© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2002 All Rights Reserved. McGraw-Hill/ Irwin 19-1 Business and Society POST, LAWRENCE, WEBER Business and the Media Chapter 19

© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2002 All Rights Reserved. McGraw-Hill/ Irwin 19-2 Figure 19-1 Crisis management model Proactive Reactive Phase 2: Crisis Phase 1: Detection Phase 3: Repair Phase 4: Assessment Simulate, disrupt, prepare for as much as possible Broaden detection, redesign the organization’s systems Isolate, contain the crisis Return to normalcy

© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2002 All Rights Reserved. McGraw-Hill/ Irwin 19-3 Exhibit 19-A Gender bias in the media A Canadian media watchdog organization, Child & Family Canada, looked at how men were portrayed in video games, a $15 billion-a-year industry. They found that video games “promote male dominator, racist behavior as glamorous and erotic, the only possible response and the essential requirement for winning.” In a study on gender portrayal on TV, commercial television suggested that women in this society were almost always young, white, large-breasted, and preoccupied with appearance. Women were seen to be dependent upon men for approval and protection. Men were rarely seen as vulnerable, were usually in control, and were the “voice of authority”. The same trends were found with the portrayal of children as well. Source: Meg Hogarth, “We Are What We Watch: Challenging Sexism and Violence in the Media,” Child & Family Canada,

© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2002 All Rights Reserved. McGraw-Hill/ Irwin 19-4 Exhibit 19-B Did the Republican Party use a subliminal ad in the 2000 campaign? Democratic presidential campaign leaders claimed that a Republican National Party ad had flashed the word “rats” across the screen when showing the Vice President’s face. Subliminal advertisements are an advertising ploy that directs a message to our subconscious rather than conscious mind. In 1974, the Federal Communications Commission thought the use of subliminal ads was “contrary to the public interest.” 62 percent of the people in a survey conducted by the Journal of Advertising Research believed that advertisers were using subliminal ads. Source: Kathy Chen and Glenn Simpson, “GOP Commercial Resurrects Debate on Subliminal Ads,” Wall Street Journal, September 3, 2000, p. B10

© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2002 All Rights Reserved. McGraw-Hill/ Irwin 19-5 Exhibit 19-C Calvin Klein’s “pornographic” ads In the summer of 1995, Calvin Klein launched a new ad campaign that featured adolescent-looking models in a variety of provocative poses on a number of print advertisements. The ad campaign generated a storm of protests, with some calling it child pornography. After threatened boycotts by the American Family Association and the refusal of some magazines to carry the ads, Klein voluntarily withdrew the ads. Klein refused to apologize and claimed that the ads were a tribute to the “spirit, independence, and inner worth of today’s young people.” Following the campaign, Klein’s sales to young people rose dramatically. The Justice Department determined that Klein hadn’t used under-age models. Source: “Calvin Klein Finds Family Values,” The Boston Globe, February 28, 1997; “Calvin Klein Ads Cleared,” Washington Post, November 16, 1995; and, “Where Calvin Crossed the Line,” Time, September 1, 1995.

© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2002 All Rights Reserved. McGraw-Hill/ Irwin 19-6 Media’s Ethical and Social Responsibilities Image issue How does the media portray various groups in society? Minorities are underrepresented on television and segregated in types of content. Some executives have become more sensitive to this issue. Values issue Focuses on the power of the media to shape social attitudes and values. The FTC released a report in 2000 that criticized the film, recording and video game industries for marketing violence. Media violence has a harmful effect on the behavior of children, teens, and adults who viewed such programming.

© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2002 All Rights Reserved. McGraw-Hill/ Irwin 19-7 Media’s Ethical and Social Responsibilities (continued) Fairness and balance issue Probusiness organizations claim that media coverage of business activities has been unfair to business. Fairness Doctrine required broadcasters to cover both sides of an issue, but was repealed in Pinnacle Worldwide advised businesses to seek out or generate opportunities to communicate their values and principles through the news media. Free speech issue Deals with how to find a balance between the media’s constitutional right to free expression and business’s desire to be fairly and accurately depicted in media presentations. The media must balance their right with a caution not to harm others.

© The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2002 All Rights Reserved. McGraw-Hill/ Irwin 19-8 How businesses influence their public image Public Relations Society of America Organization committed to the “fundamental values of individual dignity and free exercise of human rights.” Public relations and public affairs Businesses employ the strategy of designing and managing an effective public relations and public affairs program. Crisis management The process companies use to respond to unexpected and high consequential shocks. Media training of employees Prepare executives and employees who are likely to have contact with the media by establishing and developing a solid media relations program.