Orlando airport incident shows that TSA and Orlando police should not air their dirty laundry in the media

When I read Friday's article in the USA Today about how an Orlando airport contractor boarded a plane with 14 guns and 8 pounds of marijuana, I saw the classic finger pointing exercise that is typical of government agencies.   Having worked for the Air Force for 20 years in the public relations arena, I've seen these "turf wars" of who is going to take the blame.

First, the facts of the story.  According to an article written by Thomas Frank in Friday's newspaper, Thomas Anthony Munoz boarded a plane with the weapons and drugs.   Munoz worked as a contractor at the Orlando airport when he boarded a Delta contract flight from central Florida to Puerto Rico.  According to the article, Orlando police knew that Munoz had guns as he boarded the plane.  They notified the TSA of Munoz' status as he boarded the flight from Florida to Puerto Rico.


Munoz's arrest has brought the Transportation Security Agency's Inspector General to call for a screening of all contract employees who work at the airplane.   Franks article stated "that the IG report stated "Munoz evaded airport security by carrying the duffel bag through an employee entrance that leads to airplanes."

  As a former government public relations supervisor, I have seen one effective way on what to do when confronted with a mess like this.  The smartest way is:
1)  To admit errors.  

2) To tell the media that you learned from them and how you're going to fix it for the future
3) To move on to find a way to improve upon the process. The media will check back to make sure you keep your promises.

Such a confession does not make for a page three story in a national newspaper. However, the Orlando Police Department and the TSA got into the "who's at fault" issue about notification of Munoz's ability to smuggle the guns and drugs onto the plane which Franks reported in his article.  By airing their issues in public, it created the media poopfest that sells newspapers instead of really addressing the issue.

Will the elderly accept a better security system that allows their children to monitor them?

As someone who works in a public relations capacity for security firms, I have seen how security cameras and devices can be used in operational capacities. For example, security cameras used to protect construction sites from the theft of copper and other valuable materials can also be used for operational management and safety compliance.

Now, with the help of several of my security integrator clients, I have seen how security cameras can now be used for helping elderly people and their families deal with falls. I have an 82-year-old father-in-law who lives in Miami, Florida. While visiting him, he fell on the way to this office.

And, then I have my dad, 76, who is taking care of my mother, who is suffering through the first phase of Alzheimers. While my pa still walks and rides a bike, he's getting a little feeble. And, the weather in Decatur, Ill., is not that great in the winter.

John Barney, the vice president and owner of TriStarCommercial in Austin, tells me that there are new tools for home security systems that provide sensors. For example, if one of my parents doesn't go into the kitchen every 8 to 12 hours, it could send an alert to my cell phone.

I like that option, but I believe that a home security system with a camera placed in the kitchen is a better option. I can remotely check on my 82-year-old father-in-law or my parents in Illinois from my laptop computer.

While the concept seems pretty straight forward, getting acceptance from them is another story. They don't want to give up their independence and the thought that I could monitor them is not that appealing.

So, I am working with some mainstream reporters on the value of having elderly folks or their children install a security system, especially for folks who are downsizing from a large home to a garden home or a condo. It's my hope to work with reporters to help them understand that when someone moves into a smaller home for their Golden Years that they add a new video system instead of the traditional keypad security system.

Adding a professionally installed system will cost $500 or more, depending on the cameras and the system installed. However, the cost of such a system can become amortized into a new home loan. My friends who are professional realtors advise that it's easy to add such a device into a loan package.

Having a professional security system will provide peace of mind to people like me who have elderly parents. Will I convince either one of them to add such a system? I like the Detroit Lions' chances against the Titans in today's Thanksgiving game better than the possibility of them wanting to add such a system.

A dream that the other Matt Scherer will help the Cardinals defeat the Cubs

Thanks to that handy little Google news search tool, I know that Matt Scherer, the right handed reliever, was named to the 40 man roster of the St. Louis Cardinals. And, if you know anything about me, you know that I bleed Cardinal red during every baseball season.

I have this vision that the other Matt Scherer will make it to the big club next year, and my baby brother, the one with the connections to get tickets for the Cardinals in St. Louis are sitting in seats as the Cubs are in town. My little brother, God bless him, has become a Cub fan. When he was little, he was somewhat neutral, but I believe his wife, a lifelong Cub fan, convinced him to follow the team during his courtship.

As comedian Jeff Allen once noted: "Happy Wife, Happy Life."

But I am off track here. Let me get back to my vision and dream for 2009. It's the bottom of the ninth. The Cardinals are holding a one run lead with two outs and Derek Lee at bat. My namesake strikes out Lee, and my brother is so upset, he leaves me at the park.

Jury awards $8 million in inadequate security case

While visiting my 82-year-old father-in-law in Miami, I saw a news clip about an $8 million settlement for what the teams team at Channel 7 termed security negligence. As someone who has spent a lot of time working for security firms, I find that term of interest. A quick search for the term brought me four or five sponsored searches from law firms that specialize in this form of litigation. All of them were based in Florida.

