Good and Bad PR

Drew Peterson’s Latest PR Debacle

by Kate Catlin

It’s no secret that one of the biggest keys to success in crisis PR is to tell the truth and tell it fast. Drew Peterson however, may have taken that just a little too far when his lawyer appeared on the Today show on Thursday, Jan. 24 with co-host Matt Lauer.

Earlier in the week, the duo (Peterson and his lawyer) appeared on a live radio broadcast suggesting that the station run a ‘Win a Date with Drew’ contest. The husband of missing 24-year-old Stacy Peterson is evidently ready to move on and his lawyer is asking – why shouldn’t he?

In a one-on-one interview with Matt Lauer, Drew Peterson’s attorney, Joel Brodsky, explained that the stunt was designed to “disarm” the radio station’s morning radio host who attacked Peterson daily on his show. While he did say they were not completely serious about the contest suggestion, Peterson is serious about moving on.

Lauer was completely taken aback by the suggestion that while this man’s fourth wife has been missing for three months, he would suggest, publicly, that he is ready and excited to move on with his life and begin dating other women – especially when he remains the one and only suspect in her disappearance. Brodsky went on to defend and even justify Peterson’s decision by saying, “Stacy is not missing. Drew Peterson has said from day one — and he believes and he knows — that Stacy has run off with another man. He’s a single man. He’s raising his children the best he can. And he’s entitled to get on with his life. Stacy’s run off with another man, so she’s moved on with her life. Why should Drew be sitting in a dark room?”

Drew Peterson has been very critical of the intense media attention he has received but yet he continues to insert himself into the spotlight. If he was concerned with achieving a positive public image, he would recognize that he is the main suspect in his fourth wife’s disappearance and act accordingly. It may have helped to participate actively in the searches for Stacy or to mourn his loss because regardless of where she went, his wife is gone and right now he could not seem to care less. He should also be spending time at home with his children instead of looking for a date. The things Drew Peterson and his lawyer are saying in the media are ridiculous and they are creating an image of a selfish man who does not care one way or another what has happened to the mother of his children.

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