Starbucks Requests Starbarks Name, Logo, and URL Change

Starbucks sent a cease and desist letter to Starbarks doggie daycare for having a name, logo, and web domain too similar to the coffee company's. A Starbucks representative defended the action: "...we have a legal obligation to protect our intellectual property . . . in order to retain our exclusive rights to it."

Andrea McCarthy-Grzybek, the owner of Starbarks,  said,  "I love the name. Everyone loves it. It's clever. It's not like we sell coffee or anything they do." With the URL, www.starbarksdog.com, the Algonquin, IL, small business offered to change the sign color to yellow and to use a graphic of paws instead of the stars, but Starbucks didn't bite (sorry).

Another company, with the domain starbarksaz.com, had a similar fate. Management explained the situation on its website: 

"Due to a conflict with a very famous coffee company our previous name (which we cannot mention) had to be changed to Canine Village only.  We are the same kennel and Canine Village was always a 'part' of our name.  This website will be shut down shortly  so please go to www.caninevillage.com and see all our wonderful reviews and many pages of information.  You can also email us with specific questions to caninevillage@cox.net.  Thank you for your understanding of this inconvenience."

As expected, public opinion is mixed, with some people blaming Starbucks for bullying and others saying the small business should have known better.

Image source 1.

Image source 2.

Discussion Starters and Assignment Idea:

• What's your view of the situation? Is Starbucks a bully, or should the small business owner have chosen another name? 
• Write a draft comment for the owner's Facebook page supporting one side of the argument.

Chase Misses on Philanthropy Program

AdAge ran an article lambasting the Chase Community Giving Program, a Facebook-based, philanthropic campaign.

The program certainly has had some success. If one measure of engagement is the number of Facebook "likes," then the page is a sure winner, with 3.8 million. Also, in 2012 alone (the program has run since 2009), 196 charities received $5 million in prizes, based on online votes.

But the article criticizes Chase's voting process:

"The same charges of voting fraud that have plagued the contest since it started also resurfaced this year, and Chase has been accused of conducting a secret vote count that allows it to block winners whose mission is not consistent with the bank's public image.   Even some of the winners were disgruntled, wondering whether the effort they had to make with their limited resources had actually left them worse off in the end."

Also, apparently a clerical error promised $10,000 in prizes to 15 charities that didn't win enough votes. Chase made good on the commitment but soured the program's credibility.

Chase's apology, shown here, received more than 6,500 "likes," but it may not be enough to offset comments such as this from a representative of a pet sanctuary:

"This mistake of theirs caused damage to each organization's ability to raise funds, since our supporters think we won 10K, and it damages the integrity of the organizations as well; people will think we did something wrong to cause us to lose the $10K."

B.L. Ochman, the author of the AdAge article offers this advice for companies running online contests: 

• [Understand that] Facebook is not a secure site for nominations or voting. 
• Acknowledge screw-ups openly.  ions stand to gain from engaging in productive conversations with both positive and negative responders.
• Don't be in such a hurry to announce winners. 
• Show us where the money goes. 
• Take viable steps to prevent cheating next year.

Discussion Starters:

• What else could Chase do now to redeem the program's credibility?
• Looking at the Facebook page, what suggestions do you have for Chase to improve its communications with online voters?

In Email to Employees, CEO Threatens Layoffs if Obama Wins

CEO David Siegel of Westgate Resorts wrote an email to his employees warning of dire circumstances if President Obama is re-elected. Excerpts follow, and you can read the entire email here.

The email is reminiscent of a chain letter from 2008 from an alleged small business owner. Siegel confirmed with Gawker that his letter is real and was sent to his employees, but he acknowledged using the original as a "guideline" and said, "It speaks the truth, and it gives [employees] something to think about when they go to the polls."

Siegel and his wife were the subject of a documentary, "The Queen of Versailles," about their plans to build the largest home in America-a $100-million-dollar, 28-bedroom, 90,000-square-foot mansion.

Discussion Starters:

• What are the potential consequences of a CEO's sending such an email to employees?
• Do you agree with Siegel's arguments? Why or why not?
• Does knowing about Siegel's extravagant home change your opinion of him or his concerns about his business?

#FirstWorldProblems Become a Clean Water PSA

The Haitian charity "Water Is Life" has co-opted ironic #FirstWorldProblems tweets into a public service announcement for clean water. In the video, Haitians read the tweets, which are shown as captions. On the charity's website, Water Is Life, one of the photo captions reads, "Donate to help solve real problems."

The campaign is the work of ad agency DDB New York, which has been both applauded and criticized for the messaging. Business Insider posted an article, "Poor Haitians Reading #FirstWorldProblems Tweets Might Be The Best Ad Of The Year," calling the effect "both funny and moving."

