When high profile individuals or corporations issue an apology, you can bet that apology is very carefully crafted.  Wait too long to admit mistakes, or try to play the blame game, and a lot of damage can be done to your reputation If you are going to apologize, mean it. Giving a half-hearted apology only makes the situation worse.

Recent examples of "foot in mouth"...

Gloria Steinem apologized after saying young women who support Bernie Sanders are doing so to impress boys.

Fomer NFL player Bill Romanowski referred to Cam Newton as "boy."  His apology on Twitter seemed flip to me.

MSNBC host Chris Matthews apologized after making a really dumb remark that did not sit well with Cuban Americans.

And of course there was Steve Harvey's epic fail at the Miss Universe pageant and his many apologies.  T-Mobile capitalized on the story and thanks to Harvey's willingness to poke fun at himself, came up with a clever SuperBowl ad.

In our media training workshops we focus on the art of the apology.  It is valuable to look at who did it well and who blew it.  Naturally the best advice is to think before you speak and delay before you tweet.  

#apologies

#mediatraining

www.WomenMediaPros.com