Case Study Evaluation on the Pete Rose-Jim Gray Incident

In the case study, “Playing Hardball: The Pete Rose-Jim Gray Controversy,” award-winning NBC news reporter Jim Gray interviewed Pete Rose during the 1999 World Series. Rose, a legendary baseball player, was banned from the Hall of Fame for betting on games while serving as manager for the Cincinnati Reds. During the live television interview, Gray asked the retired athlete if he was willing to offer an apology for denying that he ever gambled. Instead of making that his moment of public redemption, he opted to lie and save face instead.

Jim Gray interviews Cincinnati Reds Manager Pete Rose

In evaluating this case, I’ll be using the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Code of Ethics, which operates on four major principles: seek truth and report it, minimize harm, act independently, and be accountable. This Code of Ethics is very helpful in evaluating the case because it actually involves a journalist reporter and the choices that were made.

According to the first (and arguably) most important principle, Jim Gray fulfilled his journalistic duty. It was no secret that Pete Rose had been accused and reprimanded by Major League Baseball for betting on games. Gray was bold and brave enough to seek the truth straight from the horse’s mouth on live television.

Many viewers complained about Gray’s interview approach, saying that Rose already paid for what he did and should have been allowed to enjoy his celebratory evening. I feel like there was nothing wrong with Gray asking him one important question because the case study stated that Rose hadn’t made a baseball game appearance in 10 years.

Under minimizing harm, SPJ Code of Ethics says journalists should show compassion for those who may be affected by news coverage and use special sensitivity when dealing with inexperienced subjects. 

Pete Rose was an athlete that played in hundreds of games in front of millions of people during his career. There is no way he was affected by news coverage because at one point in time, he was the news. He’s not inexperienced because he is no stranger to the spotlight. He was used to being a star athlete and all the challenges that came with it.

Jim Gray acted independently because even though the case study said he interviewed Pete Rose over 50 times in the past, he didn’t allow their good standing relationship to get in the way of him asking a tough question. He avoided conflicts of interests and remained vigilant about holding Rose accountable for his actions.

The only way the SPJ Code of Ethics wasn’t helpful in this case was when it came to being accountable. During that World Series, the New York Yankees were able to boycott Gray and get him replaced without him even getting a fair chance to explain the reasoning behind his actions.

An ethical perspective that supports the SPJ Code of Ethics is Kant’s Categorical Imperative. Kant’s principle focuses on consistency and whether the act is something everyone could do. If the act is respectful, then it’s acceptable. 

I believe that any journalist with enough courage and concern could have asked the athlete the same question that Gray did. As a truthful reporter, he didn’t have any bad intentions during his interview. Like he said in a post interview with Sports Illustrated, he was only “trying to give him a window of opportunity to take his case public.”

An ethical perspective that goes against Gray’s actions is Mill’s Principle of Utility, which determines the rightness of an act by its effect on total happiness. 

This principle says that actions should promote happiness with happiness being described as “pleasure and the absence of pain.” Many thought Gray’s questions were “embarrassing” and uncalled for. They didn’t believe that a World Series game was the right time or place for Rose to be put on the spot about something that happened in his past. Mill says that consequences of the action are most important and while Gray had noble intentions, the consequences that followed after the interview did not evoke any happiness for any parties involved.

Out of all the principles, I think the SPJ Code of Ethics was the most helpful because all of their major principles and code of practice really coincided with the gray areas of the Pete Rose/Jim Gray case. The SPJ Code of Ethics justifies the majority of Jim Gray’s action. Although many people disagreed with his question choices and persistent demeanor, he felt that he was upholding his integrity and fulfilling his obligations as a journalist.

"Do the Right Thing": Having an Ethical Backbone in the Field of Radio

As I enter my professional career in radio, I can only imagine how many ethical scenarios I may have to face. At a radio station, I would be part of a group that is considered the voice of the community. 

There's a lot of people that will be listening to me and in some cases, hanging on my every word. So I think it's safe to say that putting my ethics hat on is important if I intend to grow my listener base and keep the station out of trouble.

