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Martha Should Strike Back
By Andrew Ritchie  She may feel it's bad form to fight fire with fire, but the time has come for Martha Stewart to speak up about the ever-mounting pile of allegations surrounding her sale of the ImClone shares.Fans, employees of MSO, and certainly the company's investors, deserve as much, given their unwavering support through a very tumultuous time. It's not just Martha feeling the blast from this horrendous whirlwind of bad press and litigation, it's her staff, her supporters and the reputation of her company, which is suffering the most damage. With moronic insults from the likes of New York Post columnist Chris Byron, all cozy in his little arsenal of anti-Martha ice picks, it's easy to see why the CEO of a world-famous company would not want to dignify such meaningless drivel with a rebuke. And yet, the image of Martha Stewart holed up in her Connecticut mansion, tight-lipped and dismissive in the midst of this flurry of conjecture and rumour, does nothing to endear her to the millions of readers and viewers who have been following the case, wondering if she did or did not do this. In fact, her current strategy has done more to raise doubt about her innocence than it has to reassure interested parties, despite her early assurances that she did nothing wrong. Who wants to believe a woman hiding in the shadows, dodging questions and keeping secrets? Certainly not potential investors or a bloodthirsty press, which has been circling around Martha for decades waiting to go in for the kill. Martha's team of PR people and lawyers have done nothing to prevent the attacks. They have arguably escalated the level of viciousness by removing Martha from the equation entirely when it is precisely Martha herself who could possibly end this cycle of negativity with a few choice phrases and a flash of that reassuring smile. Enter Oprah Winfrey, the queen of daytime talk, the epitome of spiritual healing in commercial America. Oprah has repeatedly expressed a profound respect for Martha Stewart and they appear to have a mutual understanding of each other's places in the media spectrum, if not a mutual friendship. They have been featured on each other's programs and the pages of each other's magazines, and the image of the two of them side by side does something to the average American consumer that seems to amplify the "Good Thing" mantra of Martha and her company. Just as Rosie O'Donnell was able to set the record straight about Martha's often criticized personality with articles in her magazine and segments on her program, Oprah too has done wonders for MSO simply through endorsement and an acknowledgment of respect for its founder. Martha's team would be wise to orchestrate a full-length interview conducted by Oprah in the near future, giving Martha a chance to quietly and honestly discuss what all of this has done to her and to discuss what her hopes are for the future of her company. Leaving out the hyperactive live audience, which would be inappropriate under these circumstances, a taped interview in Martha's living room, or in Oprah's for that matter, would be ideal. It would feel like a moisturizing facial in the middle of a winter storm to her legions of supporters and worried investors who have felt left out in the cold for too long. It would also be perfectly annoying to her legions of remorseless detractors who seem bent on watching her sink into a suffocating pile of compost. And one should never underestimate the importance of deflating one's enemies in what amounts to a war of words. Following the Oprah interview, there should be a number of smaller interviews with the likes of Diane Sawyer or Mike Wallace, staying clear of Barbara Walters' brand of confrontational tear-jearking, to ensure maximum exposure. There would be no need to discuss the specifics of the case, since her lawyers would rightly advise her not to discuss the details. But at a time of such turbulence and uncertainty the image of a softer, more accessible Martha Stewart would go a long way in restoring her public image while simultaneously increasing confidence in her company and its products. We sometimes forget that Martha Stewart is a media genius and that she more or less invented the concept of lifestyle "omnimedia," making it possible for stations like HGTV and magazines like "O" and "Rosie" to exist in the first place, augmenting the value and importance of homemaking and living life to the fullest. She has had so many followers and wannabes springing up around her, it's difficult to keep up. So, let's see her get back to what she does best: using the media to her advantage, rather than allowing them to trample on her name, her company and her personal life in what has become one of the most shameless displays of sensationalistic journalism in recent history. We're waiting to hear from you, Martha. |
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