Tell Hetrick

Let’s set aside, for a moment, David Letterman’s sexual trespasses. Let’s focus, instead, on his public relations strategy.

Having advised and counseled many clients and their attorneys facing crises, I’ve watched Letterman do what too many individuals and organizations are too frightened to do: Go public first with bad news. Too often, folks facing crises hope and pray the news won’t get out; or opt not to comment because of litigation; or choose to respond in arrears with excuses and evasions.

But Letterman played offense. Here are some pages from Hetrick’s media training playbook well executed by Letterman this week and last.

• Get bad news out fast for a quick story death. No, the Letterman story’s not gone. But it’s fading faster than it would have had it been unearthed by blogs, tabloids and prosecutors, then played out in the courts.

• Control the first story. Because it’s used as a reference point for all the coverage that follows, whoever controls the first story often wins. By going first, Letterman controlled the message, the medium, the timing, the setting and the “I’m the victim” positioning.

• Be honest. Letterman admitted wrongdoing, painful as that proved for him, his wife and his staff. Those who duck and weave lose even more credibility as the story drags on.

• Say you’re sorry. Until and unless you do, no one hears anything else you have to say.

Now it’s your turn. Did Letterman turn lemons into lemonade with good PR? Or will he ultimately be crushed despite some short-term spin?