by Steve Schonberg
Bulldog Reporter’s Daily Dog (@BulldogReporter)
April 27, 2015

http://www.bulldogreporter.com/dailydog/article/on-deadline/leveraging-bruce-jenner-a-case-study-in-the-ethics-of-pr

In his article, Steve Schonberg of Krupp Kommunications (K2), discusses the recent pop culture story around celebrity Bruce Jenner and his gender identity public disclosure. He uses this story as an example for media professionals to more clearly define their role in such delicate subjects – where is the line between thoughtfully and productively contributing to the conversation, and exploiting the issue?

Schonberg believes the most effective way to jump into the exchange is to focus on story crafting. In the Bruce Jenner example, he mentions a pitch he received that included commentary from a psychologist. The medical commentary the psychologist would provide is invaluable, and lends credibility to the story (not to mention the numerous quotes that could be pulled for the story). However, the pitch presentation (a mass blast with multiple images of Jenner) downplayed the credibility of the source, and the story as a whole. Alternatively, Schonberg suggests a more thoughtful, personalized pitch to high-level media would have been more effective.

Schonberg concludes with some tips for PR pros, to shift their focus from storytellers to story architects – know your audience, consider clients’ long-term goals and objectives, and concentrate on controlling the message with smart content creation strategy.