Steve Adubato’s book titled What Were They Thinking: The Good, the Bad, and the Totally Clueless is a crisis communication book that interprets and analyzes more than twenty public relations crisis cases. The book was published by Rutger’s University Press in 2008. The 248 page book is divided up into short chapters that highlight the many cases. Each chapter takes on one case and is filled with content ranging from the history of the individual case to case analyses. The analyses include critiques of who did things correctly, who made mistakes, and advice for what we as public relations professional in training can learn and change for the future.
The layouts of each chapter were highly effective. Each began with the history of the case, with a little bit of commentary from Steve Adubato. His writing was very informative and explanatory, making it easy to follow. After the history, he brings up topics of discussion or deeper thought, and often gave rules for us to follow that applied to public relations in general, with examples from the cases presented. This was very effective because it allowed me to take note of actions that can be used in the future. A few examples of these rules include the following: act quickly, reach out to comfort victims, call in appropriate law enforcement, there can only be one key decision maker when a crisis hits, and many more. These tips are very applicable and easy to remember. Not only does he give these short rules, but he also explains why they are important and how to use them correctly.
My favorite chapter was the chapter that highlighted the New York Knicks case because it dealt with sports. One point that stood out to me in the advice section was to think about whether or not your organization is ready to go to court when dealing with an issue. In court, many things can come up and any and all errors can be revealed. The chapter also commented on the importance of appearance when dealing with a crisis. Appearance can often be something that is overlooked but is just as important as the content of a crisis statement.
I would recommend this book to someone interested in crisis communication, particularly public relations professionals. The common person may find it interesting, but unless you can apply the rules and advice given in the book, there would not be a lot of use for reading it. The most valuable part of the book and the main reason I would recommend it, is the advice and teacher-like language of Adubato’s writing. It is a very easy read and very easy to understand and follow.
Mary Louise Shore
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
The layouts of each chapter were highly effective. Each began with the history of the case, with a little bit of commentary from Steve Adubato. His writing was very informative and explanatory, making it easy to follow. After the history, he brings up topics of discussion or deeper thought, and often gave rules for us to follow that applied to public relations in general, with examples from the cases presented. This was very effective because it allowed me to take note of actions that can be used in the future. A few examples of these rules include the following: act quickly, reach out to comfort victims, call in appropriate law enforcement, there can only be one key decision maker when a crisis hits, and many more. These tips are very applicable and easy to remember. Not only does he give these short rules, but he also explains why they are important and how to use them correctly.
My favorite chapter was the chapter that highlighted the New York Knicks case because it dealt with sports. One point that stood out to me in the advice section was to think about whether or not your organization is ready to go to court when dealing with an issue. In court, many things can come up and any and all errors can be revealed. The chapter also commented on the importance of appearance when dealing with a crisis. Appearance can often be something that is overlooked but is just as important as the content of a crisis statement.
I would recommend this book to someone interested in crisis communication, particularly public relations professionals. The common person may find it interesting, but unless you can apply the rules and advice given in the book, there would not be a lot of use for reading it. The most valuable part of the book and the main reason I would recommend it, is the advice and teacher-like language of Adubato’s writing. It is a very easy read and very easy to understand and follow.
Mary Louise Shore
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill