Month: October 2025

Who Had the Worst Week?

~ Jeremy Story ~ Leave a comment
  • Tulane University has banned Colorado Academy students from being considered for early admission this upcoming year because a single CA student reneged on an acceptance offer last year.
  • WPP, parent company of PR firms such as Burson and Ogilvy, saw revenue fall nearly 6% in Q3, an ominous sign that sent its stock reeling 18% to set a new 27-year low.
  • Denver Mayor Michael Johnston‘s penchant for “secrecy and spin” is causing him to lose trust with some voters. In just the last week, he has faced mounting criticism for unilaterally renewing the city’s contract for the Flock surveillance system, a secret deal with developers that increased the amount of DIA-adjacent land they received in exchange for the former Park Hill Golf Course, and an ugly fight with the parent company of The Denver Post over $2 million in unpaid rent. And this is happening at the same time he is asking voters to green light $950 million in bonds.
  • After seemingly free-falling for years, Prince Andrew finally hit rock-bottom this week when King Charles punished him in the only way that remained – stripping him of his royal titles and booting him from his royal residence. He is now known simply as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. Andrew has been a key player in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.
  • Denver was the biggest loser on this season’s “Love is Blind” reality dating show. John Frank at Axios noted, “It’s widely acknowledged that the city has a horrible dating scene, and the show somehow made us look even worse.”
  • The governor of Louisiana announced that LSU athletic director Scott Woodward would have no say in who the team’s next head football coach is. Why? The last two coaches Woodward hired – Brian Kelly at LSU and Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M – were owed a combined $130 million in buyouts after they were fired before their contracts expired. Not surprisingly, Woodward was fired a day after the governor’s comments.
  • In some parts of the country, seeing the first robin is considered the unofficial start of spring. In Colorado, we know winter is upon us when we have our first skier-triggered avalanche of the season.
  • Speaking of skiers, The Denver Post had an incredibly unflattering profile of Telluride ski resort owner Chuck Horning. Among the allegations: he was booed out of an upscale restaurant, he engaged in fist fights with his son and the resort’s CEO, and he sexually harassed and/or assaulted multiple women.
  • Ten million YouTube TV subscribers have lost access to Disney-owned channels such as ABC, ESPN and FX due to a financial dispute..
  • Perth, Australia, beat out Denver as host for the 2030 Gay Games, an event that would have brought 12,000 athletes and $110 million in economic activity to our city. Denverite‘s Kyle Harris reported that the U.S.‘s “recent turn toward anti-transgender federal policy” and “the Trump administration’s mass deportation of immigrants” left many global leaders concerned whether Denver would be a safe destination for the event.
  • Karine Jean-Pierre, the former press secretary to President Joe Biden, is having the kind of book tour that authors have nightmares about.
  • An independent investigation into Denver Public Schools board member John Youngquist found he more likely than not engaged in “belittling, dismissive and condescending behavior” toward some district staff members and exhibited bias in interactions with some district leaders of color.
  • Layoffs abound: UPS is cutting 48,000 jobs, Amazon is laying off 14,000, GM 3,300 employees, Paramount 2,000 employees and Capital One is cutting another 400.
  • Don’t screw with a Long Island wine importer. That’s a lesson the Times of London learned the hard way. The paper wanted to get former NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio‘s take on Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic candidate seeking to be the city’s newest mayor, so a reporter apparently Googled de Blasio’s name and sent an email to the first email address it returned. Unfortunately, that address actually belonged to wine importer Bill DeBlasio who offered his expansive thoughts on the candidate. The paper printed the responses, and politician Bill de Blasio immediately disputed the quotes. The paper then claimed the wine importer “falsely claimed” to be the former mayor, but DeBlasio released the emails showing that, “I never once said I was the mayor. He never addressed me as the mayor. So I just gave him my opinion.”
  • Somehow, former Colorado State University head football coach Jim McElwain received some of the stiffest penalties in the University of Michigan‘s “sign stealing” scandal. McElwain was the head coach at Central Michigan University when one of his assistant coaches allowed a UM spy on the team’s sideline in a game against Michigan State to decipher the Spartans’ signals. The now-retired McElwain apparently was not aware of the plot, and yet he received a two-year “show-cause” penalty that is essentially a two-year ban. Sherrone Moore, the UM offensive coordinator at the time who has since been promoted to UM head coach, received a three-game suspension.

