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C.E.O. Survival Guide: Puff Piece Gone Awry
by Caroline Waxler
Your name’s in the glossy pages of a magazine, but the article paints you as a modern-day Marie Antoinette. How to turn bad press into good.
Open up the October issue of Vanity Fair and you’ll learn that the chief executive of Blackstone Group, Steve Schwarzman, tears through $3,000 worth of food in 15 minutes and orders stone crabs, which cost $40 per claw, 10 at a time. This information, originally reported in a Wall Street Journal article last June, came courtesy of the private equity poster boy’s private chef (who has since reportedly been fired) and prompted Henry Kravis, co-founder of the private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, to fret about the future of private equity I.P.O.’s and the increasing regulatory scrutiny of the industry. Schwarzman’s public relations counsel advised him not to do any more interviews “ever,” according to Vanity Fair, which placed the scene at the center of a long profile of Schwarzman and Kravis.
As any prominent businessperson knows, certain publications are more interested in your private life than in your professional one. If your own “lifestyle” piece acquires a life of its own, here’s what you can do.
1. Face It: Running or Hiding (Yourself or the Article) is Not an Option
In 1999, socialite and banker’s wife Audrey Gruss agreed to be profiled in W magazine. When Gruss read the issue, she was appalled: The article described her as a striving social climber and quoted her bragging about the size of her well-appointed office. According to Page Six, the New York Post’s gossip column, she then “scoured the Upper East Side with her car and driver trying to buy up all the copies of W magazine.” Even if such a buy-out operation were effective back then, thanks to the internet, preventing people from seeing a story is no longer an option. The genie is out of the bottle. Time to deal with it.
2. Cancel Your Subscription
Easy enough to do, and makes a statement that you are not happy. Sounds weak, sure, but you’re showing the way you feel by—forgive the cliché—voting with your feet. If you want to make sure the publication knows, send a copy of your cancellation form to the editor and publisher. No matter what, this act of retaliation may make you feel better.
3. Blacklist ’Em
As Schwarzman’s P.R. staff advised, you can decide not to talk to the publication again or to any of its sister publications. You can also extend that ban to include your family, friends, and employees. If an interview with you is considered a “get,” this will be a very effective means of retaliation.
4. Send a Letter to the Editor
If you decide to stay in contact with the publication, write a letter expressing your distress at the article and underscoring things about you that were left out (such as charitable acts and humble beginnings) as well as any important factual inaccuracies (factual errors are your ace in the hole—they undermine the credibility of the entire article). Leave out complaints about the bait and switch: This makes you seem like a whiner, not to mention naïve. Keep the letter to three or four paragraphs; the publication will edit it down, even if you don’t. Although the publication is under no obligation to publish your letter, most will. Controversy, especially involving high-profile individuals, sells magazines.
5. Sit Down With Your Corporate P.R. Staff
You should all be in agreement about what happened and how to proceed. When business reporters start calling to follow up on the story, your company’s reps should be ready. Ideally, they’d give an answer that isn’t too far from what celebrity reps say about their clients’ personal lives. For example: “Our job is to answer questions about business. If you have lifestyle questions, you should ask Mr. Jones.”
6. Loop in Investor-Relations Staff
When inquiries come in from investors, the I.R. people should be ready. Their script: “This has nothing whatsoever to do with the bottom line of the organization. We expect that any temporary fluctuation of the stock price will rebound.” They should also say that the matter concerns only the personal behavior of the C.E.O. and underscore that no corporate malfeasance has taken place.
7. Respond to the Business Reporter Who Wants a Comment From You
While you may choose not to speak to reporters from the parent company of the offending publication, you can still deal with other magazines and newspapers. In fact, it’s a great opportunity to show (belated) humility and humor. Laugh at yourself—and then point to all the good things that you and your company have done. “I have to admit I can be a pompous ass, but I hope people also know I spend millions of dollars on charity, I do volunteer work, and I’m pleased to employ 10,000 people in the area.” If your spouse was the focus of the article in question, he or she should get on the phone and deliver an appropriately edited version of the same line (“. . . I can be a pompous ass . . . I’m pleased that my spouse employs . . . ”).
8. Look on the Bright Side
Howard Rubenstein, who heads up Rubenstein Public Relations, was himself the subject of a story that ran in New York magazine with a comment implying that he was past his prime. Although a lot of the story was positive, an unflattering implication was buried at the end. Rubenstein’s solution? Assume that most people won’t wade all the way through the article. Anyway, no story will be wholly positive. If it’s accurate, be satisfied. The public’s collective memory is short-lived. Few people really remember the content of a story. It’s usually, “Oh, I saw a big story on you. You must be famous.”
9. Protect Yourself Next Time
The next time you’re the subject of a lifestyle piece, or any piece for that matter, protect yourself by saying, “If you write anything you think I won’t like, please run it by me for comment or fact-checking first.” Reporters writing negative stories are expected to give the subject the opportunity to respond. You’re just reminding them. The idea is, if they’re primed to write that your carpet is fake or that you have holes in your bedding, you’ll be able to clarify by saying, “I’m now suing the rug salesman, because I was sold what I thought was a real Persian carpet, and the dog just chewed a hole in the bedding.”
10. Limit the Number of People Available to the Reporter
Think about how things look and how they will be received. What was Schwarzman thinking when he let the Journal reporter talk to the French chef in his Palm Beach house? Nothing good could come of that. Even if you think you’re a great boss, and that your staff respects you, remember two things: 1) Your staff is paid to make you feel that way and might relish the opportunity to dish a little, and 2) the rest of the country doesn’t have staff at all and might not appreciate reading about yours.
