There is an important lesson Bob Reid and I always stress to media communicators, particularly experienced ones. You always need to get warmed up, to review your key messages and to practice. You wouldn’t play an important round of golf, for example, without some kind of warm up on the practice range. Media communications is no different. It’s too easy to inadvertently make a dumb comment, the communications equivalent of a duck slice into the water. A case in point this week was former Democratic Party presidential nominee and longtime Senator John Kerry, who committed an enormous Fumble less than a week before the U.S. mid-term elections. In California, Kerry told a college crowd: “You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq.” Kerry’s prepared text indicated that he was supposed to have said “you get stuck in a war in Iraq – just ask President Bush,” but the damage was done. It immediately sparked a firestorm south of the border. Most considered it a terrible insult to the military men and women risking their lives in Iraq. Worse, Kerry refused to quickly apologize (until three news cycles had passed), instead calling it a “botched joke” and insisting the war in Iraq is the issue. Radio host Don Imus probably spoke for many Democrats when he urged Kerry to “just stop it, stop talking… I mean, God, just stop it, I’m begging you,” but the Massachusetts Senator seems disinclined to do so. President George W. Bush weighed in, seizing the opportunity Kerry gift-wrapped for him, by asserting that U.S. troops are, indeed, “plenty smart.”

Another lesson Bob and I regularly impart is that overheated words or phrases can be your best friend or your worst enemy, so use them with great care and consideration. Now, I know Norman Spector from my days covering the government of prime minister Brian Mulroney, whom Spector served as chief of staff. I always respected Norman’s intelligence. That’s why I know that his vocabulary and agile brain were capable of a devastating verbal attack on Belinda Stronach, if he chose to do so, without going too far. But he did go too far, way too far, on a radio show last weekend when he blurted out: "Bitch is a word that I would use to describe someone like Belinda Stronach. You know, I'm not in politics, I can say it, I think she's a bitch and I think that 90 per cent of men would probably say she's a bitch, for the way she's broken up (former Maple Leaf) Tie Domi's home and the way she dumped Peter MacKay. She is a bitch." Coming on the heels of the McKay House of Commons imbroglio over whether he referred to Stronach as a “dog,” and combined with Stronach’s measured responses, the outcome has been the opposite of what Spector intended. Stronach has received public sympathy, and according to some media pundits, has emerged with an elevated status, while McKay and Spector have been widely attacked. Don’t go too far folks, this is a prime example of how it can backfire.

The capable communicators at Mount Sinai Hospital, among them Manager of Media Relations Rob McCartney, understand that even when you have a phenomenally good news announcement, it’s important to get the communications fundamentals right. They did exactly that with the announcement that brothers and Holocaust survivors Joseph and Wolf Lebovic were donating $50 million to the hospital which, in part, will fund a capital expansion to the Women and Infants’ Health Centre of Excellence. Mount Sinai board chair Lawrence Bloomberg was armed with a Touchdown-worthy key message, quoted in the press: "Their gift signals rebirth and renewal at Mount Sinai. It will allow the big hearts and great minds who practice, teach and care for our patients to advance medicine in a modernized facility with state-of-the-art equipment." The Lebovic brothers were similarly well-armed: “Mount Sinai is an incredible institution, a place of extraordinary accomplishment, dedication, compassion and commitment. It gives us great pleasure to be able to give something back to our community.” Befitting the largest gift ever bestowed on a hospital in Canada, the story was widely circulated via Canadian Press and was picked up across Canada. The TV visuals, which can be challenging, were also excellent. Kudos to the Mount Sinai team.

Bill Walker is a former journalist and manager with the PGA Tour. He is now Vice President at Veritas.

How the heck could a hastily-made announcement which enraged many investors, sewered the stock market and broke a campaign promise possibly warrant a Touchdown? Because the communications part of it went flawlessly. Believe what you choose about the merits of Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s decision to start taxing income trusts, but when it comes to the communications execution, this commentator says it was nigh on perfect. First and foremost, there was absolutely no leak. Until Flaherty gave notice of a major announcement (safely after the markets had closed), there was not a peep of advance word or speculation of any kind that the move was in the offing. Then, both in making the announcement and in the subsequent defense of the new policy, Flaherty was as clear as he was consistent in his positioning: that it was the right thing to do, for Canada’s economy, taxpayers and future competitiveness alike. And, to cap it all off, the next-day editorials and comment pages were filled with expressions of support from business columnists to political pundits to such unlikely endorsers as CUPE and the editorial writers at Toronto Star. Yes, it was a shocking change in position for the Conservatives. But the only thing that can trump a policy reversal is a communications plan that successfully makes the case that it was the right thing to do – not in terms of politics, but in terms of public policy. Only Nixon could go to China; ditto Flaherty and taxing income trusts.

Just like last week’s Fumble call on Rush Limbaugh, it’s almost too easy to give Michael J. Fox a Touchdown for being the bigger man in his response to Limbaugh’s ill-advised attack on Fox. At issue was Fox’s TV ad in support of a Democratic congressional candidate, which prompted Limbaugh to suggest that he Fox was either acting or deliberately “off his medication” to exaggerate his symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Fox sat down with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos to talk about the whole thing, and true to form, he didn’t give Limbaugh the benefit of an angry reaction. Instead, he laughed off the attack – and ensured himself a Touchdown by then carrying on to further hammer home his message: that by electing representatives who will enable further stem cell research is at least a promising step toward trying to find a cure for Parkinson’s and other ailments where stem cell therapy has shown potential. Brave, classy AND smart.

Healthy choices in fast food has been a contentious issue for some time. And while you might not put KFC and healthy food in the same sentence, you’ve got to give them credit for moving the ball down the field towards healthier eating. The majority of the Veritas team (myself included) would like to award KFC with a Touchdown for this week’s announcement that it is eliminating the use of trans-fats. KFC’s announcement came just before New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a plan to establish NYC as the first city in the States to ban trans-fat from being served in fast-food restaurants. Not only did KFC President Gregg Dedrick provide the public with a proactive message consistent with its new brand and slogan (“The Taste Lives Here”), the organization that earlier sued KFC for their use of trans-fat publicly applauded this winning move. KFC also provided the public with a clear timeline as to when the rollout will be completed in April, 2007. This is an all-out blitz on McDonald’s who announced the same intent in 2003, but have yet to follow through with their word. Communications lesson: when you deliver a message that is controlled and proactive, you help promote yourself in a positive way. Yes, Dedrick may have been a tad defensive on the potential impact on KFC’s taste, which potentially lacked an overall health-related message, but when has KFC ever been known as the token healthy fast food restaurant? At the end of the day, KFC’s biggest fans are not going to be concerned with the health content in their meal; they are just going to feel better about eating it.

Bob Reid has been a journalist and media advisor to a former Ontario Premier. He is now Veritas’ principal media coach.