Ashton Kutcher makes one mistake exponentially worse.

If you’re on Twitter you probably heard that movie and TV star/producer Ashton Kutcher (@aplusk) stepped in it pretty badly on the night that Penn State University football coach and child rape enabler Joe Paterno was fired by that school’s board of trustees. Kutcher, who was apparently in a cave for the prior three days as the news cycle was raging over the collapse of the Penn State football program's reputation after coach Jerry Sandusky’s arrest for child rape, saw the news of Paterno’s firing and reacted as a football fan. Presumably, he thought Paterno was being fired for poor performance or some other football-related reason. As whatever percentage of his 8 million (yes, eight MILLION) followers who were paying attention at that moment piled on to flame him for his insensitivity, he immediately realized his mistake, apologized, and even retweeted some of the vitriolic tweets aimed at his stupidity, acknowledging “I’m an idiot.” (The offending tweets have been removed from the @aplusk timeline.)


The Twitterverse roiled, as it is wont to do, but its cycle moves rapidly. By the time I caught up with the controversy, some Twitter users were already defending Kutcher to other users who hadn’t read his apology or didn’t care. As usually happens when there’s a kerfuffle over a tweet, the Twitter community managed itself, churned through the issue, and was already moving through its approximately 30-minute news cycle. All Kutcher had to do was apologize—which he did, immediately—lie low for a short time, and then carry on as usual. It’s my professional opinion that that’s all it would take for this embarrassing error to be put behind him.


Instead, as is often the case with celebrities (or politicians) with large entourages and an over-inflated sense of their own importance, Kutcher’s team, one can only assume, went into full crisis management mode. What could they do to protect their star and justify their ridiculous fees? Not one of them thought to consider the reality: it’s already over, let’s just sit tight and let Ashton be Ashton. He’s human, he made a mistake, he acknowledged it right away and apologized, no one’s going to hold it against him. After all, he’s attracted 8 million Twitter followers by just being himself. 


Instead, a short time later, came this tweet: “As of immediately I will stop tweeting until I find a way to properly manage this feed.  I feel awful about this error. Won't happen again.”


Then, a day later, this announcement on Kutcher’s Posterous page:
“A collection of over 8 million followers is not to be taken for granted. I feel responsible to deliver informed opinions and not spread gossip or rumors through my twitter feed. While I feel that running this feed myself gives me a closer relationship to my friends and fans I've come to realize that it has grown into more than a fun tool to communicate with people. While I will continue to express myself through @Aplusk, I'm going to turn the management of the feed over to my team at Katalyst as a secondary editorial measure, to ensure the quality of its content. My sincere apologies to anyone who [sic] I offended. It was a mistake that will not happen again.”


As a professional publicist and public relations consultant, my reaction to this announcement is disappointment. I understand the panic and the reaction, but in my opinion this is absolutely the wrong decision. Kutcher’s fans feel a connection to him through Twitter, which is the whole point of social media. Knowing that his tweets will now be approved or edited by a professional management team immediately makes them less interesting and less valuable to the Twitter community. Kutcher doesn’t want to make any embarrassing mistakes again, but those mistakes make him human. Twitter will miss him. 

20 Tips for Appearing on Television News

 Your carefully crafted pitch has hit home and you’ve secured your client a segment on the TV news. Now what?

1. As soon as your segment is confirmed, send the producer as much information as you can. Mark clearly the information that should appear on the screen to accompany your segment: usually the name, date, and time of your event and organization/business, and the website for more information. (Often the TV station will put their own website up with a link to your website.) Include a short list of talking points that are most important for your client to get across, and would be most interesting to the TV audience. If there are any words or names that are difficult to pronounce, include a pronunciation guide.

A typical TV news studio

2. If there’s anything you need to get to the station ahead of time, like b-roll (video footage), scans of photos, or a music CD, get it there early and mark it very clearly with the producer’s name. Follow up to make sure the producer received it. TV stations can be chaotic places and things get lost all the time. If you intend to retrieve it after your segment, mark it “hold for pickup” with your name and number.

3. Reconfirm the details of your segment the day before and make sure the producer has your cell number so he or she can reach you at the last minute if necessary. If you and your client are traveling separately to the TV station, make sure the producer has your client’s cell number too, and that your client has directions to the station and the producers’ name and number.

4. Arrive on time. The news producer will have given you two times when confirming your segment: arrival time and on-air time. Be there by your arrival time even if you don’t need a lot of set-up and it’s likely you’re going to stand around waiting. The producer needs to know you’re there and ready so they have one less thing to worry about during the newscast. They might also ask you to go on earlier than planned.

5. If your segment requires a lot of set-up, arrive early. Does the client have to get into a costume? Prep a cooking segment? Provide and cue up a music CD, or set up musical instruments? Construct a table display? If so, arrive well before your scheduled arrival time and get set up as early as they’ll let you. This will give you some wiggle room in case you’ve forgotten anything or something else goes wrong. It also gives you time to meet more people at the station and other guests waiting in the green room (networking!).

"Stand-up" interview

6. Unless you’re a chef, don’t wear white. Don’t wear any clothing with a small check pattern. Avoid stripes, zig-zags, and wild patterns. None of these register well on TV. Remember that you will look heavier on camera, so if you’re concerned about that, wear solidly dark clothes. Women who usually wear makeup should go a little heavy on it that morning. If you don’t normally wear makeup, consider doing so for a TV appearance, as it will make you look less washed-out on screen, especially next to a news anchor or reporter, who will be heavily made up.