Critics of the campaign accused DDB of misunderstanding the irony of the tweets: #FirstWorldProblems aren't problems at all-that's the point. But Matt Eastwood, who led the campaign, told Business Insider, "We totally understand the irony of it. People are doing it as a joke. It leads to a desensitization around the issue." He also said, "We knew we were going to upset a few people. People in Haiti don't have the luxuries these guys do."

In a press release, the agency described its mission:

 "DDB New York announced today that it is attempting to eliminate the #FirstWorldProblems hashtag on Twitter – the first mission to wipe out, instead of promote, a trending hashtag. #FirstWorldProblems showcases concerns that seem important to those living in wealthy, industrialized countries, yet are, in fact, trivial compared to the issues faced by those struggling to survive in many parts of the world. Though meant in jest, these tweets about "problems"-such as having to get up to change the TV channel or a phone charger that won't reach the bed - also reveal a lack of sensitivity or awareness about serious social and health concerns and the ways that social media users can help alleviate real problems."

AdWeek sums up the issue well: "Harnessing a spoof hashtag in PSAs to drum up press coverage, popular support, and donations-how first world can you get?"

  

Discussion Starters:

• What's your opinion of the video: funny, moving, insensitive, or something else?
• Do you think the ad will be effective is encouraging people to donate to Water Is Life?

"Worldulike": EU's Spin on Climate Change

"A world you like. With a climate you like." This is the European Union's attempt to rebrand climate change, hoping people will choose a "Worldulike."

The website presents case studies of organizations that have taken saved energy expenses and, in some cases, redirected funds to better use, such as education.

In a press release, Connie Hedegaard, European Commissioner for Climate Action, explains the new approach:

"We have a choice: We can ACT on our knowledge about climate change. Or we can sit idly by and watch as things get worse. Both options come with a price tag. So why not create a world we like, with a climate we like, while we still have time? With this campaign we want to focus the debate on the solutions and find out what is holding us back from applying them."

The name is already getting some ribbing from, for example, Roger Harrabin of BBC:  "The campaign title ‘Worldulike' will doubtless raise eyebrows. The name is uncomfortably reminiscent of the British baked potato restaurant chain Spudulike."

Discussion Starters:

• Do you think the EU's campaign will be successful in getting people to make better decisions about energy use-and in meeting the EU's goal of reducing greenhouse gases by by 80 to 95 percent by 2050? Why or why not?
• Choose one of the case studies on the website. What makes the example effective, and how could it be improved?

Burger King Loses in Drive-Thru Experience

QSR Magazine just published the latest data comparing quick-service restaurants' drive-thru experience-and Burger King came in last overall. For the 2012 Drive-Thru Performance Study, seven restaurants were rated on these criteria:

• Average Service Time
• Order Accuracy with OCB
• Order Accuracy without OCB
• Impact of Pre-Sell Menu
  on Timing
• Favorable Exterior
• Visibility of Dumpsters
• Cleanliness of Menuboard
• Condition of Landscaping
• Customer Service
• Service Attributes
• Order Confirmation Board
  In Place
• Speaker Clarity

The drive-thrus didn't fare too well on the customer service dimension. Brian Baker, president of Insula Research, the firm that led the study, said, "Even with pleasant demeanor, I'm thinking, why would that not be 100 percent? OK, so maybe 98 percent because everybody has a bad day, but it just seems like a no brainer to me. I'm still scratching my head on that."

Rather than 100%, ratings for "very friendly" ranged from 27% ro 57%, with Burger King receiving the most "rude" ratings: 2.8%

Denny Lynch, Wendy's senior vice president of communications, blamed service failures on limitations in hiring: 

"Part of it is to make certain we are hiring the right people. Wouldn't it be nice if [the drive-thru crewmember] had a great personality? Wouldn't it be nice if they could smile at you? Wouldn't it be nice if they could say, ‘Thank you, come back again'? So you hire people that have that personality and the skill level to be able to do that. … You can't just assume that they can handle every situation until they've done thorough training."

The study reported good news about drive-thru cleaniness. Brands generally did well in measures such as whether the dumpsters were visible and how clean the menu board appeared.

Discussion Starters and Assignment Idea:

• What can QSRs do to improve their customer service at the drive-thru windows? Consider the restaurants' hiring practices, training, performance standards, and management.  
• Create a visual chart from the customer service data above. If you wanted to convince Burger King management to focus on improving the drive-thru experience for customers, which data would you include? What type of chart would you use? Assume that your chart appeared on a PowerPoint slide, and include a talking headline to convey your main point. 

Strikes at Foxconn

Once again, Foxconn is in the news for labor issues. Although the company denies allegations, reports show workers on strike because of poor working conditions and unrealistic expectations for production. The maker of the iPhone 5 and other Apple products acknowledged two small disputes but no organized strike or stoppage. 

Last week, videos showed workers rioting. This Reuters report calls the situation "the dark side of tech assembly plants in China."

According to China Labor Watch, a watch group based in New York, between 3,000 and 4,000 workers have gone on strike. The group explains the conflict in a press release:

"In addition to demanding that workers work during the holiday, Foxconn raised overly strict demands on product quality without providing worker training for the corresponding skills. This led to workers turning out products that did not meet standards and ultimately put a tremendous amount of pressure on workers. Additionally, quality control inspectors fell into to conflicts with workers and were beat up multiple times by workers. Factory management turned a deaf ear to complaints about these conflicts and took no corrective measures. The result of both of these circumstances was a widespread work stoppage on the factory floor among workers and inspectors."

 Discussion Starters:

• So far, Apple has not issued a response to the latest news at Foxconn. Should the company respond, and if so, how?
• What is Apple's responsibility in this situation with its major supplier? What should the company do?

KitchenAid's Errant Tweet

One of KitchenAid's tweeters confused accounts. During the Presidential debate Tuesday night between President Obama and Mitt Romney, someone tweeted from KitchenAid's handle:

"Obamas gma even knew it was going 2 b bad!
'She died 3 days b4 he became president.'"

Although the company deleted the tweet, the damage was done. Criticsm was quick and rampant on Twitter. 

Cynthia Soledad, a senior director at KitchenAid issued this response:

"During the debate last night, a member of our Twitter team mistakenly posted an offensive tweet from the KitchenAid handle instead of a personal handle. This tasteless joke in no way represents our values at KitchenAid. This person will no longer be tweeting for us and appropriate actions are being taken.  That said, I lead the KitchenAid brand, and I take responsibility for the whole team. I am deeply sorry to President Obama, his family, and our consumers for this careless error."

Soledad posted a similar comment on the company's Facebook page: 

Someone managing the KitchenAid handle also tweeted this apology:

Discussion Starters:

• What could KitchenAid have done to prevent this situation?
• How do you assess KitchenAid's apologies? What aspects of the company's response are effective, and what could be improved?

Viewer Regrets Comments About TV Anchor's Weight

A local news station viewer in Wisconsin says he "never meant to hurt" the TV anchor whom he accused of being a poor role model for young people because she's obese. Jennifer Livingston's husband posted the email on his Facebook page and wrote that it "infuriated" him.

In a four-minute, on-air response, Livingston called the comments "hurtful" and says that "attacks like this are not okay." She also took the opportunity to reinforce National Anti-Bullying Month.

Krause felt some remorse for his comments. He told ABC News, "It's possible I would revise a few things. I never meant to hurt Jennifer. If she is truly hurt, I do apologize for that." But Krause denied the label of "bully": "I'm in no position to bully her. She's a big media personality. I'm just a working stiff."

Discussion Starters:

• How effective was Livingston's response in explaining her position? Do you empathize with her more after watching the video?
• Krause argues that bullying has something to do with power or position. What is his argument, and do you agree with him?

American Airlines Responds to Loose Seats

After reports of seats coming loose during flights, American Airlines is investigating the situation and inspecting 47 planes. American admits that six planes each had a row of seats that weren't properly clamped down. Some became dislodged while in flight.

American spokeswoman Andrea Huguely issued a statement including these excerpts:

"Originally, American planned to evaluate the seats on eight Boeing 757 airplanes, but out of an abundance of caution, the decision was made to proactively evaluate a total of 47 Boeing 757 airplanes that have the same model Main Cabin seats with a common locking mechanism."
 
"American's internal investigation has focused on one of three types of Main Cabin seats on the 757s and how the rows of these three seats fit into the track that is used to secure the rows to the floor of the airplanes. Our maintenance and engineering teams have discovered that the root cause is a saddle clamp improperly installed on the foot of the row leg."

"Safety is -- and always will be -- American's top concern."

The seats are the latest in a series of issues plaguing the airline. Now under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, American has been grappling with labor relations issues that airline management blames for recent flight delays and cancellations.

According to a Washington Post article, the airline spokeswoman Andrea Huguely said that airline employees last touched the seats, but a labor union representative took issue with the accusation: "Our workers were the last to touch the seats only in the sense that after the seats came loose, we were dispatched [to fix them." Because seat installation is handled by a third-party, the labor union denies responsibility and blames management for the outsourcing decision. Indeed, Timco Aviation Services installed the seats. 

Regardless of where the responsibility lies, this is more bad publicity for American Airlines.

