Reputation Town

This week, John and Warren discuss the fallout from the ill-advised Callaway-Good Good ad that turned into a week-long crisis, the firestorm around the CBC's editorial guideline about the use of the word 'terrorism' with respect to the upcoming 25th anniversary of 911, a look at Dolly Parton, who passed away earlier this week and who, over the course of six decades, masterfully cultivated and guarded an exceptional reputation, a recent interview by the CEO of Flock, Neutrogena's awkward 'tribute' to Hayden Panettiere, who also passed away recently and whom the brand dropped like a hot potato when she talked about post-partum depression on a talk show years ago and, finally, the chaotic situation between Canada and the United States, from renaming lakes to Ontario Premiers telling the US President to kiss certain parts of their anatomy. We hope you enjoy this episode and thanks for listening. 

In this episode, we discuss Bryan Adams' new pro-Canada/anti-America song called 51st State, a video message from Ottawa's police chief addressing inappropriate behaviour by officers, the hiring of Mike Babcock by the Edmonton Oilers, Ron Maclean's foot-in-mouth moment and subsequent apology, KPMG Australia gets itself into hot water, Ryan Holiday continues his unstoic ways and Mark Andreessen's reflections on a long-ago media training session and our reactions to it. 

In this episode, we discuss the viral ads of LA mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt, the hurdles Saudi Arabia is facing in its ongoing PR campaign, Ryan Holiday's stoic stumble after comments made by Ivanka Trump about Marcus Aurelius, the woman who creates most of Donald Trump's late-night tweets/posts, robot dogs in Japan and more. 

In this episode, we discuss topics including Doug Ford's new private jet, the NFL Sedona scandal involving sports reporter Dianna Russini and New England Patriots Coach Mike Vrabel, how companies are communicating mass layoffs, Gavin Newsom buys 67,000 copies of his own book, the Coldplay kiss-cam woman is back and the sorry state of journalism in Canada today, including the firing of CityNews reporter Tina Yadzani and what moves like this mean for the public. 

In this episode, we discuss the controversy around Air Canada's English condolence message following the tragedy in NYC, Pierre Poilievre's appearance on the Joe Rogan podcast, the threat that super clone watches are presenting for brands like Rolex, organizers of the LA Marathon gave out medals to people who completed just 18 miles, the Canadian government is taking steps to avoid answering questions from independent journalists and more. 

In this episode, we break down some of the most recent reputation and issues management stories, including the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, King Charles's statement in response and the fallout from the Epstein files, including an interview given by Melinda Gates, Peter Attia's statement, Goldman Sach's top lawyer resigning and more. We also talk about Kristin Cabot (the Coldplay woman) 'taking back the narrative' at an upcoming crisis management conference in Washington, Uber ramping up vetting of drivers because of safety concerns, MP Matt Jeneroux crossing the floor and locking down his X account and more. 

What a crazy year 2025 has been when it comes to PR debacles, missteps and crisis management (or mismanagement). In our year-end wrap up, John and Warren each bring their list of what they saw as some of the top stories of the year and break them down from the perspectives of media relations, reputation management, crisis response and more. Thanks to everyone for listening this past year and we look forward to bringing you more Reputation Town pods in 2026!

In this episode, we break down some of the recent headlines in the PR world, including the BBC apologizing to President Trump for deceptive editing, Sidney Sweeney's high-profile GQ interview as a master class in media training, Katie Porter being not so nice to staff behind the scenes, Prince Andrew getting stripped of his royal title, the TTC cancelling its Halloween fest and Canada's Parliamentary Budget Officer was perhaps a bit too transparent for the government's taste. 

This week, we chat about several stories in which the politicians should have paid better attention in media training class (including Mark Carney and Gary Anandasangaree). We also check in on how Jimmy Kimmel's ratings have fared since his controversial pause and unpause last week, an AI actress who's ruffling feathers in the top levels of Hollywood, the controversy around the Riyadh comedy festival, Col. Sanders' great-great nephew allegedly leaks the coveted KFC recipe after being dissed by the company and more. We also discuss some of the troubling developments in the UK, including the suppression of free speech and the government's proposed introduction of a Digital ID, which is being widely rejected by the public there. 

This week, John and Warren talk about the controversial suspension of Jimmy Kimmel from his late-night show and the implications re: free speech, the ongoing backlash against people celebrating the death of Charlie Kirk online, next steps for Cracker Barrel as an activist investor is calling for the CEO's firing, Canada's PM does a housing announcement in front of a fake partially-built house constructed for the press conference and then dismantled and Banksy's new piece in the UK.