SOURCES: Howard M. Cooper, founding partner, Todd & Weld; Eric Dezenhall, C.E.O., Dezenhall Resources; Leon Friedman, professor of law, Hofstra University School of Law; Michelle Fox, partner, Fox Greenberg Public Relations; Martin Garbus, partner, Davis & Gilbert; Mitchell J. Langberg, attorney, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck; Michael Robinson, former S.E.C. public affairs and policy chief, currently senior vice president, Levick Strategic Communications; and Howard Rubenstein, president, Rubenstein Associates.
As any prominent businessperson knows, certain publications are more interested in your private life than in your professional one. If your own “lifestyle” piece acquires a life of its own, here’s what you can do.
1. Face It: Running or Hiding (Yourself or the Article) is Not an Option
In 1999, socialite and banker’s wife Audrey Gruss agreed to be profiled in W magazine. When Gruss read the issue, she was appalled: The article described her as a striving social climber and quoted her bragging about the size of her well-appointed office. According to Page Six, the New York Post’s gossip column, she then “scoured the Upper East Side with her car and driver trying to buy up all the copies of W magazine.” Even if such a buy-out operation were effective back then, thanks to the internet, preventing people from seeing a story is no longer an option. The genie is out of the bottle. Time to deal with it.
2. Cancel Your Subscription
Easy enough to do, and makes a statement that you are not happy. Sounds weak, sure, but you’re showing the way you feel by—forgive the cliché—voting with your feet. If you want to make sure the publication knows, send a copy of your cancellation form to the editor and publisher. No matter what, this act of retaliation may make you feel better.
3. Blacklist ’Em
As Schwarzman’s P.R. staff advised, you can decide not to talk to the publication again or to any of its sister publications. You can also extend that ban to include your family, friends, and employees. If an interview with you is considered a “get,” this will be a very effective means of retaliation.
4. Send a Letter to the Editor
If you decide to stay in contact with the publication, write a letter expressing your distress at the article and underscoring things about you that were left out (such as charitable acts and humble beginnings) as well as any important factual inaccuracies (factual errors are your ace in the hole—they undermine the credibility of the entire article). Leave out complaints about the bait and switch: This makes you seem like a whiner, not to mention naïve. Keep the letter to three or four paragraphs; the publication will edit it down, even if you don’t. Although the publication is under no obligation to publish your letter, most will. Controversy, especially involving high-profile individuals, sells magazines.
5. Sit Down With Your Corporate P.R. Staff
You should all be in agreement about what happened and how to proceed. When business reporters start calling to follow up on the story, your company’s reps should be ready. Ideally, they’d give an answer that isn’t too far from what celebrity reps say about their clients’ personal lives. For example: “Our job is to answer questions about business. If you have lifestyle questions, you should ask Mr. Jones.”
6. Loop in Investor-Relations Staff
When inquiries come in from investors, the I.R. people should be ready. Their script: “This has nothing whatsoever to do with the bottom line of the organization. We expect that any temporary fluctuation of the stock price will rebound.” They should also say that the matter concerns only the personal behavior of the C.E.O. and underscore that no corporate malfeasance has taken place.
7. Respond to the Business Reporter Who Wants a Comment From You
While you may choose not to speak to reporters from the parent company of the offending publication, you can still deal with other magazines and newspapers. In fact, it’s a great opportunity to show (belated) humility and humor. Laugh at yourself—and then point to all the good things that you and your company have done. “I have to admit I can be a pompous ass, but I hope people also know I spend millions of dollars on charity, I do volunteer work, and I’m pleased to employ 10,000 people in the area.” If your spouse was the focus of the article in question, he or she should get on the phone and deliver an appropriately edited version of the same line (“. . . I can be a pompous ass . . . I’m pleased that my spouse employs . . . ”).
8. Look on the Bright Side
Howard Rubenstein, who heads up Rubenstein Public Relations, was himself the subject of a story that ran in New York magazine with a comment implying that he was past his prime. Although a lot of the story was positive, an unflattering implication was buried at the end. Rubenstein’s solution? Assume that most people won’t wade all the way through the article. Anyway, no story will be wholly positive. If it’s accurate, be satisfied. The public’s collective memory is short-lived. Few people really remember the content of a story. It’s usually, “Oh, I saw a big story on you. You must be famous.”
9. Protect Yourself Next Time
The next time you’re the subject of a lifestyle piece, or any piece for that matter, protect yourself by saying, “If you write anything you think I won’t like, please run it by me for comment or fact-checking first.” Reporters writing negative stories are expected to give the subject the opportunity to respond. You’re just reminding them. The idea is, if they’re primed to write that your carpet is fake or that you have holes in your bedding, you’ll be able to clarify by saying, “I’m now suing the rug salesman, because I was sold what I thought was a real Persian carpet, and the dog just chewed a hole in the bedding.”
10. Limit the Number of People Available to the Reporter
Think about how things look and how they will be received. What was Schwarzman thinking when he let the Journal reporter talk to the French chef in his Palm Beach house? Nothing good could come of that. Even if you think you’re a great boss, and that your staff respects you, remember two things: 1) Your staff is paid to make you feel that way and might relish the opportunity to dish a little, and 2) the rest of the country doesn’t have staff at all and might not appreciate reading about yours.
SOURCES: Howard M. Cooper, founding partner, Todd & Weld; Eric Dezenhall, C.E.O., Dezenhall Resources; Leon Friedman, professor of law, Hofstra University School of Law; Michelle Fox, partner, Fox Greenberg Public Relations; Martin Garbus, partner, Davis & Gilbert; Mitchell J. Langberg, attorney, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck; Michael Robinson, former S.E.C. public affairs and policy chief, currently senior vice president, Levick Strategic Communications; and Howard Rubenstein, president, Rubenstein Associates.
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