Discussion Starters:

• How can American Airlines manage this latest bout of bad news?
• How do you assess the airline's response?
• If you were the president of Timco Aviation Services, what would you do now?

Disgruntled Employee's Resignation Email Makes the Rounds

An employee at UK-based media agency MEC left the company with some harsh words. Kieran Allen, a senior account manager, wrote a bitter resignation email addressed to "All Staff" in the London office. Someone leaked the email, and it went viral. 

A spokesperson for MEC issued this poorly written response:

"We are sad that one of our employees has chosen to share their personal views in such a public way and has left the company with such bad feeling. 

"We are taking this issue seriously though given the highly personal nature of the email, we cannot comment further."

The interviewee named in the email denies the accusation of having sexual relations with her future boss: "I didn't sleep with him. I kissed him. I had been to the pub with Greg for an informal interview for a job. It was a kiss in the foyer whilst waiting for taxis. We were both single at the time."

Here's the email with names redacted:

From: Kieran Allen
Sent: 25 September 2012 08:11
To: MEC London UK All Staff
Subject: Leaving

Hello MEC,

It feels quite strange to be writing my leaving speech after 2 1/2 yrs. of loyal service to the company. It's the longest I have spent at a company and I owe MEC a lot for my training and development. I leave in a position where I can go and further my career in digital if I so wish and for that I pay MEC great tribute.

However I leave with a horrible taste in my mouth after my working life for the past 8months has been ruined by <redacted>.

Background:
Joined MEC in May 2010. Soon after I started to receive continuous praise from Kevin Kirby Account Director and <redacted> for my outstanding performance across accounts (mainly Specsavers) Inc. a commendation from <redacted> to Jason Dormieux about my ability and contribution. I also received high praise from Amy Creasey and Louise Temperley (re general Specsavers performance and securing a PPC turnaround for Colgate inc a 100%+ YoY spend increase).

October 2011
I decide to hand in my notice and join another agency in order to further my development. <Redacted> while initially cold to my departure rapidly changed tone and started to court me in order to stay.

January 2012
I retract my notice after <redacted> promotes me to Senior AM and gives me a substantial pay-rise along with the promise of rapid development.

However while all seemed well on the surface things were far from ideal in the background.

Oct-Feb 2011/12
My client load had been nearly trebled from 6 to 16 clients due to the departures of Aoife Bergin and Jacob Knox-Hooke (Brand team).
I was initially asked to help out in order to help service the clients while staff were recruited but I ended up being made the de-facto brand team manager along with my original client list.
The stress and strain took its toll and during late January – early February 2012 my health started to deteriorate rapidly.
I ended up breaking down to <redacted> that I couldn't take it anymore and that I was losing my mind under the pressure. Nothing changed although he knew I was beyond stacked.

Feb 21st I had to go to the doctors due to an imminent breakdown where I was ordered to stay off work indefinitely. I was signed off with Work Related Stress. I ended up needing over 2weeks off in order to recover.

On my return things went from bad to worse. <Redacted> instead of welcoming me back and looking to make things right, instead attacked me and made me feel an outsider. I was made to feel that I had actually done wrong.

Soon after my return in early March <redacted>

- blocked my 2011 bonus due to
1)"poor performance in 2011″
2) "being given a pay rise and promotion in Jan 2012″
3) "things not working out as recently planned"
4) "being monitored after coming back from illness"

- Gave me an official company verbal warning for poor performance in 2011

- Put me on a performance review

All of this though after
- Praising me regularly throughout 2010/11
- Courting me to stay when i decided to leave
- Promoting me to Senior Account Manager
- Giving me a 15% payrise
- Describing my performance as "outstanding" as late as December 2011 when there was a lot of issues due to staff departures
and my ability to step in and manage the brand teams PPC activity…

The only thing that changed during Feb/March 2012 is that I had to take 2 weeks off work due to work related stress and that <redacted> was questioned as Head of Department as to why this had happened under his watch and instead of taking responsibility he instead decided to attack me and my reputation in order to discredit my time off and make himself look less liable for blame.

This type of approach would seem extreme from a decent man but this is <redacted>  who openly in front of other team members

- Made jokes about the "Spastic Olympics" (referring to Para-Olympics)
- Openly claimed to be proud "not to have a drop of Jewish blood in him"
- Regularly made sexist and other bigoted remarks
- Took a female colleague out for a drink on the day he interviewed her, then later took her back to the MEC offices that night and had
sexual relations with her in the meeting rooms on the 3rd floor

The above is all common knowledge throughout the team. This is <redacted>'s style of leadership and is gross misconduct on many levels. It is hard to fathom that such a man is responsible for the work wellbeing of over 30staff.

