San Francisco - Professional sports, the IRS and a group of Texas cattlemen who had a beef with Oprah topped this year's list of PR blunders, compiled by Fineman Associates Public Relations. The list is a collection of some of the year's worst public relations gaffes. And “winner” is:
Texas Cattlemen.
It takes Texas-sized, uh, chutzpah to go head to head with Oprah Winfrey. But that didn't stop a group of Texas cattlemen from filing a $12 million lawsuit against the Chicago-based talk show host for, in their view, libeling the beef industry during a 1996 show. Oprah, who promptly moved her show to Beef Central, Amarillo, Texas, came out the victor. Meanwhile, the question of beef safety and industry practices made national headlines daily. Even a commentary in one of the industry's own magazines, Meat Poultry, weighed in: “Enroll in a Marketing 101 course,” it told the cattlemen. Well done, boys ... please.
The annual PR Blunders List is assembled by Fineman Associates Public Relations as a reminder of how critical public relations is to businesses and organizations. Selections are limited to Americans, American companies, or offenses that occurred in America. Selections are limited to acts or omissions that cause adverse publicity; image damage was done to self, company, society, others; widely reported; avoidable; occurred in 1998.
Meat Industry Insights News Service
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Northport, NY 11768
Phone: 631-757-4010
Fax: 631-757-4060
E-mail: sflanagan@sprintmail.com
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