I want to explore a bit of a “hot topic” right before the long weekend.

Adam Giambrone was once a promising Toronto mayoral candidate, but now has been caught in a career altering predicament. The “indiscretion” of Adam Giambrone is now front page news, and while I’m not going to go into the morals of his situation the fact is that this is just one in a string of other such high profile “indiscretions”. Tiger Woods, David Letterman, John Edwards, Bill Clinton – the names have changed but the predicament was largely the same across the board. I should start by saying that this is not meant to focus solely on men/gender and for the sake of balance I’ll mention Iris Robinson, a member of the Irish parliament and wife of Ireland’s first minister – who was caught having an affair with a 19 year old male. (Her last name being “Robinson” was a coincidence not overlooked by the headlines.)

I’m not really interested in the sensationalism or the “fall of the mighty”, but what I am really interested in are the questions situations like these raise. How far should the personal lives of public figures affect their careers? And more than that, what lessons can all of us take away from those who have been through public backlash and scrutiny?

The one line from the media release that I couldn’t get out of my head after Tiger Woods’ own dirty laundry was aired publicly was; “personal sins should not require press releases and problems within a family shouldn’t have to mean public confessions”.  This struck me as a very powerful and loaded statement.

In certain situations I can see where decisions that reflect the moral character of a person should come to bear on the public’s “right to know”. But should this or any similar situation negate all of the work and reputation of a person? It’s not an easy question.

The reality is that all of us need to be aware that we are our own “brand”. Tiger Woods was a brand for being the PGA’s squeaky-clean golden boy. While his affairs do not affect his sports performance, they do affect his “marketability”. But then do politicians – elected to represent the interests of voters, fail the same credibility test?

For me the one thing that matters in all of this is accountability. When mistakes are made, I think the best decision public figures can make is to accept responsibility with tact, sensitivity and humility. Because when the truth does come out, as it always does, I am much more apt to feel sympathy and respect for a humble figure.

What do you think? Do the personal lives of public figures deserve to impact their careers? What is the best way you feel they should handle any resulting scrutiny?

One evening, TTC rider Jason Wieler uses his iPhone to snap a picture of a TTC booth collector catching a few winks. A few weeks later he remembers taking the photo and posts it to his Twitter account with the caption “Yup, love how my TTC dollars R being spent…”

What happened next is a classic example of how technology and social media are completely changing the face of communication. The photo was re-tweeted and became a top news story in a matter of hours, following on the heels of bad press resulting from the recent transit fare increase. TTC officials were being asked to comment on a photo they may not have even seen yet, and Toronto media were trying to determine the identity of the worker who was photographed. Today, the story has come full circle and the man who was made unintentionally famous by all of this, George Robitaille, has released a public apology.

Thinking about this situation, I was reminded of the very first lesson I had in how an image can alter public perception from a University communications lecture – The televised presidential debate between John Kennedy and Richard Nixon. In a nutshell – those who listened on the radio thought Nixon had won the debate while those who watched the televised events thought that Kennedy came out on top. While listeners thought that Nixon’s arguments were stronger, Kennedy’s appearance, composure and charisma worked in his favor with TV audiences. The content seemed to play less of a role on public opinion than the image.

In a similar way whether it was due to “an underlying medical issue and side effects of medication” as TTC officials and Mr. Robitaille have released, or a case of an employee simply caught sleeping on the job, the photo of the TTC collector reclined and asleep in his booth is what most people will remember.

A picture is an incredibly powerful form of communication, and even after it has been explained or contextualized it is one of the first things we think of. It can impact or reinforce opinions, and change the way we look at individuals, companies or entire organizations. For better or worse, we are becoming an increasingly visual society who relies on images for “proof” and to capture our attention.

Watching the situation unfold with this particular TTC operator created so many questions for me regarding privacy, disclosure and how social media is impacting our actions, interactions and reactions.

How do you feel about the role social media and technology plays in the creation and sharing of information/news?

In a slight shift from my posts where I have been talking about starting my career in PR, I wanted in light of recent events to talk a bit about Public Relations as an industry. Specifically, headlines such as Sunday’s Toronto Star; “Spinning in the First Week of Michael Bryant’s New Life” and today’s Globe and Mail article; “Michael Bryant’s political strategy: PR 2.0”.