I am writing this message in order to expose these failings and protect others in future. I am far from perfect personally or professionally but I am a good human being who treats people with respect. In 2012 this behaviour is not acceptable and certainly not in a company which touts itself as being all about its people.
Not one thing on this email has been exaggerated or made up. This is my truth to you all.

No doubt I fully expect the above to be ripped apart but as long as the truth is out there then that's all I can do.

Good luck to MEC and all those good people who strive to make her great.
Kieran

Kieran Allen
MEC
Senior Account Manager
Interaction

Discussion Starters:

• What's your impression of Allen's letter? Do you sympathize with him, or could there be another side to this story? 
• Does a bad work experience ever justify an email sent to all employees of a company, with the potential to go viral?
• Rewrite MEC's response to be more substantive and grammatically correct.

Apple Apologizes for Maps App

To address a barrage of criticism about the maps application installed with the new iPhone 5, Apple CEO Tim Cook has written a letter of apology.

The Financial Times reported that the weak maps app soured the iPhone 5 launch. Complaints were about misnamed areas, missing information, and poor search capabilities. Jokes and parodies plagued the company for a week. In one video, the narrator says, "Many people say that our new maps are inaccurate, and that's not true. It's just that with Apple's new Q6 Quantum Processor, they may occasionally show features from other, parallel universes."

Last week, Apple responded to the criticism:

"We launched this new map service knowing that it is a major initiative and we are just getting started with it," Apple's Trudy Muller said in a statement. "We are continuously improving it, and as Maps is a cloud-based solution, the more people use it, the better it will get."

Today, Apple CEO Tim Cook issued a formal letter to customers. 

Although Cook takes responsibility in the letter ("...we fell short"), he seems to place responsibility on users for improving the app. Also, inviting customers to visit other maps programs seems a sad admission for the company to make.

Discussion Starters:

• What's your reaction to Cook's letter? What are the most and least effective parts?
• Google CEO Eric Schmidt said that Apple should have used Google Maps for the new operating system. If you represented Apple, how would you respond?

RIM Struggles to Gain Enthusiasm for BlackBerry 10

With decreasing market share, Research in Motion (RIM) is plugging its latest BlackBerry. Through a spoof music video, a CEO video, and other communications, the company is declaring a comeback of the souring brand.

The music video, targeted to developers, didn't go over too well. With the article subtitle, "Not even dad rock can save RIM," a writer for BuzzFeed said, "I mean.... Someone, probably a millionaire with a VP title, had to sign off on this."

 Feedback on Twitter wasn't too positive either:

CEO Thorsten Heins spoke as the BlackBerry Jam Americas Keynote. Do you find the first nine seconds "exhilarating"?

One blogger wrote a disappointing review for BlackBerry 10, summarized in this way:

"The general theme of Heins' keynote was that the company is trying hard to come back from the brink. In fact, at several points, Heins talked about fighting back. And while it's good to see that BlackBerry 10 has seen some significant advances in the past four months, the fact that we still haven't seen any final pieces of hardware beyond the Dev Alpha Developer Kit, is somewhat disheartening."

Nasty Email Exchange Between Clinton Aide and Reporter

An email exchange between Hillary Clinton's aide and a reporter quickly turned nasty. Philippe Reines, Clinton's aide and spokesperson, had accused CNN of mishandling the diary of Ambassador Christopher Stevens in Benghazi, Libya. The diary seemed to reveal discrepancies between the Ambassador's security concerns and The State Department's message.

On BuzzFeed, emails between Reines and the reporter, Michael Hastings, were published in full. I've omitted the expletives here. This is yet another example of why people shouldn't send angry emails: the result doesn't reflect well on either party.

From: Michael Hastings

Sent: Sunday, September 23, 2012 10:32 AM

To: Reines, Philippe I 

Subject: Request for comment



Hey Philippe:

A few quick questions for you. Why didn't the State Department search the consulate and find AMB Steven's diary first? What other potential valuable intelligence was left behind that could have been picked up by apparently anyone searching the grounds? Was any classified or top secret material also left? Do you still feel that there was adequate security at the compound, considering it was not only overrun but sensitive personal effects and possibly other intelligence remained out for anyone passing through to pick up? Your statement on CNN sounded pretty defensive--do you think it's the media's responsibility to help secure State Department assets overseas after they've been attacked?

Let me know if you have a second.Michael

______________________________________
On Sun, Sep 23, 2012 at 11:28 AM, Reines, Philippe I wrote:


Good morning Michael

I'm adding my colleague Toria Nuland who I believe you know. She has addressed much of your questions below during her daily press briefings, so I'll let her weigh in to remind you of what's already been thoroughly answered. As far as the tone of my email, I think you're misreading mine as much as I'm misreading yours as being needlessly antagonistic.

