Disgraced Public Relations Executives Humble Climb Back to Prominence

How a public official kick started his career after national humiliation BY Gautier Lemyze-Young

Photo credit: FEMA. Illustrated by the W ashington Post

On October 23, 2007, John Pat Philbin, then Director of External Affairs at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), allowed a staged press conference to continue without interference- a violation of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Code of Ethics. The media caught onto the story and within 24 hours Philbins 24-year-old career came crumbling down. Philbins story is a case study of what not to do in crisis PR, something that he is not proud of. But it is Philbins climb back to the top that is making headlines today. In 2011, Philbun established Crisis1, a Virginia-based crisis public relations firm. Crisis1 is Philbins attempt to reestablish his name in the industry and continue practicing what he loves: crisis PR. Before the infamous FEMA incident in 2007, Philbin had established himself as a crisis PR expert after 21 years experience in the United States Coast Guard. Philbin's beginnings in public relations Philbins 24 years of experience in public relations started with his time in the U.S. Coast (more)

Guard. Philbin dealt with some of the most headlining issues during his time in the service including the loss of TWA Flight 800 and the loss of JFK, Jr.'s plane off of Martha's Vineyard. JFK, Jr. was a unique case because we had to satisfy the publics demand for information while respecting the privacy of the Kennedy family, said Philbin during a June 17, 2013, interview at the University of Maryland. While Philbins experience certainly proves his qualifications in crisis PR, his academic background stands out as well. Philbin holds a doctorate in communication from the University of Maryland. The Communication Institute of Online Scholarship ranked the University of Marylands Department of Communication in the Top 10 nationwide as of 2010. But after the events on October 23, 2007, all of Philbins professional experience and academic expertise were called into question. The press conference heard round the beltway In October 2007, wildfires were spreading rapidly across Southern California. On October 23, 2007, it was Philbins job as Director of External Affairs for FEMA to hold a press conference about the wildfires. The California wildfires were out of control. There was considerable pressure from above to get on camera and provide an update to what was going on,

FEMA building Source: Wikipedia Commons

explained Philbin during a 2008 interview with PRSA. The assumption was that the media had been advised well in advance, said Philbin. I walked in and noticed very few people that I didnt recognize, said Philbin. No reporters were present. Philbin realized midway through the press conference that journalists were not given enough time to make it to the press conference and were attending on a listen-only line. Philbin let his FEMA staff members ask questions, resulting in an essentially faked press conference. A week earlier, Philbin handed in his resignation, making him a lame duck during the press conference. But, he still took the fall for the agencys embarrassing violation of public trust. Philbin immediately took responsibility, because he was the top man in charge. "I come from a culture in the Coast Guard where bad news doesn't get better with age, you let it all hang out. You tell it all, you tell it now, you tell the truth and that was the attitude I brought with me to FEMA," said Philbin in a January 2008 interview with For Immediate Release. (more)

"I am a firm believer in ethical behavior, because I think that is all you have in this business, your credibility, said Philbin. Which is particularly troubling to me because that's what has been called into question, continued Philbin.

I am a firm believer in ethical behavior, because I think that is all you have in this business, your credibility.
at the University of Maryland.

According to Philbin, the University of Maryland tried to revoke his doctorate after the incident was publicized. FEMA blamed Philbin for the incident. Philbin has called himself the fall guy in more than one interview. Philbins new job offer was revoked. He was in crisis mode. I went home and immediately started looking for a job, said Philbin at a recent interview

I knew that was what I had to do, both for myself and for my family, said Philbin. Moving forward Philbin has learned from the experience. It affirmed for me how the media landscape has changed so dramatically in the nearly 20 years that I have been a communication professional, Philbin wrote in a 2008 post for PRSAs ComPRehension blog. Organizations must not only perform well today, they must also communicate well. I believe effective communication programs are built on people, policies, planning and platforms, continued Philbin. Philbin is now working on parlaying the lessons he learned at FEMA into his work at his crisis PR firm, Crisis1, in Reston, VA. Were small, but were growing, said Philbin at a recent interview at the University of Maryland. On the Crisis1 website, its client list includes many government agencies and departments including the U.S. Marine Corps MEF, Department of Defense: Business Transformation Agency and the New York State Department of Health. FEMA is not listed.
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Philbins Lessons Learned

Understand your employees And make sure they understand you. Have a Code of Ethics in place that is enforced and every staff member must follow Stand up for yourself Philbin regrets not standing up for himself more to the press. He believes he shouldve Know your limits Philbin admits he was not paying as much attention to the position as he should have been due to concentrating on his next job and being distracted by a recent surgical procedure.
Information taken from a For Immediate Release article printed on January 8 , 2008.