The buck has stopped – or on this case, the pound — as the first criminal charges have been filed in the phone hacking inquiry that has been rocking UK (and global) media circles. Rebekah Brooks, former CEO of Rupert Murdoch's News International, will face criminal charges over the phone hacking scandal.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) charges that Brooks, who was arrested in March and revealed last week she's so close to British Prime Minister David Cameron that they text each other, "conspired with her husband, Charles Brooks, and others to pervert the course of justice," by alleged attempts to conceal or remove evidence relevant to police investigation into the hacking and corruption scandals known as Operation Weeting launched in January 2011 at the News of the World and the Sun tabloids.

It’s a stunning reversal for one of Britain’s most powerful woman, a Murdoch confidante, and additional oversight of all his newspapers in the U.S. as well — not to mention the latest black eye for News Corp.'s corporate reputation.Continue reading...

As he battles to restore his media conglomerate's reputation as the British hacking inquiry continues, News Corp. head Rupert Murdoch found himself in more hot water this week.

On the second day of the UK media ethics inquiry chaired by Lord Justice Brian Leveson about the Australian-born mogul’s intertwined political influence and business interests, Murdoch stepped into it by describing British Prime Minister David Cameron's late son Ivan as "retarded." In fact, Ivan Cameron was afflicted with cerebral palsy and epilepsy and died at age six in 2009.Continue reading...

Walmart, the world’s largest private employer, with 2011 sales of $421.85 billion, is dealing with a major blow to its reputation after being accused over the weekend of a far-reaching bribery campaign carried out by executives in Mexico eager to boost the company's growth in that market.

The New York Times described the Mexican scandal as “a prolonged struggle within the company that pitted its much publicized commitment to the highest moral and ethical standards against its relentless pursuit of growth.”Continue reading...

The stakes for Ryan Braun, last season's National League Most Valuable Player in Major League Baseball, couldn't be higher after word has leaked out that he tested positive for a substance the game has banned. Not only his reputation is at stake but also a 57-game suspension and about one-third of his 2012 salary, should he not be able to overturn MLB's finding on appeal.

Braun, the left fielder for the Milwaukee Brewers, apparently is pleading that the tests somehow have been mishandled or misinterpreted amid the league's complex process, but no player ever tested positive has won on appeal. In any event, the league's final ruling isn't likely to come until January.

Meanwhile, the brands behind Braun's increasingly significant commercial endorsements are bound to be none too happy about any of this. Nike, AirTran Airways, and Cytosport, makers of Muscle Milk, had ties with Braun before he was bestowed the MVP award in November. Presumably, a number of other brands have been exploring the rising endorsement potential of the young star who is telegenic and, until now, has had a squeaky-clean reputation.Continue reading...

Still reeling from the Jerry Sandusky child abuse case, Penn State officials and fans groaned last night as the university's disgraced former football coach was arrested on fresh charges (which his lawyer says he's denying) ... while clearly wearing a Penn State jacket with the Nittany Lions logo as police hauled him off to jail, where he remains this morning. Above, a few of the responses on Twitter as the news broke.

When two of the three news stories on your university's own homepage involve steps the university is taking to address sexual abuse, you know you have a PR problem on your hands. When your university's highlight video, allotted each school during football games, features your president talking candidly about the steps the university if taking to address sexual assault, you definitely have a PR problem. And what a problem Penn State has.

The ongoing Penn State scandal, in which the school is accused of covering up the long term sexual abuse of minors by then-assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, is working its way to being a guaranteed case study in every PR, marketing, education and MBA program in the nation. But is the light at the end of the tunnel already appearing?Continue reading...

With the winter holidays coming fast, Penn State fans can usually expect to get a random new piece of gear with a Nittany Lions logo on it (a 32-quarter inflatable beach cooler, maybe?) or at least a new PSU sweatshirt or T-shirt.

However, thanks to the heinous child-molestation charges against former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky, people are keeping their PSU merchandise in their bureaus these days and sales of PSU-related sports gear is down 40%, according to CNN.com. It's a sad Penn State of affairs, indeed, for the once-proud Lions and Penn supporters.Continue reading...

Where to begin with the damage to the Pennsylvania State University brand?

For starters, Netflix no longer has to worry about finishing atop any 2011 "brand disasters" lists. Penn State has wrapped up that "honor" in a way only possible by associating your brand with "child rape cover up."

While Penn State administrators struggle with the current day to day PR nightmare the university is managing, what is the future of the school's brand? Which brand partners will stand with it and which are fleeing? That Penn State will recover is a foregone conclusion; time is always the best reputation rejuvenator.

But will it fully recover? That is not so clear.Continue reading...