Mr Mayor, speak now cause forever holding peace is not an option
Ok, the Rob Ford video fiasco has reached the tipping point for him, for us in the media and for the people of Toronto. His silence has become deafening and is fueling speculation that what the Toronto Star reported about his alleged drug abuse must be true even though he called the allegations ridiculous.
This speculation is not fair to the Mayor or to the City of Toronto which is suffering from the collateral damage on the world stage. International news agencies including the BBC were calling the 680news room last Friday in search of those who could be interviewed about the allegations and the Mayor’s lame response, – so you can be sure that most people in Europe have an opinion of him and the city that elected him. American networks have been carrying the story on their prime time newscasts and last night the three big late night talk shows had a field day ridiculing the situation. It wouldn’t be a stretch to assume that SNL is working on a skit for the upcoming weekend.
There has always been a school of thought among some PR practitioners and brand builders that any publicity is always better than none. I don’t buy that theory. Just ask Nigel Wright or Mike Duffy if the kind of attention they are receiving is helping their professional lives. Toronto took a hit with SARS and Mayor Lastman’s clumsy response to world concerns. The Ford fiasco may not hurt tourism, but it is clear he has lost all leadership credibility or the power of persuasion over a divided council, and that sends a scary signal to those abroad who may otherwise consider investing in the City.
As a media specialist and trainer I can assure you and Rob Ford that the negative attention will continue until the mayor shuts it down himself by taking some action NOW. The action he takes will “become the news” instead of the news,commentary and street level speculation continuing to be about why he is not taking a firm, if not legal stance against such serious allegations.
Personally, I have never been bombarded more by friends, neighbors or radio listeners wanting to know “what’s going on with the Mayor” ? ” Why doesn’t he take legal action against the Toronto Star if the allegations are not true”? ” If he’s not fighting back then there must be something to the story” they say, or ” The Star has gone too far in their relentless attack on Ford”
When I’m asked what I think, I can only respond that I spoke directly to Toronto Star investigative reporter Kevin Donovan whose track record and whose power of observation I respect and trust. He told me what he saw in that cell phone video and what he has already reported.
It is time for the Mayor to say or do something more about it.