Killeen Furtney Group is the LA-based PR firm that represented Nadya Suleman, a woman who gave birth to eight children, making her grand total of children reach 14. During an interview on Larry King Live Joann Killeen, president of Killeen Furtney Group, explained why they recently dropped Suleman as their client.
They were receiving numerous death threats through e-mails and voice mails. The dialogue from the interview and all other details can be found here.
PR firms are always told to keep their clients' best interest in mind. However, you sometimes forget about keeping your own safety in mind, until death threats begin to surface.
How would you handle this kind of situation?
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ReplyDeleteThis is definitely a sticky situation for the PR firm. Usually PR firms don't carry the brunt of the spotlight. This is definitely a special circumstance, because it's a topic individuals feel very passionate about.
ReplyDeleteTimothy
Boston PR firm
Besides completely severing all ties and distancing themselves from the individual, what's done is done now for them. I think the lesson is that instead of focusing on retaining a sensational story, the firm should've used a little more judgment and learned more about the mother's situation before taking her on. Of course, they couldn't have possibly predicted the backlash and death threats, but looking more into the story ahead of time instead of jumping in head first may have thrown up red flags for the firm.
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