Employees that work as on-air talents are often responsible for giving away tickets for various types events, whether it’s a music concert, comedy show, or a theme park. Once they decide how and when they will give the tickets away, the station promotes the giveaway on air and on their website in advance.  

Giving out free tickets to a lucky listener...what does ethics have to do with this?

Well for example, the talent can announce on air that they will give a pair of tickets away to the 10^th caller and then decide to give it to another caller because the 10^th caller didn’t “sound excited enough.” Is that being fair and honest to that listener? What if the caller was indeed excited, but just didn’t have a bubbly personality to show for it. Should they get rejected from winning because of their lack of     emotion over the phone?

Another scenario is if a radio station gets booked to make a remote appearance at a retail store and the store or marketing manager is dissatisfied because he/she feels like the prizes that the station gave away to customers were too “cheap.” He/she feels that the company invested enough money into the event that should have warranted prizes and giveaway items of reasonable value.

Should the station have bought more expensive items to please their client? Or did the store expect way more than what they bargained for? Maybe the client did pay a fair amount and the station “slighted” them on the value of the items OR maybe the client negotiated a lower booking rate and the promotions department brought items they felt matched the cost range. After all, there is the blunt yet truthful phrase “you get what you pay for”…

How about if a client pays for a certain amount of commercial spots that are scheduled to air 14 times –once in the morning and once in the evening for one week. For one reason or another, one of the spots doesn’t air in the evening and the talent decides to run the ad twice the next morning to make up for it.

Should the talent make the sales team aware so they can inform the client and offer a refund or is it ok that the talent aired it at a different time?

In an online article “Talk through ‘gray areas,’ giving staff a moral compass,” Patti Dodgen says that ethical problems in public broadcasting aren’t derived from “management mischief”, but come from station managers who make bad decisions because they are under stress. “When the survival of the station is in question, the range of acceptable alternatives can grow at a frightening rate.” She goes on to explain that in order to guide one’s behavior and decision-making in compromising situations, the person should practice OPAL principles, (Openness, Performance with Integrity, Accountability, and Leadership).

A good example that can be looked at from an ethical standpoint is when Hot 97 Radio’s DJ Mister Cee was accused of soliciting sex from a male transsexual multiple times. He once got caught by an undercover cop who posed as a male drag queen and another time he was outed by a popular “internet personality” who posted a video of Mister Cee discussing oral sex in exchange for money. 

This of course was extremely embarrassing and damaged the reputation of the popular Hip Hop station. Mister Cee initially tried to deny all allegations and stand by his claims that he was not gay, but after intense media speculation and coverage, he did eventually confirm that the allegations were true. The ethical questions that should be raised are: Should Mister Cee have gotten fired by the station for engaging in illegal activity? Is it fair to his fans, listeners and station that he blatantly denied an allegation that he knew was true? Although Hot 97 chose to stand by Mister Cee, encouraging him to freely explore his sexual identity, they also sent a message that they condone illegal and unlawful behavior from their staff. 

From the readings, I’ve learned that I need to be prepared for difficult situations that may come my way and also know that I will have to make some tough ethical choices. I will have to find a way to balance honesty, respect and fairness in the way that I deliver news on air, communicate with listeners and work with advertising clients. 

Anytime I make a decision, I have to think “Am I being respectful and genuine to my listeners?” and

“Am I representing the station in the right way?” I think those are really important things to always     keep in mind as I move forward in my radio career.

The tools that I already have access to that could help me in my ethical decision-making are: Ethics Guide for Public Radio Journalism, Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics, and Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) Code of Ethics.

In class and group discussions, I would like to pick apart ethical questions like: Is it ever ok to withhold pertinent information about your client from the public? When is it acceptable to take photos of people without getting waiver consent forms signed? Where should the line be drawn when companies endorse potentially offensive ads, memes, commercials, etc. on social media?

"Teamwork Makes the Dreamwork"...Frito Lay Takes a Proactive Approach to Collaborate With Other Groups

In recent years, Frito Lay has recognized their local farmers through a regional and national campaign called “Lay’s Local.” The company showed their appreciation for the local communities by participating in more than 50 local market events throughout the country in 2009 which included 30 second commercial spots, national print advertising and thousands of in-store displays. 

