Radio show This American Life discovered that one of its most popular episodes ever was full of fabrications. It was downloaded 888,000 times.
Most newspapers might have buried a 2-sentence correction somewhere, and most TV and radio stations would have done nothing.
What did TAL do? They pulled the show. Then they devoted an entire hour on a new episode to discuss what happened and what went wrong.
In an era when journalistic standards are slipping everywhere, This American Life sent a powerful message about trust. You earn trust when you take responsibility for cleaning up your messes.
My prediction: The response will be as big as the original show, and relationships with listeners will be stronger than ever.
About Andy Sernovitz
Andy Sernovitz teaches word of mouth marketing. He is the New York Times bestselling author of Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking and CEO of WordofMouth.org and SocialMedia.org.
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