Episode #58: Ryanair Becomes Butt of Jokes after Ridiculous PR Statement

Talking Shop Podcast

We faced some outright silliness this week.

Ewan brought up Amy Cooper, who we discussed way back in Episode #8 after she phoned 911 because a black man in Central Park - who was bird watching - asked her to put her dog on a leash in a section of the park that requires dogs be on leashes. The video left no ambiguity about what happened, but it seems Cooper wants to try her luck anyway: she's suing her former employer, Franklin Templeton, for how the firm handled the case and her dismissal. Does she have a chance of winning? Ewan fills us in.

Then Cam looks at how Ryanair, the discount European carrier, handled its communications in the immediate aftermath of its commercial flight being forced to land in Minsk, Belarus so the government could detain a political dissident. Ryanair didn't just mess up, it kicked off an entire new hashtag at #RyanAirSummaries. If you need a laugh, go check it out. Cam talks about what might have happened, and how Ryanair could have done better.

Then we touch on the Friends Reunion, a second major embarrassment for a Canadian politician, and how the media is now taking a second look at the lab-leak origin theory for COVID-19.

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Links and Show Notes

• Amy Cooper Sues Former Employer for Racial Discrimination - New York Times
• Amy Cooper Sues Ex-Employer for Racial Discrimination after Viral Central Park Video - ABC News
• Episode #8: Amy Cooper's Racist Tirade in Central Park - PR & Law Podcast
• Belarus Ryanair Flight Diverted: Passengers Describe Panic on Board - BBC
• Ryanair said Belarus Refused Pilot's Request to Contact Airline - Reuters
• Ryanair Global Press Office Statement - Twitter
• Revealed: The Transcript Between Belarus ATC and Ryanair Pilots - One Mile at a Time
• The Ryanair Hijacking Pierced the Delusion of Flight - The Atlantic

Check This Out

• Liberal MP's Latest Exposure Incident Being Taken 'Extremely Seriously,' says Whip - CBC News
• The Media Lab Leak Fiasco - Slow Boring (Substack)
• 'Friends' Reunion Special Arrives on HBO Max on May 27 - CNBC

Hosts

Ewan Christie is an employment lawyer and partner at Duntrune LLP in Toronto, Canada.

Cam MacMurchy is a corporate communications executive with a multinational technology company listed in Hong Kong and curator of the Digital Bits PR and Communications newsletter. He also contributes to Apple news website 9to5Mac and shares his thoughts on PR, media, travel, and technology on his website.