Taking Your Lumps in the Press

There's a natural bubble around public figures and celebrities, and this is something that every public relations pro has to think about, and work around.

When you're a public figure -- politician or professional baseball player, actor or author -- it's easy to settle into that comfortable bubble.

It might get too comfortable.

Whether intentionally or not, that bubble can degenerate. Public figures can get surrounded by yes-men and sycophants, with staff and an entourage smoothing out every bump and making problems go away.

If there's a bad story, there's a temptation to say, "Handle it."

And yes, a big part of public relations is handling bad news.

There are pitfalls with that comfy bubble.

Public figures who get into trouble in the press and public -- serious trouble -- aren't doing it for the first time.

Lindsey Lohan didn't show up in court once for that single lapse in judgment. She keeps coming back to court, again and again. Recently resigned U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner didn't send one stupid photo of himself to one woman on Twitter just one time. He had a habit of taking dumb photos of himself and sending them to women around the country.

Charlie Sheen. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Pete Rose. Richard Nixon. There's a long list of public figures involved in scandals that point to habitual behavior.

Secrecy, addiction, adultery, cover-ups -- they're not doing these things for the first time, and you better believe that comfortable bubble had something to do with it.

Weiner asked one of his online women if she wanted to talk to his press people, because they could help coach her. That's the bubble talking.

If you don't pay any price for mistakes, there's no incentive to stop making the same mistake.

The biggest problem with public figures and scandals isn't screwing up one time. It's the pattern.

Public figures and celebrities get perks. Not just being well-known, well-paid, or in positions of power.

The flip side of those perks is extra scrutiny by the press and public. And higher expectations.

People want their leaders and heroes to be bigger than life.

It's a bad idea to let clients or organizations believe any problem in the press can be fixed. It can't.

Some bad stories should sting. That bubble shouldn't be completely pain-free.

The campaign press advisors to Dan Quayle realized this. After he was selected to be the vice presidential running mate for George Bush, the campaign media folks had a little trouble with prepping the candidate. The story goes that he wasn't taking advice too well. So they didn't try to smooth out every bump. They backed away, let him do his thing and he tripped up a bit in his first foray. That turned out to be smart. After that, he listened to them.

Of course, you don't want to do nothing, to let a client suffer horrible stories in the press. The expectations, though, need to be realistic.

Every bad story can't be fixed. Negative letters to the editor don't always need to be responded too -- that may only prolong the pain. And when a public figure screws up, especially the first time, it should sting a little. The comfortable bubble shouldn't insulate a person from all of the outside world.