Archive for the ‘Featured’ Category
Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013
Saying profanities under your breath on live television may not be the ideal way to begin a new job. Ask A.J. Clemente, a West Virginia University graduate who began his first ever news broadcast on North Dakota’s NBC affiliate KFYR with two very inappropriate words. We all get nervous our first day on the job, and A.J. lent his mistake to not knowing his microphone was live. Should A.J. have been a bit more careful as an aspiring news anchor? Maybe he truly was not aware, as he did not have any prior experience reporting. At first, A.J. was simply suspended for the slip, but on Monday he tweeted that he had been fired.
His tweets did not end there, but continued with a series of apologies, thank yous, and promises to come back better. He even admitted that the only thing he can do now is laugh at himself. A.J.’s mistake resulted in the Twitter trend #keepaj, which might not have been successful for his gig at KFYR, but who knows what is in store for him next. With almost 10,000 Twitter followers, people are certainly paying more attention to him now than they ever did before his first newscast.
Can he use the power of social media to turn this whole incident around and actually come back stronger? Now, the public knows his name and major news outlets are talking about him, which is not exactly the norm for North Dakota reporters. Does A.J. have the potential to save face and garner enough support to begin a new, successful endeavor? Only time will tell if the old adage that all press is good press can hold true in this controversial case.
Tags:aj clemente, nbc, news anchor, Reputation
Posted in Featured, Reputation Headlines, Social Media | No Comments »
Friday, April 5th, 2013
Most of us wake up every morning with a running to-do list in our minds of the tasks we must complete at work and at home, but it seems that is not the case for everyone – especially Robert L. Barchi, President of Rutgers University. During a press conference today to discuss the resignation of Athletic Director Tim Pernetti, he boldly stated, “I consider resigning every morning when I wake up.”
Pernetti resigned today after gravely mishandling an incident that was brought to his attention five months ago: Mike Rice, then-head coach of the Rutgers men’s basketball team, was depicted in a 30-minute compilation video to be abusing his student athletes, both physically and verbally. Rice was not fired until this Wednesday, although the video had already been viewed by Pernetti and Rutgers’ counsel last November. Barchi had not seen the video and was only given a summary of its content, therefore he simply chose to suspend Rice for three games and fine him for $50,000. Barchi’s excuse for those actions versus firing him? He did not actually watch the video and only acted on the report that was brought to him.
The video depicting homophobic slurs and basketballs being thrown at players’ heads made its presence known in the Rutgers community in the midst of a huge decision for the University’s athletic community – Rutgers would leave the Big East Conference in 2014 and join the Big 10 Conference. Pernetti played a large part in securing Rutger’s spot in the top collegiate conference in the nation, and Rutgers certainly experienced pressure and speculation to uphold their reputation. Barchi stated that he did not know of the abuse case until after Big 10 negotiations were settled, but timing is a fickle thing. Maybe Barchi did not know about the abuse by Rice yet, but it is very possible that Pernetti did, as he was given the video sometime in late November by a former staff member, Eric Murdock.
This afternoon, Barchi could not avoid repeated questioning as to why he did not view the tape between then and now. His response was that his chief counsel, Pernetti and outside counsel viewed it and he trusted their judgment. He claimed, “It’s very easy to say in retrospect what we should have done.”
Maybe that is true, but now it is not about what the Rutgers camp should have done, but what they will do from this point forward. In the past week, Rutgers has lost their head basketball coach, assistant coach, general counsel and athletic director. What will the athletic department look like in a week, or in a year? Barchi may wish he would have handled things differently, but this issue will not disappear any time soon. Perhaps he should consider sending in his own letter of resignation if he wakes up tomorrow morning and decides he does not feel like dealing with this fiasco any longer.
Tags:Barchi, Mike Rice, Pernetti, Rutgers, Scandal, Sports
Posted in Featured, Only in New Jersey, Reputation Headlines, Sports Reputation | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 19th, 2013
Lululemon, the popular women’s high-end athletic clothing brand, has had some issues of transparency lately. And, we don’t mean the kind of transparency that is usually applauded on Reputation Roulette.
The brand’s yoga pants, which account for 17% of its bottoms, have recently resulted in revealing workouts for wearers due to shear fabric. While the company says they haven’t changed their fabrics, they are offering full refunds for unsatisfied customers.
Fine, that would be great – IF this was the first time this has happened to the retailer. This marks the 4th recall or warning for their products in the past few months, leading many to wonder “what am I paying these prices for?”