But on your questions pertaining to CNN's handling of the diary:

• You know that all USG personnel were evacuated from Benghazi after the attack. So I'm not sure why you're asking why State didn't find the diary first.

• On material, I'll let Toria reiterate, but the answer is no. Though you might want to ask CNN if they took anything else from the crime scene that they haven't yet told anyone about.

• In terms of the media's responsibility, I'll start with the outlandish statement that I believe the media does have responsibilities. Your question seems to imply they have none and any expectation of responsible behavior is too much to ask. To be specific:I believe CNN had the responsibility to act as human beings and be sensitive to their loss when they first approached the family.

I believe CNN had a responsibility to not make promises to the family it would not keep.

If that's too much to ask, I believe CNN had at the very least a responsibility to make their intentions on the use of Chris's diary clear to the family from the outset.

I believe CNN had a responsibility to not deceive its own viewers for more than 48 hours on the source of their reporting, using convoluted attribution they themselves had to clarify, before admitting it was the diary they were relying on.

I believe that when they finally did admit to using Chris's diary, they had a responsibility to their viewers and to the family to explain why they broke their pledge.

I believe that many within CNN agree with everything I'm saying.

More than anything else, I believe that CNN - since they had already read every word of the diary before calling the family on Friday the 14th, the day Chris's remains were returned home - had all the information they needed at that point to make an editorial decision on whether the contents of the diary compelled them to report on it. I believe the time to invoke their standards to justify using the diary came six days late. I believe that CNN, if they felt strongly that they had an obligation to use the diary should never have presented the family with a choice in the first place that they'd later disregard.

I don't believe that CNN should get credit for issuing a flimsy confession only when caught with their hands in the cookie jar. I believe the statement CNN issued late last night, 24 hours after Anderson Cooper's ill-conceived statement on air, basically says they agreed not to use it until they didn't feel like it anymore, and only admitted to it when they were about to be caught. I don't believe that's much of a profile in courage.

Lastly, I believe that you of all people, after famously being accused of violating agreed upon ground rules and questionable sourcing, would agree that it's important for a news organization to maintain its own integrity if it is to be trusted. That begins with keeping its word. If you can't manage that, then don't give it.


I realize that the way this works is that you only you get to ask me questions, but I have one for you: if you were in Benghazi, went to the scene of the attack, found the ambassador's diary, read every word of it, would you have called them and asked their permission to use it, then when you weren't granted that permission agree that you wouldn't use it in any way, and then a few days later just change your mind?

If the answer is yes, then you obviously agree that CNN handled this perfectly fine.

If the answer is no, if you would have decided its contents demanded reporting immediately, how would you have handled this differently then CNN?

And you should feel free to use every word above, in its entirety. Though I suspect you won't.

Philippe

______________________________________
From: Michael Hastings
Sent: Sunday, September 23, 2012 12:04 PM

To: Reines, Philippe I 
Cc: Nuland, Victoria J

Subject: Re: Request for comment

Philippe:

Thanks for getting back to me. No, you read my email correctly--I found your statement to CNN offensive.

From my perspective, the scandal here is that the State Department had such inadequate security procedures in place that four Americans were killed. And then the Ambassador's diary--and who knows what else--was left behind for anyone to pick up. Thankfully, it was CNN--and not Al Qaeda or some other militia--that found it and was able to return it to the family. That CNN used portions of the material in the diary they found at the scene--material that appears to contradict the official version of events that State/WH has been putting out--is completely in line with practices of good journalism.

I don't know how involved Arwa Damon has been in this. But for what it's worth, Arwa is one of the best war correspondents working today. She's consistently risked her life to get these stories, and to find out what actually happens in these conflict zones.I do agree that the media has lots of responsibilities, and CNN fulfilled its responsibility by returning the diary while still managing to inform the American public of newsworthy information. So it's unfortunate that you are trying to make a scapegoat out of CNN. That State was forced to flee Benghazi--again, because of such inadequate security, leaving behind all sorts of sensitive information--tells us more about DoS than CNN.

The misinformation here seems largely to be coming from State and the administration. The defense that the administration has offered that there was no intelligence warning of an attack is weak. If there was no intel, then clearly the CIA and other intel agents stationed in Benghazi weren't doing their jobs well. If there was intel, then we have some kind of cover-up--whether out of incompetence or ass covering before the election or just the trauma of losing four good men, it's hard for me to say at this point.


All the best,


Michael

______________________________________
On Sun, Sep 23, 2012 at 12:45 PM, Reines, Philippe I wrote:


Why do you bother to ask questions you've already decided you know the answers to?

______________________________________
From: Michael Hastings
Sent: Sunday, September 23, 2012 12:50 PM

To: Reines, Philippe I 
Cc: Nuland, Victoria J

Subject: Re: Request for comment 



Why don't you give answers that aren't bull**** for a change?

