I just have to say how disappointed I am with Spitzer.

I voted for him, and I watched—and loved—his every move. He brought change to our state and stood tall as a respected beacon for New York State.

Hearing him speak was always moving. He pushed for equality. He pushed for a better world.

But he also pushed to rid the state of corruption. Ooops. And the rest is history…

I’m disappointed with the whole ordeal because of how great he was as Attorney General and then as Governor, but also because his actions rub off on Hillary—let’s be honest.

However, from a reputation management, ethics, accountability, and public relations perspective, his swift apology and resignation—the story broke on Monday and he resigned on Wednesday—shows that although he’s a swarmy cheat and liar, he had enough respect for those around him to just get out of the way. End of story, let’s move on, the people of New York no longer need him tarnishing the image of our state.

Just imagine if he let it drag on for weeks. The media would have continued to have a field day and the image of New York, its people, its politicians, and most importantly, of Hillary, would have been damaged further.

A big rule in public relations ethics is to take responsibility, remain accountable for your actions, and apologize as quickly as possible. As much as I am disappointed with him and feel like I’ve been stabbed in the back as a voter and strong supporter, I respect his stepping-down today.

He screwed up and it wasn’t worth him hanging around making things worse.

Ugh. Politicians…

Seth Godin talks about how important good service is online because, well, that’s one of the most important factors of ensuring success. Taking this into consideration, you can’t ever turn your back on customers, even when there are a few bad apples who abuse your services:

The temptation is to embrace only the advantages of the web and insist on eternal vigilance against the possibility of getting ripped off. To act as if everyone online is a criminal. To assume that the moment you are generous or trusting, squadrons of bad actors will exploit your generosity. I don’t think that’s the answer. If you treat people like criminals, the good ones will leave, because people have a choice.

The honor system [via Seth's Blog]

Over at the University of Maryland, the International Center for Media and the Public Agenda have compiled a list of the most transparent newspapers in the world:

This study investigated 25 of the world’s top news sites to evaluate which of them open up their newsrooms to public scrutiny and comment:

1. Which outlets post corrections to their stories?
2. Which ones provide details about their owners and offer information about any other media and non-media holdings of those owners?
3. Which ones publish their internal guidelines for reporters (such as how potential conflicts of interest by reporters or editors are handled)?
4. Which ones publish their internal standards for stories (such as how anonymous sources are handled or how politicized language is identified)?
5. Which ones actively seek readers’ comments and complaints?

The New York Times comes in second, trailing behind the UK’s The Guardian.

Openness & Accountability: A Study of Transparency in Global Media Outlets [ICMPA]