News articles from around the country have quoted Lululemon enthusiasts questioning why they don’t just switch to retailers such as Target who offer similar products in the $20-30 range instead of the $80-90.
So, with stock prices falling, annoyed customers and product supply shortages in stores – what is Lulu to do? We suggest a re-launch of their yoga pants, fixing clothing issues instead of issuing “warnings” about dyes bleeding, and lots of customer perks – read: coupons! And, with their loyal customers their only “advertising”, it wouldn’t hurt the company to offer incentives for their faithful.
One shopper quoted in the AP’s coverage said, “It’s hard enough making a commitment to working out without worrying about whether you are baring your behind.”
So true.
Tags:lululemon, yoga
Posted in Featured, Reputation Headlines | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 12th, 2013
All of us have our work lives and our personal lives, but what happens when the two identities intertwine and pose a possible conflict of interest? The question is not if we are allowed to pursue interests outside of work, but how far is too far when our interests may be negatively affecting our company? The issue becomes even more pronounced when the employee in question happens to be a police officer here in Irvington, New Jersey.
Maurice Gattison, an officer who is also president of Irvington’s police union, happens to be a part time rapper by the name of Gat the Great. Late last year a music video was posted to YouTube in which he and three other township officers rapped about some controversial issues, such as being a “felon for life,” violence, and dropping many homophobic slurs. The video, among others, also depicts guns and gun violence, which is an extremely touchy subject both politically and socially. The music video has thus launched an internal investigation on all four officers, bringing this debate to the front of people’s minds.
Gattison’s rap career is most likely protected by the First Amendment, but does that right change because his main career is a police officer? Opinion is split, with some, such as Irvington Police Director Joseph Santiago claiming that while the lyrics may be inappropriate and offensive, they are protected under freedom of speech. Others, however, are not taking the music video so lightly, such as Eugene O’Donnell, a former Manhattan district attorney who warns that actions that can “cause disgrace to the agency or subject the agency to ridicule can be legitimate issues for internal action.”
These certainly are not the first NJ police officers to go under internal investigation due to something they said on the Internet, but the lines are still not clear as to what is and what is not appropriate off-duty conduct. As for Gat the Great, the problem is not so much that he raps while he is off duty, but what kind of message is he sending out to young members of the community he is supposed to be protecting? What happens when a young boy growing up in Irvington sees the controversial video and then recognizes Gattison in his uniform a few days later? Will he grow up thinking it is okay to exploit homosexuals and threaten people with guns?
Posted in Featured, Only in New Jersey, Reputation Headlines, Social Media | No Comments »
Thursday, February 28th, 2013
I don’t know about you, but I personally feel that I have been bombarded by JC Penny advertisements recentl y. First, there were the controversial ads that depicted same-sex couples and their children, and now, there are the ads that show the same clothing items and their price difference from buying it at JC Penny versus another retailer. Apparently, these ads are not working as well as the company had hoped in their attempt to re-brand themselves and be at the forefront of department store shopping again.
In 2011, the company hired Ron Johnson, former Apple Stores exec, to spearhead their efforts to revamp their retail stores and stay current in the wake of online shopping. Unfortunately, despite Johnson’s efforts, shares have fallen over 50% last year, and sales have been down almost 30%. Johnson has been working with the company for over a year, but JC Penny shows no signs of increased sales or support, which leaves me wondering when enough is enough.
JC Penny’s reputation has seemed to be declining steadily in the last five to ten years, with other department store giants such as Macy’s and Target becoming shoppers’ number one choice. JC Penny has changed their pricing strategy, redesigned store layouts, and is looking to eliminate counter checkout altogether in order to stay among the top names in department store shopping. These changes may mean more bad than good for the company, however, because why would shoppers even visit a storefront to take part in self-checkout when they can just sit at home and do it from the comfort of their couch?
Maybe it is time for JC Penny to give in, because after a year or more of failed attempts to improve a company’s reputation, people start getting annoyed rather than excited about constant changes. Online shopping and tough competition has forced many other retailers (Borders, Linens ‘n Things, Circuit City, etc.) to close their doors and JC Penny may be the next among their ranks. It is better to end things before a reputation is completely tarnished, but it may too late for JC Penny.
Posted in Featured, Reputation Headlines | No Comments »
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two very inappropriate words. We all get nervous our first day on the job, and A.J. lent his mistake to not knowing his microphone was live. Should A.J. have been a bit more careful as an aspiring news anchor? Maybe he truly was not aware, as he did not have any prior experience reporting. At first, A.J. was simply suspended for the slip, but on Monday he tweeted that he had been fired.
