying from a drug overdose, according to the Post. Barry, former mayor of Washington, served a six-month sentence in 1990 for smoking crack cocaine.

Surely, this was not Page’s finest moment. He has apologized to Barry. The Post apologized through Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr., and the paper was right to sanction Page.

But I have to ask—why was a classical music critic on Barry’s media list in the first place?

Unless Barry was doing work with a school music group or orchestra, Page should not be copied on his press releases. Page said he tried to be taken off the list, but was cursed by a Barry staff member. Barry’s office told the Post it has no record of his request.

Washington Post reporters are fairly accessible. On the Web site, readers can click the reporter’s byline to send an e-mail. Anyone can call the main switchboard and ask to be transferred to the reporter’s desk. If a reader or organization feels ignored, they can contact the reporter’s editor or the paper’s ombudsman.

Barry’s staff could have easily determined who covers health care in the Washington area. Flooding Post reporters with e-mail will not win Barry better coverage. Cultivating relationships with relevant beat reporters and editors would be a better approach. The most shocking aspect of the incident was that Page took the time to write an e-mail at all. No doubt dozens of people at the Post got the news release. Most just hit delete.

Source: The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/.

A Swing and a Miss

I used to work in the community relations office for a Texas public school district. One of our responsibilities included planning an annual gala for the district education foundation. Because this was the foundation's primary fundraising event, we understood that hosting the gala outside of the district wouldn't play well with the constituents. Apparently, that's a foreign concept for the Washington Nationals.

The Washington Post reported last week that the DC Council was very upset to learn that the Nationals plan to host a major charity event in Prince George's County instead of the District. Considering that the District supported a new $611 million stadium, the Council is understandably upset. Never mind that the District collected $36 million dollars in taxes last year, according to the Post, to help repay the money borrowed for the stadium.

Stan Kasten, president of the Nationals, says PG County was chosen because the hotel was free and that would mean more money for the Dream Foundation, the Nats' charitable arm. He further explained that the foundation is saving $250,000 in hotel charges that can be passed on to charities benefiting DC children.

I can't fault the Nats for wanting to take advantage of a great offer like that. But I do hold them accountable for failing to understand and communicate with their audiences. They could have avoided the bad press and backlash if they had explained their plans directly to the Council. Instead, council members learned about the decision to host the event in PG County through the grapevine.

Source:
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/06/AR2007110602296.html?hpid=topnews

Another One for the Stupid Criminal Files

Clearly criminals are not the brightest individuals, simply based on the fact that they choose to break the law. But you just gotta love the ones that are stupid enough to assist in their own arrest. Thank God that their ignorance can sometimes make our streets a little safer.

I'm referring to a story that I read on the Post's website. This past Friday, a young lady was abducted near the Congress Heights Metro station by two men. She was raped and robbed during the ordeal which lasted for two hours.

One of the attackers mentioned that his mother had just died and her funeral was the next day. The woman mentioned this tidbit to a Prince George's County detective who determined that the assailants probably lived in Congress Heights, considering that they approached the woman on-foot. The detective was familiar with the SE DC neighborhood and knew that a likely location for the funeral would be Pope Funeral Home. The detective made arrangements with the funeral home to pose as a receptionist the day of the funeral. Sho'nuff, a man walks in fitting the victim's description. He even had the nerve to be wearing the victim's ring!!

Needles to say, the man was arrested the next day, and his accomplice surrendered on Tuesday.

Congratulations to Det. Sherry Prince for getting these losers off of the streets ASAP. And to all the criminals of the world: stupid is as stupid does. Hopefully you'll turn away from illegal activity, but if not, do your best to provide law enforcement officials with the clues that they need to put you where you belong. Really!

Buckle Up

After basketball practice on Tuesday, five La Plata High School students in Charles County, Md., piled into a Mercury sedan to head home. Junior Jonathan Chapman, 16, was driving sophomores Tavonne Alston, 16, Donte Segar, 14, and Dionnte Swinson, 15, and junior Markus Allen, 17. None of the young men wore seatbelts. Police said Chapman may have been speeding when he lost control of the car on Olivers Shop Road and drove into the path of a Chevrolet SUV driven by Pamela Stine, 38, of King George, Va. Chapman, Alston and Swinston died at the scene, and Segar died the following morning from injuries. Only Allen, sitting in the middle of the rear seat, survived.

Their deaths are a sad reminder that not everyone has received the message that seatbelts can save lives. Or rather, the message may be heard but not adopted. This continues to be a public health challenge for parents, safety agencies and schools.

Teens 16- to 20-years old have a lower seat belt use rate than adults, making them a vulnerable group. For instance, in 2001, 5,431 teens were killed in motor vehicle collisions, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Two thirds of the victims were not wearing a seatbelt. Clearly, the message is not achieving the goal—saving teens’ lives.