Who won the week?

Who Had the Worst Week?

~ Jeremy Story ~ Leave a comment
  • Colorado basketball legend Chauncey Billups – he is an NBA champion, NBA Finals MVP and Hall of Famer who played at the University of Colorado and for the Denver Nuggets – was arrested as part of an FBI investigation into gambling and “sports rigging” operations linked to multiple mafia crime families.
  • A woman in South Korea killed one person and injured eight others when she set her apartment building on fire trying to kill a cockroach. She used a homemade “blowtorch” that combined a pain relief spray can and a lighter.
  • The security team members responsible for protecting the priceless artifacts at the Louvre in Paris are #OpentoWork.
  • Casa Bonita has a surprise critic: actress Brooke Shields. She is the president of the Actors’ Equity Association, the union that represents the costumed characters that roam the restaurant, and her complaint is about a lack of a contract between the restaurant and the union.
  • Tesla’s net income dropped 37% in Q3 despite increasing vehicle sales, undermining an otherwise record-setting quarter ahead of an upcoming vote on a new pay package for CEO Elon Musk that could be worth as much as $1 trillion.
  • The Denver Post has stopped paying rent it legally owes to the City and County of Denver for space in, ironically, The Denver Post building that the city acquired in 2024. The Post hasn’t occupied its space in the building in more than seven years, and it appears that the Post parent company is trying to force the city into a buy-out of its lease.
  • A jury awarded nearly $20 million to six bystanders who were injured when a Denver Police officer fired into a crowd while trying to shoot an armed man in LoDo.
  • Target is eliminating about 1,800 corporate positions, Meta is laying off 660 people, and Rivian is laying off another 600.
  • Denver Broncos linebacker Dre Greenlaw spent the first six weeks of the season trying to get healthy enough to play, finally played in Week 7, and then summarily got suspended for Week 8 for threatening an official. The suspension will cost Greenlaw about $273,000 in salary.
  • Old people + racquet sports = eye injuries.
  • With unrest in the Middle East, war in Ukraine, and rising tensions with Russia and China, the Pentagon has ordered a Navy aircraft carrier to the … Caribbean?
  • Current Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton and former Denver Broncos QB Russell Wilson are in the dumbest feud possible.
  • Baseball may be known as the “American Pastime,” but a small town outside Toronto claims the game was invented in Canada.

Who won the week?

The Results of the ‘PR Disaster Bracket Battle’

~ Jeremy Story ~ Leave a comment

Yesterday, a panel of journalists and communications experts – 9News’ Kyle Clark, Westword‘s Patty Calhoun, Children’s Hospital Colorado‘s Patrick O’Rourke and Liberty Global‘s Bill Myers – broke down 16 of the past year’s most talked-about crises that were pitted head-to-head in a March Madness-style bracket, and more than 100 members of the audience voted – round by round – to determine a single PR disaster champion. The “winner” – United Healthcare.

Thanks to the panelists and everyone who attended the event.

Who Had the Worst Week?