Frito Lay reached specific local farmer investors like Brian Kirschenmann (California), Jack Wallace Sr. and Jack Wallace Jr., (Texas), and Darrell McCrum(Maine) to illustrate what impact these farmers have had on the success of the America’s “favorite potato chip.”

Another investor named Nelson Peltz owns 1% of stock in the company and back in July, he suggested that the company should buy Mondelez (Oreo cookies). That way PepsiCo can become a “global snack leader” and phase out the beverage business at the same time. PepsiCo did respond to his idea, but stated that they wouldn’t be making his idea a reality.

Frito Lay’s most recent investment is in the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) industry. In June they opened a fueling station in Beloit, Wisconsin as a part of their large-scale commitment to alternative fuel. In 2012 Frito Lay submitted a competitive Request-For-Proposal (RFP) to potential partners, promising to purchase a base volume from each vendor’s station once it’s built. 

The State of Wisconsin and the Department of Energy were also present at the opening to support Frito Lay’s RFP. This new investment shows Frito Lay’s continued proactive approach in supporting natural gas and energy as well as their goal to cut fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions down to 50 percent by 2020.

It's Handled: Frito Lay Has All of their Bases Covered on Traditional & New Media

You know that infamous saying “out with the old and in with the new?” well from the looks of it, Frito Lay is not following that ideology in their marketing and PR practices. When it comes to the traditional and new media relations, Frito Lay is making sure all of their bases are covered. Not only do they have official accounts created for all of the go to “social media hangouts,” but they are pretty active on them too.

As involved as they are with social community spaces like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, they still make sure to engage in the traditional media methods. In Social Media News Release: An Overdue Facelift, Breckenridge talks about how a news release still holds value because it gives journalists the “who, what, when, where, and why” of a story, (Ch. 7). For journalists, finding a well-written press release—inverted pyramid style, is music to their ears. On their website under the About Us tab, Frito Lay has a whole press release archive that is organized by year and dates all the way back to 2000! Whether you’re a Stockholder, Journalist, or PR professional, you can easily find detailed information on what Frito Lay has accomplished in the last decade. Fast-forward to the present day and the Frito Lay brand is all over the timelines, walls, message boards, picture boards, and blogs, and anything else that’s social and #hip.

Note: If anything that I listed in the previous sentence went over your head, then that means you have not been fully sucked into the digital social world. You actually just might still be (dare I say it) living somewhat of normal life, kudos to you!

However, if you did understand everything that I mentioned (including the hash tag) then you are a bona fide “new media” expert, whether you proudly claim it or not. After completing my Social Media Audit on Frito Lay, I found that they either participate or get referenced on every relevant social media site out. On Twitter they’re constantly tweeting a bit ly short link on how to enter an ongoing sweepstakes or using fun hash tags like #ThrowbackThursday and #FritoGameTrivia. 

While they don’t have a Tumblr page, there is a page dedicated to all Frito Lay tagged photos. A person can follow that particular feed and look at what other consumers are posting about the brand. On Pinterest and Instagram the photos posted are either sharing valuable content on recipes or displaying their funny sense of humor with one-line phrases. 

Facebook is definitely where Frito Lay excels the most in their new media marketing. In Chapter 2, Rose and Tanton gives a breakdown of what valuable content is, saying that it should be useful, focused, clear and compelling, high quality, and genuine, (Pg. 24).  They encourage conversations through trivia-like questions, directly answer consumer’s personal questions, and post visual reminders about their contests and free prizes to over two million fans.

Everything that Frito Lay posts on social media is fun and unpredictable, it feels like one big party. The headline on their Facebook page is “Get Tailgate Ready with Frito-Lay” and one of their posts I about how the brand loves to sing in the rain (if it’s raining potato chips, of course). There’s a very upbeat and positive vibe that comes through on all of their content, which is what their target audience likes. Where the media relations’ strategy can be improved is on Twitter. While they are active on the site, they don’t really engage with their followers or mention them. It would also be great if they did more twitter related contests i.e. Tweet your best snack photo or your best Chester the Cheetah joke and win your favorite snack for a year.

