In “PR” terms Bernalillo County Commissioner Michael Wiener is Radioactive.

Wiener was photographed in a Southeast Asia red light district with a group of local women and in another image with someone he says is his fiancé.  For more on the story, here is the link from KOB-TV.

In the midst of re-election, republican and democratic leaders are calling for his resignation.  Politically, can Michael Wiener survive?

While he clearly has the election of his life ahead of him, his final “elected” fate will be determined by the 20% voter turnout, not the 100% negative media attention he has attracted during this mess.

What can Michael Wiener do to attempt “political” survival?

• He needs to do a better, more effective job of telling his story, that is supported with documentation: plane tickets, receipts, his own photographs and motivations for his affinity for the people of Southeast Asia
• Offer “till you drop” one-on-one interviews to all new and traditional media to talk about the trip and anything else that might come up.
• Have his fiancé available to collaborate his story.
• Show compassion to the victims (this list is long and includes women, children, victims of human trafficking and supporters).

Ok, so really, what can he do (since it is clear the above mentioned items are off the table): Focus on what he has done as county commissioner and hope, beyond hope, that his “supporters” have:

1. No access to television, radio, newspaper or internet.
2. Already sent in their mail-in ballot.
3. Been visiting Denmark’s red light district and unaware of what’s been happening on the other side of the globe.

Baring any of that happening, Commissioner Wiener should think about community service instead of public service.

In a strange twist of “man bites dog”, the Albuquerque Police Department needs assistance from its own victim advocacy unit.

In the midst of civil rights accusations, court cases, high speed pursuits and so called “bounty pay” for officer-involved shootings, the Albuquerque Police Department has been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

This blog post isn’t designed to provide fuel to either side of this heated political debate, it is only meant to provide APD some insight on how it can truly reshape public perception so their good deeds and all the “good cops” get noticed for the right reasons.

The negative headlines impact public opinion. In the 2012 Garrity Perception Survey, the community’s “trust” in police officers dropped from 55% in 2011 to 45% in 2012.  Specifically, in the Albuquerque area, only 42% of residents trust police officers.  That’s bad.

The scientific survey, conducted by Research and Polling in February 2012, for The Garrity Group Public Relations, has a 95% accuracy rate.

Does APD need to change its image?  If it wants to fend off political attacks, win trust and engage their community, then yes.

But whose mind do they want to change?  Or is it better to engage their supporters to be more vocal advocates?  Identifying the target audience is sometimes the most difficult step, but most important..  Those surveyed between 35-49 years of age and earning 60-79K annually had the biggest trust issue with APD.  A typical APD supporter has lived in New Mexico less than eight years and is 50 years of age and older.

Once APD has decided if it wants to convert its critics or encourage its supporters, messaging needs to be developed. APD should work to develop a genuine story, which showcases its team, their accomplishments and features how Albuquerque is a better place as a result of the work they do.

APD can ignite interest and build credibility with research (i.e. lower crime rates, crime reduction programs, safer roads); once outlined, a plan should be developed to connect with target audiences, sparking thought-provoking conversations.

This is best accomplished through a series of focus groups or surveys.

Change doesn’t take place overnight, and progress and outreach can be destroyed with one negative event (police shooting, scandal) or can be rallied with one positive event (lifesaving rescue).  But taking steps toward change will help to win friends and encourage supporters.

Almost a year ago I had the fortune to stay overnight in Portales, New Mexico.  The nicest hotel option I was aware of was a Holiday Inn Express.  I reviewed their website and made a reservation. 

What I quickly learned, through the school of loud knocks, was this hotel was located adjacent to an active railroad line.  Something that wasn’t even hinted at on their website or at check-in.

While I did blog about this last December, I also wrote a review on TripAdvisor.com (which is the reason for revisiting this topic).  Since December 2010 a whopping 228 people have read the review.

Since my railroad rock and roll event, there have been four other reviews posted.  None were responses from the Holiday Inn Express.

Maybe they don’t want to draw attention to it, since it is, really, the only option in town?  Perhaps.

Either way, there are 228 people who read the review and didn’t see a response from the hotel management acknowledging the problem, addressing plans to install more soundproofing or even offering free ear plugs to those on the railroad side of the hotel.

Typically, silence is golden.  In this case, I am not so sure.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…”

In the Tale of Two Cities Charles Dickens was clearly not referring to the University of New Mexico Football program.  However, comparing the opening news conferences for two of its most recent head football coaches reveal two very different styles.