______________________________________
On Sun, Sep 23, 2012 at 1:38 PM, Reines, Philippe I wrote:

I now understand why the official investigation by the Department of the Defense as reported by The Army Times The Washington Post concluded beyond a doubt that you're an unmitigated a******.

How's that for a non-bull**** response?

Now that we've gotten that out of our systems, have a good day.

And by good day, I mean F*** Off

______________________________________
From: Michael Hastings
Sent: Sunday, September 23, 2012 01:40 PM

To: Reines, Philippe I 
Cc: Nuland, Victoria J

Subject: Re: Request for comment

Hah--I now understand what women say about you, too! Any new complaints against you lately?

______________________________________
On Sun, Sep 23, 2012 at 1:48 PM, Reines, Philippe I wrote:


Talk about bull**** - answer me this: Do you only traffic in lies, or are you on the ground floor of creating them?

And since F*** Off wasn't clear enough, I'm done with you. Inside of 5 minutes when I can log into my desktop, you'll be designated as Junk Mail.

Have a good life Michael.

______________________________________
From: Michael Hastings 

Date: Sun, Sep 23, 2012 at 1:50 PM

Subject: Re: Request for comment

To: "Reines, Philippe I" 
Cc: "Nuland, Victoria J"


I'll take that as a non-denial denial.

All the best,

Michael

Discussion Starters:

• Now that this exchange is public, if you were Philippe Reines, would you make any kind of statement about the situation?
• Have you sent emails that you regret? Looking back on the situation, what could you have done differently?

Today Is the Day We Wait for All Year

It's National Punctuation Day! This one is for grammar geeks only. In honor of this year's celebration, The New Yorker magazine is sponsoring a contest: 

"The rules: Write one paragraph with a maximum of three sentences using the following 13 punctuation marks to explain which should be 'presidential,' and why: apostrophe, brackets, colon, comma, dash, ellipsis, exclamation point, hyphen, parentheses, period, question mark, quotation mark, and semicolon. You may use a punctuation mark more than once, and there is no word limit. Multiple entries are permitted.

"In short, persuade us that your favorite punctuation mark should be the official punctuation mark of the President of the United States."

Submissions are due by September 30, 2012. Read the rules here.

This website features several photos of incorrectly punctuated signs, include a few submitted by me.  Below is one gem, selected by the website owner as "The Dumbest Sign of the Year."

Image source.

Rick Perry's Debate Gaffes Blamed on Lack of Sleep

With the upcoming presidential debates, we're reminded of Rick Perry's trouble during the Republican primary. At his worst, he couldn't remember the third government agency he would eliminate if he became president. (It was the Department of Energy.)

A new book, "Oops," blames Perry's failings on his insomnia for weeks during the campaign. Author Jay Root, who covered the  campaign, says that Perry was finally diagnosed with sleep apnea, for which he was given a machine to help regulate breathing.

In his book, "Sleep for Success!," Dr. James Maas, professor at Cornell University, warns that lack of sleep "significantly affects mood, performance, relationships, health, and even longevity."

Discussion Starters:

• Do you believe that lack of sleep caused Perry's debate problems? Here's an embarrassing sequence of his failings during the campaign.
• Other than getting more sleep, how could Perry have improved his debate performance?

McDonald's Posts Calories: What's the Reaction?

This week, McDonald's will post calories on all menus nationwide. The company is acting ahead of the federal requirement, which is part of the health care bill upheld by the Supreme Court. No definitive direction or timeline has been established, so McDonald's is taking the initiative and possibly leading the way for other large chains.

In an interview with NPR, McDonald's President Jan Fields explains the decision: "We're voluntarily taking a lead in this area because we feel it's important to do this for our customers." However, critics say that this is more of a PR move for the company than a focus on public health. A representative for a food watchdog group, Sara Deon, said of McDonald's food choices, "Offering a healthier option in the Happy Meal doesn't put an end to the marketing that's directed at children. The healthier options overall are little more than a vehicle for selling more of McDonald's bread and butter - burgers, fries, and soda."

The Wall Street Journal tallied people's reactions online in this infographic:

Research about the whether posting calories affects people's choices seems to be mixed. In a Stanford University study, people reduced their calorie orders by only 6% at Starbucks after the company posted the information on its menu (although people who ordered 250 calories of food or more reduced their orders by 26%). Jan Fields admits that the effect may be minimal, but she told The New York Times that people liked having the information and that "This is all still very new."

Discussion Starters:

• What's your view of posting calories on menus. Do you think this will affect consumers' choices?
• Based on the reactions so far, is this a smart decision for McDonald's?