Both articles discuss PR in relation to Michael Bryant’s case, and from my reading of it and as someone working in PR I was a bit put off.  To pull a few quotes from the Star article; “It helps to have friends in PR”, “Look, the headline of this story should be: ‘Navigator, changing your perceptions without you even knowing it” and “He refers, of course, to Navigator Limited, the smooth public relations firm hired by Bryant (when exactly is unclear) to massage the message”. The article then continues to a full page analysis of the inner working of the messaging surrounding this tragic incident. The Globe article takes a look at Navigator’s use of social media (Twitter, Blog and Facebook) in relation to their client.

Personally, I resent the fact that PR is often tied to “spin”, deception and manipulation. I do not feel that reflects the work that I do, or the many other professionals who are passionate about communication and social media. However I did find it very interesting that the article pulls into the spotlight a PR firm, whereas usually the agency stays in the background.

I want to make it very clear that I am not choosing sides and making statements about Michael Bryant’s guilt or innocence.  I feel this is a very tragic situation for both sides. Lives have been changed forever. But facing these serious charges and the media onslaught, I can sympathize with Michael Bryant for enlisting the services of Navigator just as I respect the work they are doing on behalf of someone who will be forever affected by this moment in time. PR does not change “the facts”.  A strong team of media savvy professionals helping in the face of any crisis can provide advice, support and direction.

What do you think of the role PR plays in image management issues when a crime or tragedy has occurred?

Welcome to the first instalment of Thursday’s From the Front Desk.

Please note! Due to the unpredictable nature of the PR world From the Front desk may occasionally be posted on a Friday, after-hours, from my father’s computer. Like today, for instance.

From the Front Desk is Samantha Lovelace’s spin on the PR world from a entry-level perspective.

As an entry-level PR-erson and, indeed, office worker, Samantha sits at the front desk of TFC.

During an average day she doesn’t just answer phones and fix printers; Samantha’s front desk experiences are just short of a full degree’s worth of education in PR, computers and people. This, along with general office antics keep her, and she hopes will keep you, entertained all workday long (and sometimes longer).

Now that being said, and with out further ado, Here’s Sammy!

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Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls – Welcome to the first ever post From the Front Desk!

I thought I’d take this opportunity to introduce myself:
My name is Samantha Lovelace and I work at the front desk at Thornley Fallis Communications.

I was lucky to have been introduced to the job, Alex Milroy, Sandra Cruickshanks and Michael O’Connor Clarke by my most fabulous friend, Ms. Lauren Saliba.

Lauren was “the front desk” at TFC in Ottawa and knew they were looking for “Lauren” in Toronto. After great consideration, she declined the offer to transfer herself and passed on the opportunity to me; a quickly tiring, server/bartender/manager of 8 odd years.

Lauren and I have been faithful friends for close to 14 years. We met, one fine evening, in the yard behind Muchmore public school in Ottawa’s “the Glebe”. I believe it was a Friday.

With a fresh squeezed BBA and a desire for something new I was eager to take on the new challenge and marched in to the Ottawa office for my first “career” interview.

I got the job!

With in the month I left the famed Royal Oak in the Glebe of Ottawa, trained a couple of days in Ottawa and packed up my things, my loving partner-in-crime and our cat. Off to Toronto we went.

It was three days before I experienced my first printer malfunction, learned how to do a mail merge, met my first client and worked past five in a 9-5 job. Lets just say I didn’t find my admin skills they were violently thrust upon me with the fury of one incredibly angry volcano.

I like to think, though I’ve hit many a nasty pot hole along the way, I’ve fared relatively well. Not only have I learned how to take care of normally adminy duties, but I took on some new roles too. Media monitoring, event support, ideation, podcast production and some fundamental accounting tasks are just a few of my weekly activities.

And now I can ad one more notch to my PR agency belt:
Almost a year later, well versed in computer malfunction, telephone manner, morning scans, excel spreadsheets, and with a couple of events under my belt, I am writing my first official post on PR Girlz. I can say, as I sit faithfully at the front desk of Thornley Fallis Communications, I finally feel like I am an official PR Grrril.

Thanks for stopping by. I look forward to sharing some front desk antics with you next week.

Until then, take care.

Samantha Lovelace