But all in all, Frito Lay is doing a fantastic job at posting valuable content on ALL social media sites (not just one or two of them), while maintaining their true brand personality. I think Chester would approve.

Two Men's Dreams Creates One Successful Brand

If you don’t love Floyd “Money” Mayweather, you at least know who he is. The undefeated Welterweight Champion of the world is one of the most talked about athletes. His drive, witty humor, and genuine spirit are what make him so likeable among his peers, fans, and some of the biggest names in Hollywood. His perfect winning record is what earns him respect, but it’s his passion to be the best boxer that really solidifies his brand.

Personality is essentially the backbone to a brand’s core, mission, and passion. Bhargava describes personality as “the unique, authentic, and talkable soul of your brand that people can get passionate about.” Just like with Mayweather, passion and a personal dream is what initiated the Frito-Lay journey 81 years ago. Two men in different cities got motivated enough to start up their own potato chip businesses, respectively.

The Fritos brand was unique from the get-go because founder C.E. Doolin set his eyes on a product that no one else was paying attention to. His decision to position himself and his company early on, is what gave him the upper hand advantage on building his brand.

Herman W. Lay also had an advantage, as his company was one of the first to deliver snack foods throughout an entire city. Lay’s company can attribute its success not only to the fact that there was not much other competition, but also because he chose a good location.  

Personality is “the unique, authentic, and talkable soul of your brand that people can get passionate about.”

Doolin founded the Fritos Company based on a real life experience—an authentic story. One day he stopped into a small café in San Antonio, Texas and chose to buy a bag of corn chips. He liked the taste of the chips so much that he wasted no time contacting the manufacturer, getting his hands on the original recipe and buying the business. In no time, he was selling bags of corn chips right out of his car! If that’s not authentic, then I don’t know what is.

Frito-Lay has come a long way from selling just bags of corn chips. One of the ways they have maintained their longevity and uniqueness is through their extensive list of recipes that incorporates all of the brands into a variety of meals. From a Tostitos Chips and Herb Crusted Salmon to a gluten-free Chipotle Fritos Meringues dish, Frito-Lay has a tasty dish for any time of the day and any occasion.

On the downside, when you think of chips and snacking, you automatically label it as something negative. Chips are known to be salty, oily, and high in calories. What I think makes Frito-Lay authentic is that they don’t try to ignore the elephant in the room, instead they try to educate the consumer on how to balance your diet, eat snacks in moderation and explain why snacking doesn’t have to be a bad habit. 

On the Frito-Lay website they have a page called “Straight Talk on Snacking” where they give helpful answers to honest questions like “Doesn’t Frito-Lay make junk food? and “Won’t eating chips make me fat?” The answers that are given are truthful and simple to understand.

Speaking of simple, Frito-Lay’s mission is short and clear: make the best snacks on Earth while caring for the environment. Their talkable hook (the factor that gets people interested) is ambitious, yet sensitive which is a nice balance. Their Snack Chat Blog is also a great tool that highlights the voice and communication style of the brand.

The name Frito-Lay shows unity because two different companies were willing to give up their own individuality to create a new vision for an even greater snack company. There is somewhat of a unified brand alignment because all of their products have color combinations of red, yellow, and/or blue and all the fonts are similar.

Their slogan “food for the fun of it!” and their logo which is a red ribbon wrapped around a sun shows that their personality is meant to be lively, fun, and tasteful. The image of the sun is also meant to show that the company is environmentally conscious.

The Frito-Lay brand definitely has the three personality principles: unique, authentic, and talkable which is evident in their product line, their history and their marketing and design. If Frito-Lay were a TV character, it would be Zac Morris from the 90’s hit sitcom Saved by the Bell. 

The company’s personality is nothing short of fun, friendly, and fresh, just like Zac. I think Frito-Lay’s personality is a clear reflection of their mission. To provide great quality snacks, protect the environment, and have fun while doing it.