Walmart's Local Facebook Pages Lag Behind Small Businesses'

Recommend.ly, a firm that helps companies optimize their Facebook pages, found that Walmart's local pages haven't fared well compared to small businesses' pages. "My Local Walmart," a program started in October 2011, aimed to connect customers to a store near them.

According to Advertising Age, Recommend.ly's research shows that the local Walmart pages haven't garnered the fan base that "mom-and-pop" stores have achieved. Although an impressive 2800 stores have their own fan pages (of Walmart's approximate 3500 stores), the fan activity isn't very high:

"But only 100, or fewer than 4%, have more than 1,000 fans. And 85% of Walmart's local-store pages didn't respond to any fan comments during the study.

"By contrast, in a sample of just under 1,900 local-business pages on Facebook, 22% had more than 1,000 fans. The Walmart local-store pages had an average of 563 fans, 5.2% of them active in some way during the 30 days of the study. Local businesses had an average of 4,207 fans, 12.2% of them active."

Further, the study found that customer engagement on these pages was lacking compared to local businesses' pages:

"But 99.5% of Walmart's local stores scored under 40 on a 100-point CScore scale used by Recommend.ly, which is based on how often a page starts conversations, how many posts the page participates in, how viral the page's content is based on the level of fan response and sharing, and how popular the page is based on fan count and active fan ratio.

"By comparison, only 60% of local business pages scored below 40 on that scale, and Walmart's main page scored what Recommend.ly deemed a 'respectable' 66."

Recommend.ly suggests that Walmart's failings are caused by the corporate-controlled content, while small businesses tend to provide more useful information, such as comments about local events and store promotions, to locals.

Discussion Starters:

• How could local Walmart Facebook pages provide more value to customers? What are other examples of ways to connect to people within a community?
• The Advertising Age article discusses Barnes & Noble's local Facebook attempts, particularly to reach college students. What are your ideas for making these pages more relevant to you? 

More Hijacked Twitter Campaigns

This week, two more attempts to engage people on Twitter have backfired. Following McDonald's and RIM's recent failures, Newsweek and Waitrose, a British supermarket, join the list of tweets gone awry. 

Newsweek tried to generate conversation about its front-page story, "Muslim Rage," a provocative piece in itself. With the hashtag, #MuslimRage, Newsweek's online site, Daily Beast, invited people to tweet about the cover story.

The result was not what Newsweek hoped for. Although the hashtag was trending, people made a joke of the it.

Newsweek has been criticized as a "troll"-intentionally started a heated debate for the sake of publicity. One critic tweeted, "Best way to deal with trolls: Silence. Second-best: mockery, e.g., #muslimrage." The Associated Press reported this response from the magazine: 

"Newsweek spokesman Andrew Kirk said the magazine's covers and hashtags 'bring attention and spark debate around topics of major global importance. The Internet is an open forum for people to continue their own discussion.'"

Upscale supermarket Waitrose tried a similar tactic to engage conversation about the brand, using the hashtag #Waitrosereasons.

Again, some tweets supported the brand, but most were sarcastic.

Waitrose responded with several gracious, good-natured tweets.

Analysis of the campaign is mixed: the hashtag certainly promoted Waitrose's name and got people talking, so in this case, was it a failure?

Discussion Starters:

• Where's the line between generating discussion and inciting controversy for the sole objective of sales? Did Newsweek cross this line?
• Read more of the #Waitrosereasons tweets. Would you characterize the campaign as a failure?

Romney Criticized for "47%" Comment

Mitt Romney was caught off guard when Mother Jones leaked a video of him responding to a question about his strategy to win the election:

"There are 47 percent of the people who will vote for the president no matter what. All right, there are 47 percent who are with him, who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you-name-it. That, that's an entitlement. And the government should give it to them. And they will vote for this president no matter what…These are people who pay no income tax."

To explain his comments, Romney positioned them in terms of his campaign strategy:

"This is a campaign, fundamentally, about how to help the middle-class in America, and how to help people in poverty get into the middle class."

VP candidate Paul Ryan also tried to position the comment into the larger perspective of the Republican campaign:

"Oh I think he would have said it differently, that's for sure," Ryan said. "But the point still stands, we have too many people becoming too dependent on government because of the poor economic policies of the Obama administration."

But Ryan didn't mince words when criticizing Romney's phrasing: 

"He was obviously inarticulate in making this point. And the point we're trying to make here is, under the Obama economy government dependency is up and economic stagnation is up. And what we're trying to achieve is getting people off of government dependency and back to a job that pays well and gets them on the path to prosperity."

Discussion Starters:

• What's your view of Romney's initial comments? How could he have phrased his perspective instead?
• In the second video here, is Romney effective in repositioning his 47% comment?