When Coach Mike Locksley was introduced as UNM’s head coach in December of 2008 he said “This isn’t a rebuilding project. I look at it as a renovation. I’ll be putting my personal touches on the great foundation that’s already been laid.”  But it was his comment about lighting up the scoreboard and adding a third digit to the scoreboard that haunted his 2-26 record.

When Coach Bob Davie was introduced as UNM’s 31^st head football coach (November of 2011) there was no talk of lighting up a scoreboard.  There was some plain talk to the Albuquerque Journal, “So it’s gonna take a while to build this thing back up. I’m not gonna panic. I’m not afraid to lose a game to build a foundation for the future.”

Coach Locksley told fans what they wanted to hear, he talked of the possibilities.  Coach Davie is telling things like it is, talking about the realties of walking into one of the worst college football programs in the NCAA.

Will Coach Davie have success?  If he coaches like he handles opening news conferences, UNM will have a winning record before Davie’s contract expires.

One of the many great spectacles in college football is a packed LSU Tiger Stadium with the crowd chanting “TIGERBAIT” as the opposing team enters.

In another arena, sports icon Tiger Woods is making a spectacle over his lack of response to an early morning car accident into his neighbor’s tree.

While he did issue a brief statement on his website, which raised more questions than it answered, he has yet to speak to law enforcement about the accident.

It raises the question: How much information is enough to satisfy the letter of the law while placating the arena of public perception?

From the legal perspective, Tiger’s attorney provided “license, registration and proof of insurance” to officers; the bare minimum.

In the arena of public perception, it isn’t as cut and dry.

Tiger has been successful because of his athletic abilities.  Leveraging his consistency and discipline, marketers have helped elevate Tiger Woods into a sports icon who has earned the public’s trust through product endorsements.

 In all of those endorsements you’d be hard pressed to find images or references to his wife and family.  That’s because he is fiercely private about his personal life.

If he had wrapped a golf cart around a tree at a golf course, I have a feeling we would have seen Tiger owning up to the circumstances and the public curiosity would have moved on.  However, since this occurred off the course, it is, in Tiger’s mind, out of bounds.

And here lies the issue.  The public is clamoring for information about Tiger’s private life.  In this era of reality television and a 24/7 news cycle, there are some who think he owes the larger public a more detailed response than what appeared on his web page.

Tiger was wrong waiting 48 hours to make a statement; it should have been issued within 24 hours of the accident.  While it did provide personal responsibility, it raised more questions than it answered.

Despite the hovering helicopters, stalking media, and crowd that is yelling “TIGERBAIT”, this Tiger is consistent about not commenting about his personal life.  That discipline will be his key to moving past this incident.

Image of Tiger Woods provided by the Baltimore Sun

While in route home from my youngest daughter’s soccer game, I looked at the clock and realized that the President’s address to a joint session of congress was underway.  I tuned to the news talk station to listen in.  There were people calling in and complaining about the healthcare plan, no Presidential address.  I scanned the entire AM bandwidth until it was clear the speech was not being carried live on any AM radio station that broadcasts in Albuquerque.

I turned over to my Sirius radio and “bam” there it was on CNBC and a host of other conservative and liberal outlets.
It is funny that a broadcaster gave me a reason to switch to satellite and it had everything to do with lack of meaningful content and nothing to do with commercials!

The teachable moment to my daughter brought to these random observations:

Everybody is talking, nobody is listening.  Instead of listening to the proposals, it was easier for a radio station to let listeners vent about the President’s plan instead of providing the opportunity to have them comment after they hear the President’s remarks.

Politics makes strange bedfellows.  During several election cycles, many broadcast VPs and General Managers have commented to me how the election advertising buys saved their month, quarter or year.  But after the election, a sitting President addresses a joint session of congress and it doesn’t warrant live radio coverage?  Instead, regular programming is the rule and a Presidential address to congress is no longer an exception?

The President loves his face time.  This President has had more “prime time” appearances during his first months in office than the last President had during his tenure.

Here is my dichotomy, on one hand I am bristled that I can’t hear the President of the United States address Congress; on the other hand, I can’t blame broadcasters for not carrying it because of all the airtime he’s sucked up already.

I understand the urgency of this President to get the issue in front of Congress before there is an expected majority change following the 2010 mid-term elections.  I also appreciate the same urgency of the minority to stall discussions as a long as possible, for the same perceived mid-term reasons.

Personally, I hope someone calls “do over” and we can have a process that engages the entire electorate with results that benefits all Americans without all the usual rhetoric.