Tiger Woods finds celebrity media impossible to tame (Reuters)
December 14, 2009
(In Dec 12th story, makes clear in 7th paragraph thatSitrick Brincko represents the Michael Jackson estate after thesinger’s death)
* Woods seen mishandling media in sex scandal
* Scandal spread from celebrity media to national TV
* Escape to private world unrealistic in Internet age
By Jill Serjeant
LOS ANGELES, Dec 12 (Reuters) – Golfer Tiger Woodsunderestimated the pervasive power of the celebrity media inexposing his double life and his renewed pleas for privacy areunlikely to be honored in an era when scandal is big business,media experts said on Saturday.
Woods, the most lauded golfer of his generation, has seenhis squeaky-clean image crumble with a sex scandal that hasmade him the butt of jokes and put his alleged mistresses onthe front pages of celebrity magazines and featured prominentlyon national television.
And it’s not likely to end any time soon, despite Woodsadmitting to infidelity and asking on Friday for “the time,privacy and safe haven we will need for personal healing.”
“It is selling magazines. It is increasing traffic to Websites. Celebrity media is a business, and while Tiger’sbusiness is going under, the media is doing beautifully,” saidHollywood public relations veteran Howard Bragman.
Bragman described Woods, who has been in hiding since thescandal broke with a bizarre car crash on Nov 27, as “a huntedman.” A photo of Woods, with possible facial injuries from theaccident, would fetch up to $1 million, he said.
Jim Bates, a crisis management consultant with the LosAngeles firm Sitrick Brincko, said it was unrealistic for Woodsto hope to escape the media frenzy in an age in which anyonecan take pictures on mobile phones and have them up on theInternet in a few minutes.
“The celebrity media is so pervasive. It’s very competitiveand aggressive—exponentially more so than 20 years ago. Andthe mainstream media is very much more involved now incelebrity news,” said Bates, whose company’s clients includethe Michael Jackson estate.
It’s not just news outlets that have jumped on the TigerWoods story. Satirical TV sketch show “Saturday Night Live”spoofed him a week ago and TV chat show host Jay Leno has beenrunning a nightly “Tiger Tote Board” counting the number ofwomen (13 by Friday) claiming or reported to have had sex withthe married golfer.
One website, dailycomedy.com, had collected some 543 TigerWoods jokes by Saturday. An animated game called “TigerHunting,” which has Woods dodging obstacles in his SUV pursuedby a golf-club wielding blond, had been played 1.7 milliontimes since Dec. 1 on website break.com.
Bonnie Fuller, former editor in chief of Us Weekly magazinewho now runs the website HollywoodLife.com, rejects the notionthat Woods has been hounded.
“He dug his own hole. … He was leading a whole othersecond life that was the complete opposite of his image. That’swhat has gotten him into trouble,” Fuller said.
“It’s the women who have come forward. It’s not like themedia had to go digging. He said too little initially and didnot come out personally. That fueled the speculation, and therewas disappointment among his fans that he didn’t step up andadmit it sooner,” she said.
Fuller and Bates suggested Woods, who has more experiencewith sports journalists than celebrity media, could helphimself by doing a TV interview with the trusted mediapersonalities like Oprah Winfrey or Diane Sawyer.
“At some point, he needs to tell the story himself and doit in a way that sounds sincere and not like he is doing it forsponsorship deals,” said Bates.
Steve Helling, who has covered Woods for seven years forPeople magazine, said celebrity media was a different creaturefrom the golf media where Woods’ handlers have been able to vetquestions and restrict access to friendly sports reporters.
“Tiger Woods has been able to use the media over the yearsto develop his persona. Now he is learning that the media cutsboth ways, and it is a rude awakening,” Helling said. (Reporting by Jill Serjeant; editing by Todd Eastham)
Tee it up with Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Golf 10
