This is one of those times.

(Link from the Bad Pitch Blog)

“The Quietus kept our article up the longest and, as no non-disclosure agreement had been signed, [was] not prepared to remove it merely due to the demands of Metallica’s management,” Turner continued. “We only eventually removed the article earlier today to protect the professional interests of the writer concerned (the piece was written anonymously).”

Metallica has a long history of alienating their biggest fans, and clearly fears digital media, but this feels clumsy and ham-fisted even for them. If the album mix wasn’t final, they shouldn’t have invited writers to listen to it and then act shocked when they, you know, wrote about it.

The Michigan Republican Party mistakenly sent out a news release Tuesday night congratulating John McCain for winning the state’s GOP primary.

It quickly issued a second statement praising Mitt Romney for his win.

“Heading into tonight, this race was too close to call, so we prepared a release for either scenario,” state GOP spokesman Bill Nowling said. “We simply pushed the wrong button.”

The correct release was sent a few minutes later. Still, the potential for mistakes like these is what keeps me up at night. If this gaffe had been committed with major client news, there’d be some people with some serious explaining to do.

To make matters worse, at every press conference he seems to be on the defense from the get-go, a bad situation to be in when you may shoulder responsibility for loss of life. The Chicago Tribune has a round-up of how he has handled his role as company spokesman during this crisis, but if anything is clear it’s that he is woefully unqualified to serve in the position. I can’t help but think how much better this situation would have been handled had an experienced PR firm been hired to write statements and liaise with media.

In the last few months, front-page news stories have told us of the pet food scare that was inexplicably killing household pets around the country. Of toothpaste that contained chemical solvents used in antifreeze. Of produce contaminated with dangerous pesticides. Of seafood contaminated with antibiotics and anti-fungals. Today, news broke that 1.5 million children’s toys must be recalled because they are covered in lead paint. The source of these dangerous products? China.

I understand that China is a developing country, in spite of its vast resources and workforce. Nonetheless, if we look at countries like Japan and South Korea, which were absolutely decimated by war in the mid-twentieth century, we see that their quality of exported goods increased over time rather than decreased. Today brands like Toyota, Sony and Samsung are among the tops in their respective industries.

In order to stop the bleeding and prevent further harm to its national brand, China will need to take swift action to let the world know the steps it is taking to ensure the safety of its customers. And no, executing public officials for corruption is not a good start. There is no doubt that China, the “Sleeping Dragon,” is nearly fully awake – In the light of multiple, grievous quality oversights, however, sheepish consumers will keep hitting the snooze button.

I feel for both of them, in a way, since the interviewer looks like she’s just been thrown to the wolves, and Holly Hunter remains such a good sport about it. Nonetheless, if you can get past the first 30 seconds without blushing, you’re a better man than I.

It’s the little things, friends. The little things.

The power of Web 2.0 is in full effect over at Digg, where users are revolting over Digg’s decision to pull a story (that netted over 15,000 diggs) and reportedly boot a user for posting the HD-DVD AACS Processing Key number, which would allow someone to crack the copy protection on an HD-DVD. The front page (along with two and three) of Digg consists entirely of stories flaunting the number or criticizing Digg for its actions.

I’ve been following this to some extent, and it’s really quite remarkable – Every story description includes the HD-DVD AACS key, usually incorporated in a very creative way. (The screencaps at Gizmodo are worth a thousand words.) Unfortunately, it’s also made Digg more-or-less worthless as a resource for finding interesting news stories. Sites that rely heavily on user-contributed information have really revolutionized the way the Web is used, but as we see here, it’s a double-edged sword.

UPDATE: Founder Kevin Rose posts his thoughts (along with the AACS key).

Menu Foods received its first consumer complaint about the food on Feb. 20. Sometime between Feb. 23 and Feb. 27, the company started a taste test, which killed nine of 25 cats. Subsequently, the company learned of three other cats and one dog that had died after eating its food.

It wasn’t until March 16 that the company alerted the public. A week later, the company’s CEO, through a news conference, communicated with the public.

A month is far too long to wait after your own tests confirm your product is killing pets. Second, a crisis of this scale demands a team of skilled professionals working to get information out and answer media calls until the situation is rectified. In contrast, Menu Foods only had one full-time PR person who was authorized to field calls from the media. It would have been far better to hire a qualified agency as soon as they realized the scope of the problem.

Why do I suspect Menu Foods had an ill-conceived, untested plan if they had one at all?

Fortunately, JetBlue’s CEO David Neeleman seems like a very reasonable guy.

First, he took responsibility. As Shel Holtz observed, there isn’t an ounce of corporate double-speak in what Neeleman has to say. It’s rather refreshing.

David Neeleman, CEO JetBlue: “Look, we’re humiliated, we’re sorry. This isn’t like us.”

Second, Jet Blue is making amends. I was pleasantly surprised to see a YouTube video linked from JetBlue’s site featuring Neeleman acknowledging the airline’s mistakes and outlining their plan to make sure it doesn’t happen again. A JetBlue “customer Bill of Rights” will reward passengers who suffer in the future. He seems contrite, and the whole thing doesn’t come off as a sleazy “cover-your-behind” PR stunt. It seems legit.

People are naturally forgiving, even to large companies. A sincere apology goes a very long way, but not without concrete action to back it up. JetBlue is doing things the right way, and once they prove themselves, this situation will have served as a painful yet valuable growing experience.