Back
Dave vs. Tiger: Media Showdown for One Man & Meltdown for Another
Unfortunately, indiscretion is all too common in the lives of today’s leaders and celebrities. Heck, Bill Clinton, the President of the United States, admitted to an inappropriate relationship during his time in the Oval Office. But what happens when the truth comes out can be wildly different for each individual.
Recently, two very high profile celebs were exposed with their proverbial “pants down.” Both men approached the media completely differently, and each has experienced a very different side to the media aftermath.
Media Showdown
In October 2009, David Letterman sat at his desk in the Ed Sullivan Theater to deliver his nightly blend of humor doused with heavy sarcastic overtones. In typical Letterman style, he began by telling a story. For the next nine minutes he told a personal story about himself. The story had extortion, infidelity, office romance and many other salacious details. Watch a clip here.
Letterman closed the time by admitting to several “terrible things” that he had done in recent years. He left nothing to the imagination or interpretation of the listener. His approach was direct, controlled and calculated. The result was considered a great success in the realm of celebrity scandal. The story ran the typical news cycle and it centered on the information that Letterman delivered that fateful night.
Here are a few highlights from Letterman’s media scandal. First and foremost, Dave broke the story. By putting his face on the scandal, he showed that he was strong enough to face the consequences of his actions. Dave delivered the necessary facts in a very high profile forum – as a bonus the audience could not ask questions. Dave sincerely apologized to his family for hurting them. Finally, he closed his statement by outlining the next steps, and he let the media know in no uncertain terms that this was the ONLY public statement he would make on this subject.
Media Meltdown
One month later, Thanksgiving weekend 2009, Tiger Woods – arguably the world’s most famous athlete – found himself involved in a bizarre one man vehicular accident outside his Florida home. Immediately following, the media picked up the story and began to report on the incident. A series of reports and unanswered questions began to surface. Tiger and his camp failed to issue a statement for a significant period of time following the initial reports. In addition, he cancelled several scheduled meetings with the authorities covering the case. This resulted in an entire media cycle during a holiday weekend, where the media was left to create their own coverage of the story. Tiger and his team failed to get out in front of the media and issue a statement addressing the incident and ultimately controlling the story that was reported.
When celebrities choose to go a significant period of time without issuing a statement, it forces the media to go elsewhere for the story. So instead of running the video of Tiger explaining what occurred and some background as to why it occurred, they turn to talking heads and pop culture pundits to offer up erroneous opinions as to the circumstances surrounding the story, resulting in something other than the truth.
Obviously, this story was much larger than the one man car crash outside his Florida home. Since that time, more than seven women have come forward publically to let the nation know that they have had a relationship with Tiger Woods. Each time a woman comes out of the woodwork to tell her story, a fresh angle is added to the story and a new news cycle begins. So here we are several weeks later, and we are still hearing about the Tiger Woods saga as it unfolds in the national media.
When a celebrity gets caught in a national news scandal, it is very important that they get their story told. It carries more credibility and sincerity when they are able to tell the story in their own words. Lawyers and spokespeople and carefully crafted online statements just imply that there is more to the story and that the celebrity has much to hide.
A year ago, basketball great Kobe Bryant was caught in a similar situation that featured an affair and accusation of rape. Kobe chose to hold a press conference with his wife at his side to tell the details of his indiscretion. He addressed the issue head on, with deep sincerity and respect for his wife and their family. Bryant had to endure the negative press that was a result of his indiscretion, but the long lasting implications of such a scandal have long disappeared. Kobe is back on top as one of basketball’s greatest athletes and his family is still together.
What will happen with the Tiger Woods scandal? Only time will tell. But take it from several that have already walked the difficult path: if you want to keep your family together and outlast the scandal, the more direct and forthcoming approach will sting initially, but the public will forgive especially if you appear to be direct, honest and sincere in your disclosure of the information. It leaves less room for conjecture and speculation on the part of the public and especially the media.
