I just read the post Under Fire, Bob Kerrey Starts a Blog on the New York Times City Room blog. The rather accusatory headline stopped me in my tracks. It seems to suggest that starting a blog under duress can actually undermine the benefits of blogging in the first place.
Why should CEOs, or, in this case, presidents of universities, blog? There are many reasons, though the first in my mind is creating a sense of transparency. From a public relations perspective, giving a leader the opportunity to speak directly to employees, customers, and shareholders, can be really beneficial.
But, to be fair, City Room’s got a point. The Kerrey backlash has been bubbling up at The New School for a long time, by my estimation, since my time as a graduate student there in 2003, when Kerrey came out for the Iraq War. (This New York Magazine story paints a pretty accurate picture of the early days of his tenure.)
But instead of starting a blog back then, when the student body and administration would have been more likely to listen, Kerrey waited until yesterday, nearly a week after senior faculty members gave him a vote of no confidence.
It’s this timing that suggests that Kerrey’s blog is not the product of his desire for honest dialogue, but that of a beleaguered president’s desperate urge to tell his story his way. I’m not saying Kerrey doesn’t deserve that chance, but, from a public relations perspective, it does make me stop and think. Knowing the move might come off as cynical, ill-thought, or merely symbolic, should Kerrey’s PR advisors have still advised him to start a blog? Is it possible to miss your blogging window of opportunity? Is it worth the risk of further damaging his credibility?
If there’s one lesson PR pros, and their clients, can take from this exercise, it’s this: don’t wait until you’re desperate for a chance at straight talk to start a blog.
Note that Kerrey has not responded to any comments, nor does the site (or its posts) contain any outside links. If he wants to salvage this strategy, he needs to actually engage with those who are participating in the blog. Right now it looks like his team is just moderating comments.
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