7. Try to avoid wearing a clingy dress or other clothing that will not have anywhere to put your wireless mike pack. It’s about the size of a cell phone and needs to clip onto your clothes somewhere out of sight, usually the back of your pants or skirt. Also avoid wearing a clunky necklace or swishy scarf that might interfere with the wireless mike that will be clipped somewhere around your neckline. In order to have somewhere to clip the mike, don’t wear a turtleneck unless you’re wearing a jacket over it.

8. Turn off your phone’s ringer as soon as you arrive. If possible, leave your phone in the green room when you’re called into the studio. If you have to take it with you, turn it off completely for the whole time you’re in the studio, whether you’re on camera or not.

9. Unless you know your way around a TV news station very well, don’t wander around. Stay put until they come get you, and make sure one of the news staff shows you where to go. If you need the restroom, ask where it is and follow directions. You don’t want to step in front of a camera or get in the way of busy staff.

10. Don’t talk in the studio, or whisper if you have to. It can be hard to tell when the cameras are on and you don’t want to inadvertently be heard during the newscast. If you’re singing or performing music and need to warm up, carefully do so only when told it’s clear.

11. When it’s your turn to be on camera, act natural. Speak in your normal voice and address the anchor or reporter as if you were having a regular conversation. Stay in one spot as much as possible. Don’t look into the camera unless specifically directed to. Listen to the questions carefully and try to pick up on your interviewer’s cues to have a lively chat.

12. On the other hand, don’t assume your interviewer has all the information you sent them ahead of time memorized or will have time to cover it all. They are reporting on dozens of stories each day and although your segment is the only important one to you, it’s just one of many to them. If the interview is coming to a close and you sense a key point you wanted to make is going to be missed, try to work it in without being too obvious.

13. If the interviewer makes an error during your segment, respond with the correct information and move on. Don’t make a big deal about it. If an error shows up on screen, though, let the producer know right away.

Live cooking segment

14. If your segment includes food, bring plastic serveware and plenty of extra food to leave at the station for the staff and crew. If it’s an event, bring as many free tickets as you can to hand out or leave in the staff room.

15. This may seem obvious, but be polite and friendly to EVERYone. This week’s intern could be next month’s assistant segment producer. The sound guy at one station could be hired next week at a different station you haven’t been able to crack yet. They work with a lot of guests and publicists, but they remember the nice ones – and the ones that weren’t so nice, too.

16. Don’t ask for a copy of your segment. Set your DVR to record it, but if you don’t, you can easily buy a copy from a video monitoring service. Most TV stations also post clips of news segments on their websites, usually within hours.

17. When your segment is over, ask if they need you to stick around for anything. Especially with a performance-oriented segment, if they liked it they might ask you to stay and close out the show.

18. When you’re completely done, thank everyone and clear out as quickly as you can. Follow up right away with a thank-you to the producer. When you post or link to the segment from your and your client’s website or social media, let the producer know. They will appreciate the additional promotion you’re providing for their newscast.

19. If the worst happens and your segment is cancelled, even if it’s at the last minute, even if you’re already on site and all set up, don’t react badly. The nature of live TV news is that things happen quickly and nothing is set in stone. Be gracious and, if possible, make it clear you’re happy to reschedule at their earliest convenience.

20. If your segment went well, the next time you pitch the same producer, remind him or her how great it was to work with them last time. You’ll find yourself invited back sooner than later.

This is not a paid message.

Something interesting has happened to us several times in the past couple of months. STPR has been confidently identified by friends or colleagues as representing businesses or events that we actually don’t.


In one instance, an event organizer was referred to us because someone else told him we were the publicists for a similar event, and he wanted to collaborate. We had to tell him we were not affiliated with that event.  


A few days later, at a dinner party, the talk turned to restaurants and I heard a friend airily tell everyone I was the P.R. rep for a popular eatery, one I love and patronize but do not actually represent. When I corrected her, she looked surprised, then a little annoyed. “Are you sure?” Yes, I’m sure someone who’s not my client is not my client. 


What does this mean? What would make anyone assume I’m representing someone when I’m not? In both cases the assumptions were made because in my enthusiasm for the event and the restaurant, I post to Facebook and Tweet about them regularly. I’m passing on information and making recommendations based on my personal likes and dislikes. I’m engaging in social interaction and joining the online conversation. Isn’t that what social media is supposed to be about? So why is the assumption made that I’m shilling?


Has it come to this, that when someone is known to be a publicist, every statement he or she makes is assumed to be a paid message? I’ve seen people Tweeting who, every time they mention a product or service, feel the need to append “they’re not paying me to say this” afterward. (On the other hand, I rarely see Tweets by individuals that make it quite as clear when they ARE being paid to say it.)


Promoted Tweets are a thing, and they’re officially identified as such. But sponsored messages, viral marketing, and celebrity spokespeople are so pervasive in all types of media now that any statement, no matter how innocent, is suspect. (Not that I’m confusing myself with a celebrity spokesperson.) No one is willing to believe you can just plain like something enough to comment on it unless the company is paying you.


I’m not going to fall into that trap, though. My list of current clients is posted on my website. You’ll notice they don’t include, for example, Diet Coke, Honda, or Nutella (I wish!). If I’m posting or Tweeting about anything not on that list, you can safely assume I’m acting on my own volition. If I like you, I’ll say so. You don’t have to pay me. Just keep doing a great job, being yummy, and making me happy.