I was just joking around yesterday with some coworkers about one of the developments in the saga of Sam Adams (Portland's gay mayor who was scandalized for having relations with a young intern).
Adams' public relations spokesman at the time was a guy named Wade Nkrumah, a former Oregonian reporter. The scandal broke and Nkrumal essentially threw up his hands and quit. Now he's suing the city for emotional turmoil and damages, claiming that his career prospects were tainted because Adams told KATU-TV that Nkrumal quit because "the job was not what he had signed up for in terms of stress."
Well. Let's start with the obvious. You damaged your own career prospects, Wade, by walking away in the middle of a crisis.
People screw up. And then they lie about it. These are facts.
Often as public relations professionals, we don't have control over the events. We can only spin them.
Take the recent story about White House press secretary Dana Perino's reaction when she heard about the planned firings of U.S. attorneys for political reasons -- she flipped out. "Get me a double shot -- I can't breathe," was the quote. But then she pulled herself together and went out into the briefing room, sang a tune and danced circles around the press corps.
What would be your reaction if this guy applied for a job as your PR rep? "So, based on your resume, you'll bail on me when there's a crisis, and then sue me for it. You're hired!"
If he's looking for the source of his damaged reputation, it looks like Nkrumal's going to end up suing himself.
-Adrianne (@msfener)