Teens are most likely to listen to other teens. Talking about seatbelt use in driver’s education classes and airing public service announcements may help, but getting the message from a peer would be the most credible source. I hope the lone survivor of the La Plata crash can save other teens by talking about his behavior that afternoon, and what it cost him and his friends.

Blogging--Ugghhhhhhhhh

What seemed to be an simple assignment for a graduate course turned out to be a nightmare for me. Blogging--whose idea was this? And who knew it could be so difficult? Yep, I'm telling my age, but so be it. I am a baby boomer and obviously I haven't kept up with the times--or technology--as well as I should have. But come on--three days to set up an account! I'm not that out of touch--am I?

I realize I should probably be sighing and saying, "Ah, isn't technology grand?" But I wonder, is technology really grand, especially when it comes to effective communications? Certainly technology has done wonders for communications. We can reach out and touch millions of people at lightning speed with one or two key strokes. We (or perhaps I should say you) can swap photos, record images, and have lively written debates at anytime from almost anywhere. But what struck me the most in my first attempt with blogging, that I can actually write and allow others to read, was the impersonal and lonely feeling I had when I encountered a problem.

I tried for three days to get my blogging efforts going. I wanted to be profound in my comments, but wound up frustrated and angry at my attempts to get started. I made quite a few mistakes. I tried to follow all of the no-name emailed advice to resolve problems. I went to the help keys, clicked on supposedly related links, emailed team members, attempted to change passwords and user names to no avail. After one pitiful email outburst to my team mates, an amazing thing happened--my cell phone rang. (You should be hearing the angelic sounds of a choir singing HALLELUJAH right about now.) And there it was, the kind and concerned voice of my blog redeemer, David. With great patience, David walked me through the account setup process, gave me a new password, a new user name, and through the calm cadence of his voice restored my faith in my ability to learn a new trick--blogging.

I do realize the financial and time benefits of technology. I also recognize the importance of keeping up with communications trends; that's why I chose to go back to school. The impact of technology on interpersonal relationships concerns me. There is something to be said for face-to-face or ear-to-phone contact. From my perspective, email in particular has minimized human interaction causing people to become cowards or bullies at the stroke of the key. I have been both, so I know oh so well the impact of what I thought I said and meant to say in an email versus what the recipient read, or should I say, interpreted? Email can't reflect the tone of the voice or indicate that sarcasm was meant to be funny, not biting. In my office, colleagues sitting a door apart often email each other rather than taking two steps to look each other in the eye. Yep, I'm guilty. Email either allows people to say things they would not have the courage to say face to face, or enables them to avoid one another or put off certain things as long as possible. Now, is that effective communication?

Yes, I plan to sharpen my technology skills; I have no choice. Technology waits for no one. But, every now and then--Can we talk?

Kinda Late, Aren't You?

As a non-smoker and a person that is aware of the health-related dangers that are associated with smoking, I find it interesting that hospitals serving Montgomery County, MD have designated Nov.15 as the date to enact a ban on all tobacco products on their campuses.

Amazing!

The fact that a hospital employee has been allowed to take a drag during lunch and come back into the hospital 5 minutes later to draw blood is disgusting. I find it deplorable that there has never been a policy that enforces the ban of smoking products within hospital limits. County restaurateurs joined the fight to eliminate smoking in their establishments in 2003.

Whats even worse. These hospitals have decided to wait until Nov. 15 to join in an annual event to promote the announcement of the ban. The idea of the ban was agreed to by all hospitals in the county back in December of 06' but hospital officials wanted to wait 11 months to join in on the Great American Smokeout.

Yeah, patients come first.

Proofreading and Research are Important

Tracy Schario, media relations director at George Washington University, has had a busy week.

According to The Washington Post, a GW student who complained about anti-semitic symbols drawn on her door took responsibility yesterday for the incidents. It seems that hidden cameras led police to the plaintiff.

Even more interesting, if not shocking, is that the university doesn't plan to take any action against the student. The Post writes, "The student will not face student judicial action and officials will determine whether any District or federal laws were broken, Schario said." However, another GW student was recently barred from campus for writing racial epithets.

Something doesn't seem right, so I decided to look into this further.

It turns out that the statement issued by GW reads, "The student will now face student judicial action. ..." That's N-O-W. NOW. What a difference a little typo makes.

This case isn't as open-and-shut as The Washington Post makes it seem either. The GW Hatchet explains that the student who filed the complaint admits to drawing swastikas in three of the incidents herself, but only after GW failed to respond to the initial incidents.

Proofreading and a little research can go a long way in getting the story right.

Sources:

• The Washington Post
• The GW Hatchet
• George Washington University