But back to the facts of the case. According to today's Miami Herald, Starsky Garcia, a 27-year-old man was shot to death in the parking lot of a North Miami Beach apartment complex almost two years ago.

The Miami newspaper noted that during a four-year period when Garcia was murdered by an unknown gunman, police recorded 24 burglaries, nine assaults, three shootings and two robberies at the apartment complex. According to the newspaper, the apartment management company responded to the growth in crime by not fixing a fallen fence or a broken security gate. Nor, did the firm add a security firm or security cameras, the Herald reported.

According to Douglas McCarron, the attorney who represented Garcia's family in the civil law suit, the owners "stuck their head in the sand and basically told residents they're on their own.''

Will this $8 million settlement motivate other apartment firms to upgrade their security? Sadly, it won't motive owners of companies like this one. The only solution is for a judge to require the ownership group to spend three months living fulltime in the complex in addition to their financial penalty.

However, this settlement could be the impetus for other businesses to consider an upgrade in their security system. While it wasn't apparent from the Herald article, who is going to pay Garcia's family for his death, I would suspect that there was an insurance company who will pay for this loss.

Security integrators, by convincing their apartment and multi-use customers, to upgrade their systems could help prevent future lawsuits. And in turn, having a more advanced security system could eventually lead to lower insurance premiums, especially if the property's staff is well trained on the equipment.

Why some PR efforts are like a person trying to killing a swarm of angry hornets with a can of Raid

One of the problems with working in public relations is that a lot of people think they can do your job.   To those outside the industry, PR seems easy and not hard for someone with a gift of gab or a compelling story.   And, while it's easy for anyone to call a local media professional, there is more to this than a call to a local reporter.

After driving through Florida and speaking to my uncle, the former pest expert, I kind of likened what I do to what my favorite relative on my mother's side did for a living.   Like those who think they can call a local media to get a story placed, I believe companies who try to do the self help model are like the folks trying to rid their house of cockroaches with a can of Raid instead of getting professional extermination help.  Buying a can of bug spray may kill a few, but it doesn't finish the job.

Here's why the self help appoach provides limited results.  A professional public relations counselor has been through interviews and knows the kind of questions a reporter may ask.  By helping prepare their client for even a simple question such as financial earnings, they can help them proactively respond to what may have been an annoying question.

Secondly, a public relations professional knows how to tailor a story for the right medium.  20 years ago, the media approach was easier with only TV, radio and print.  Now, with the addition of social media, a good PR person should know how to reach those kind of communication outlets.

And, finally, here's why a PR professional is like a professional exterminator.  When a business has a public relations emergency, a smart communications expert knows how to use the media to help mitigate any possible reputation damage.

So, businesses have a choice.  They can go the "can of Raid" approach to their public relations program, or they can work with a professional who understands the nuances of working with the various medias.

Memorial blog sites can help those coping with grief

Can blogging sites help with grief?  Such a topic made me think of the death of my oldest son, Andrew Franklin.   It's ironic that such a topic popped up on the Help A Reporter Out web site because the Monday before Thanksgiving was the last time I held my son before he died of lung complications due to his Trisomy 18 genetic condition.   For those who don't know anything about Trisomy 18, it's kind of like combining Downs Syndrome and cancer.    With a third chromosone cell, Andrew would have died at birth, except he lived almost a year.

A reporter in North Carolina posted a question on this topic, and it got me to want to blog about it.   First, the grief process for anyone who loses a child is difficult.  There are family grief support groups out there, but a blogging site allows those of us who have problems sharing our grief to write about it.

From reading the query, it appears that the reporter is trying to set up a site for her newspaper.  I would think it would be on the scale of a living memorial.   If you lose a son, daughter, spouse, brother, sister or other loved one to an accident or illness, a memorial blog allows everyone to share their thoughts and sympathy with others who have faced the same issues and difficulties associated with this tragedy.

Maybe, this new blog is an effective way for funeral homes, non profits and other organizations to  share information and provide online support.  For many of us, the grieving process can take years to overcome.  Even now, the thought of losing my oldest son still hurts a little, but I was fortunate enough to have friends and family to help me.   Had this loss occurred today, a blogging site would have helped me deal with the grief.

Spotted: God in a black SUV

So I am driving through Baton Rouge yesterday (on my way to Miami) when I spotted a black SUV with the license plates reading:  "GOD."   I would have thought of God as someone who drives a simpler auto such as my wife's blue Honda hybrid.   And, I would suspect that he would not drive me off the road as he or she drove to the LSU-Mississippi game.

However, I did spot one of his representatives Sunday at a truck stop along I-10.  He was holding a church service in the trucker's lounge.