Responsibility for the "John Doe" debacle, in which PRSA
is threatening to sue an anonymous e-mailer for making allegedly
libelous statements about COO Catherine Bolton, rests with
the 2004 board, which should have squelched any such possible
action.
Wiser was the 2003 board which, when asked at its last meeting
about hiring a detective to identify "leaks" at h.q., dismissed
this because news of a detective being hired would swamp whatever
"good" the detective would do.
Also in the dock is the 2005 board which should have cancelled
the 2004 board's action before it exploded in the New York
Law Journal in June.
Silence, inaction, over-dependence on legal advice, and subservience
to h.q. staff have characterized PRSA boards for too long.
Time Warner, which is being excoriated by journalists for
giving the court a reporter's notes in the Valerie Plame case,
is the same Time Warner that gave up the identity of "John
Doe" to PRSA. As is its practice, TW didn't even show up in
court to fight the release of Doe's identity.
TW should not have handled this in a routine way. This was
not a case of a teenager being accused of violating a music
copyright.
TW, Procter-Rogers
Should Have Talked
TW should have known that one of its own employees, Cheryl
Procter-Rogers, was the president-elect of PRSA and should
have asked her opinion of this quest for Doe's identity.
PRSA and Bolton claimed Bolton was libeled in a single e-mail
sent last Oct. 18.
The filing, according to Doe's law firm, Quarto Dunning,
was "threadbare," a two-page, one-paragraph document accompanied
by the offending e-mail. The document three times used the
word "it's" when "its" (possessive) should have been used.
The claim was that "Doe" had broken his or her contract
with the Road Runner e-mail service of TW by making "defamatory"
statements about Bolton via the e-mail service. But this was
only a claim of defamation and far from being proved.
Doe, at a cost of probably at least $10,000 or $20,000, had
to argue in court against the claim.
Might Be 'Whistle
Blower'
This could well be the case of a "whistle blower" being attacked.
Doe charged mistreatment of Rob Levy, the professional development
head who suddenly left in June 2004 although he had helped
to boost PD revenues 61% to $1.28 million in the first half
of 2004.
Other major staffers who left in 2004 without announcement
or explanation were 15-year ad veteran Anne Fetsch; webmaster
Robin Michaels; assistant controller Leighton Watson, and
Brady Leet, who reported to Bolton and was directly under
Levy, No. 2 staffer.
We're not sure Procter-Rogers even knew the legal action
had started. In any case, she should have talked to TW about
the situation.
The 2004 PRSA board discussed with legal counsel Oct. 22,
2004 what to do about the e-mail but never voted any action.
Exactly which PRSA board members started the action is unknown,
although it's obvious Bolton knew about it since her name
is on the filing.
Employees Should
Be Treated Equally
Should PRSA file defamation charges against "Doe," it would
have to provide legal counsel to any or all of the 50+ employees
of PRSA who might be deposed under oath (since PRSA is paying
all the legal bills of employee Bolton).
No one should be deposed without a lawyer being present to
advise on what questions should be answered or not.
The discovery on this case, should defamation charges be
filed as PRSA and Bolton have threatened to do, would be quite
extensive.
Bolton's trip to China in March to represent PRSA and her
trip to Trieste, Italy, June 28-30 for the "World PR Festival"
(attended by 584 people) reinforce her position as a "limited
issue public figure."
Proving defamation against a public figure is harder than
proving it against a private citizen because "actual malice"
and not mere negligence must be established.
The board has its work cut out for it July 21-23. It has
backed itself into an untenable, highly embarrassing position.
This case is the result of governance dysfunction at PRSA.
Two committees have been studying governance reform for at
least six months but not a peep has been heard from either.
The board's obsession with secrecy is backfiring.
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