~ Jeremy Story ~ Leave a comment
  • Fame usually comes with the kind of financial resources that allow you to deal with some of its challenges – gated homes, private security, etc. That’s not true of most local television news personalities who are highly visible but don’t command the same salaries. Fox31 meteorologist Kylie Bearse shared harrowing details about a 69-year-old man who has been stalking her for more than two years, and her frustrations about not being able to get the Denver D.A.’s Office to file more serious charges.
  • Denver hosted the 8th edition of the International Taco Bell 50k Ultramarathon that requires runners eat a menu item from nine of the 10 Taco Bells along the course – no Pepto, Alka Seltzer, Pepcid A/C, Mylanta, etc., allowed. If you throw up, you’re disqualified.
  • Opposition to the proposed Nexstar acquisition of Tegna, which would wreak havoc on the Denver television news market, is coming from an unexpected place: the conservative news outlet Newsmax. “This isn’t just about politics,” Newsmax’s CEO said. “It’s about whether communities will still have independent voices covering school boards, local corruption, and small-town issues that the national networks ignore.”
  • University athletic departments claim poverty when it comes to their ability to pay players, but you wouldn’t know from the amount they are spending on coaches … well, technically, ex-coaches. We are only half way through the 2025 college football season, and already we have seen a number of coaches fired – Stanford (Troy Taylor), UCLA (DeShaun Foster), Virginia Tech (Brent Pry), Oklahoma State (Mike Gundy), Arkansas (Sam Pittman), Oregon State (Trent Bray) and now Penn State (James Franklin). Some experts predict that this year’s firings alone could total more than $200 million in buyouts, money that schools are paying to coaches to not coach.
  • Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs is having a record year, but it told employees to expect layoffs in the coming weeks as it integrates AI to handle tasks currently managed by humans.
  • Meanwhile, NBC News let 150 staffers go this week as its parent company plans to spin off MSNBC and CNBC.
  • The triple threat of declining student enrollment, combined with budget cuts at both the state and federal levels, could create a financial “catastrophe” that forces Denver Public Schools to close more schools.
  • U.S. Department of Defense War Secretary Pete Hegseth has united our fractious nation. Unfortunately for him, it is in opposition to his plan to allow Qatar to build a military facility in Idaho.
  • Speaking of Secretary Hegseth, media outlets including The Washington Post, ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox News, The New York Times, Newsmax, The Wall Street Journal, the Associated Press, The Daily Caller, Reuters, Bloomberg News and the Atlantic refused to sign on to new press regulations required by the Department of Defense. The briefing room won’t be completely empty: OANN agreed to abide by the restrictive policy.
  • Indianapolis Colts back-up QB Anthony Richardson was ruled out of last week’s game less than an hour before kickoff after he suffered an orbital fracture in his eye while warming up with a stretching band.
  • A Colorado man has been charged with bigamy. The twist? He is a Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) agent. Or he was, until he quickly resigned to avoid being fired.
  • Meanwhile, the head of Colorado’s COVID-19 response resigned two days after the state put him on leave while it investigated an apparent sexual harassment allegation.
  • R&B singer/songwriter D’Angelo, who died this week at the age of 51, is being remembered by everyone from former President Barack Obama to Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea.
  • President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social: “The Biden FBI placed 274 agents into the crowd on January 6. If this is so, which it is, a lot of very good people will be owed big apologies.” He apparently forgot he was president on Jan.6, and that President Joe Biden would not be sworn in until Jan. 22.
  • I mentioned last week that KOA NewsRadio morning host Marty Lenz had been let go during the most-recent round of iHeartRadio mass layoffs. This week, we learned that Jerry Schemmel, the longtime radio voice for the Colorado Rockies on KOA NewsRadio, was also axed.

Who won the week?

  • Publicis Groupe reported a 3.6% increase in Q3 growth in North America.
  • A new report finds that Denver diners tip the highest in the U.S., averaging 21.18%, followed by Austin and Seattle.
  • A record number of former Denver Broncos are expected to be at this weekend’s game as the team inducts former Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas into the Ring of Fame. The beloved Thomas passed away four years ago at the age of 33 due to complications from a seizure disorder.
  • Meanwhile, Denver Broncos QB Bo Nix and his wife Izzy are expecting their first child.
  • Apple reached a five-year agreement to be the new home of Formula 1 racing starting next season.

Who Had the Worst Week?

~ Jeremy Story ~ 1 Comment

Who won the week?

You’re Invited: A PR Disaster Bracket Battle

~ Jeremy Story ~ 1 Comment

Join me for an interactive media and PR event unlike any other. Sixteen of the past year’s most talked-about crises will go head-to-head in a March Madness–style bracket. A panel of journalists and communications experts will break down each matchup and attendees will then vote to decide which PR disaster advances to the next round. By the end, we’ll crown the “champion” of PR disasters.

Details:
2:00 – 3:30 pm
Wednesday, Oct. 22
Auraria Campus; St. Catejan’s
101 Lawrence Way, Denver CO 80204

Space is limited. Please RSVP by Friday, Oct. 17.

