I had three classes (2 Intro to PR, 1 Intro to Mass Comm) write papers outlining their approach to the “Tigergate” incident and their rationale for doing so. Nearly all (a few are still figuring out how this thing called “PR” works) said “Get the information out there” and, interestingly, “Start working on repairing the brand.” This last part somewhat surprised me; these young people somehow instinctively knew that some serious damage has been done and they, as PR professionals, would play an important role in getting things back to normal.

Sadly, there seem to be more and more instances where public figures have lost their moral compass and are blissfully heading toward disaster. Good lesson material for students; bad examples for the public.