Tiger troubles: LI PR experts address Woods' woes

Some of the region's biggest public relations firms weigh in on the Tiger Woods spectacle.

Robert Zimmerman, a partner in Zimmerman-Edelson, a national firm based in Great Neck whose clients have included Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn, Canon USA and TransCanada, a gas and power company:

"It is almost inconceivable as to how inept the response has been. I really wonder if he's being advised by the same people who did Michael Jackson's press.

"The first rule of crisis control is to get in front of the story. This was a minor accident where there was no misconduct and no drugs or alcohol involved and it was pivotal to put that out there and put this story in perspective. And the second piece of it is to stress that he is cooperating with law enforcement, which he is doing. . . . This has become a bigger story because the Woods organization failed to get in front of it and address it aggressively."

Katherine Heaviside, president and founder of Huntington-based Epoch 5 Public Relations, a national firm that concentrates on crisis communication cases and has represented CVS Pharmacy, colleges facing sexual harassment suits and companies dealing with environmental spills:

"Misinformation fills a vacuum. In this age of social media if you don't provide information rapidly and you depend on the same rules that you've operated under in the snail-mail age, you're going to find yourself in trouble. They just took too long to come up with any statement and therefore information filled the vacuum.

"Whatever the story was, if it was negative, the best thing you can do is come out quickly, state the story and if it calls for an apology, apologize. Right now he's setting himself up for days, weeks or months of conjecture and it's going to keep the story alive."

Gary Lewi, senior executive vice president at Manhattan-based Rubenstein Associates, a national company that has represented Christie Brinkley and Cooper Tire, among others:

"The idea that one could stonewall when you are perhaps one of the most identifiable branded athletes in the world suggests that you have never faced a genuine crisis before. The idea of waiting literally days and then to issue a statement that only generates additional inquiry underscores the nature of the media world and the fact that without addressing quickly, ethically and candidly, this has the ability of impacting him for years to come.

"No comment is not the end of the story. He's going to have to internalize that and then he'll have to make a decision. Does he, in fact, say, 'This is what occurred and it's accurate,' or does he continue to say, 'It's a private matter and I won't discuss it.' "