Who Had the Worst Week?

~ Jeremy Story ~ Leave a comment
  • The Big 12 publicly reprimanded and fined the University of Colorado $50,000 for a derogatory chant – “F— the Mormons” – from Buffaloes fans that targeted BYU during last weekend’s football game. Colorado coach Deion Sanders also apologized on behalf of the athletic department.
  • How badly behaved were the American fans at this year’s Ryder Cup golf tournament? Legendary golfer and two-time U.S. Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson apologized to the winning European team, saying, “As a former player, Captain and as an American, I am ashamed of what happened” when drunken fans lobbed profanities and insults – and a few beers – at the European competitors.
    • The PGA, which hosted the tournament, had helped incite the fan behavior and then denied that it was excessive. After Tom Watson‘s apology, PGA officials finally realized they couldn’t gaslight the public any longer, and PGA President Don Rea Jr. issued his own apology to the European golfers.
  • The Colorado Bureau of Investigation announced it is reopening the investigation into the 2005 death of gonzo journalist and author Hunter Thompson at his Aspen-area home, 20 years after local authorities originally ruled it a suicide. CBI investigators acknowledge there is no new evidence.
  • WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert appears to have the support of no one at the moment – not fans, not players and not owners – and reports are that she has already agreed to resign once a new collective bargaining agreement is reached with players. We’ll see if she lasts that long.
  • A tow truck driver who stole nearly 50 cars across the Denver area and sold them to salvage yards was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
  • Netflix is facing calls for a boycott from Elon Musk, who is not happy it offers the animated show “Dead End: Paranormal Park” that features two transgender characters.
  • The internecine battle between the Brinkerhoffs, owners of La Loma restaurants, seemed to come to an end several weeks ago, only to flare up again after yet another lawsuit has been filed.
  • Members of the Trump administration lost their minds when the NFL announced that Puerto Rican superstar Bad Bunny would perform at the halftime of the Super Bowl. Corey Lewandowski, chief adviser to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, announced that ICE would have a presence at the Super Bowl, because we all know that Home Depot parking lots, restaurant kitchens and Super Bowls are where people here without authorization often congregate.
  • Disability advocates are blasting RTD board members for their decision to begin charging for its “Access-on-Demand” service that covered the cost of ride-share services for disabled passengers. The program costs RTD $17 million annually, which is approximately 1.42% of the transit system’s budget.
  • Congratulations to FIFA for finding innovative new ways to price gouge. Most sports leagues would be content to just jack up the face value of tickets to events like the soccer World Cup, but FIFA has introduced a new wrinkle: in addition to jacking up the face value of tickets, it will charge both sellers and buyers a 15% fee for tickets on its official ticket resale platform. Tickets are already listed for tens of thousands of dollars, and some are more than 10 times higher than their face value.
  • ESPN had an awkward moment this week when two of its playoff baseball announcers promoted the NHL’s season opening slate of games that will be carried by ESPN. After the first announcer shared the NHL games that will be shown, the second announcer, not a hockey fan, dryly shared, “There is zero chance I’ll be watching; I’m just gonna be honest with you.”
  • A Gallup poll finds that the advertising and PR community is viewed favorably by only 29% of the public, ahead of only the pharmaceutical industry and the federal government. Perhaps even worse, the airline industry is viewed more favorable than us.

Who won the week?

  • Pax8 named Tom Gavin as Chief Marketing & Communications Officer. He formerly was with Salesforce, Coupa, Workato and the ONE Campaign.
  • The addition of Chef Hosea Rosenberg’s Santo restaurant at DIA makes it the only airport in the world with three Michelin-listed restaurants under one roof, joining Mister Oso and Mercantile Dining & Provision. Katie Shapiro has the details.
  • Reporters normally hate to be part of a story, but the Clear Creek Sheriff’s Office is crediting reporters with CBS4 and Fox31 for recognizing and reporting an armed burglary suspect who was in the background of their live morning shots from Clear Creek County.
  • Denver Nuggets superstar Nikola Jokić didn’t agree to a contract extension this summer, which caused some concern about his long-term future. But Jokić told reporters this week that his “plan is to be a Nugget forever.”