{"podcast":{"title":"Communication Breakdown","slug":"communication-breakdown-7019931","podcast_index_feed_id":7019931,"rss_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/show/6301456/episodes/feed","website_url":"https://ocrnetwork.com/podcasts/communication-breakdown","image_url":"https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/bb1654c4c2ff3f77a3c1f292f51b3d52.jpg","author":"Observatory on Corporate Reputation LLC","episode_count":86,"summary":"Communication Breakdown is a postgame show for PR pros. In each episode, hosts Craig Carroll (Founder of the Observatory on Corporate Reputation, Editor of the SAGE Encyclopedia of Corporate Reputation, Lecturer at Rice University’s Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business) and Steve Dowling (former head of communications at OpenAI and Apple) discuss the strategies and tactics companies are using in high-visibility crises and PR initiatives, giving listeners unique insight into how key decisions are made. The podcast offers two unique perspectives on communications theory and practice, drawing on Craig’s research and teaching on reputation at USC Annenberg, UNC Chapel Hill, and universities worldwide, and Steve’s two decades of experience as a comms leader at some of the world’s most influential companies. Whether you’re a PR professional, marketing executive, or just curious about how companies make key communications decisions, you’ll find these discussions insightful and valuable.","last_synced_at":"2026-06-05T04:21:27.467075+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/communication-breakdown-7019931"},"episode":{"title":"United plants a flag, IBM waves one","slug":"united-plants-a-flag-ibm-waves-one","published_at":"2026-05-01T13:00:04+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/communication-breakdown-7019931/united-plants-a-flag-ibm-waves-one","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/communication-breakdown-7019931","url":"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/united-plants-a-flag-ibm-waves-one--71803181","audio_url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/71803181/ep_81_united_plants_a_flag_ibm_waves_one.mp3","summary":"In this episode of Communication Breakdown, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll unpack two corporate reputation stories where the real action sits beneath the headline. First, they analyze United CEO Scott Kirby’s reported pitch to merge with American Airlines, and how a deal that never had a path forward still helped Kirby frame himself as the airline CEO thinking biggest about global competitiveness. Then they turn to IBM’s $17 million settlement with the Justice Department over diversity programs, examining how a small financial penalty can carry a much larger signal for federal contractors, employees, and corporate values. For communications leaders, both stories raise the same hard question: when the deal, policy, or program collapses, who gets to define what it meant? Takeaways A failed transaction can still work as a positioning move if it advances a larger strategic argument. United’s silence created short-term discomfort, but Kirby eventually reframed the story around scale, customer experience, and global competition. American Airlines looked disciplined by rejecting the merger quickly, while United positioned itself as the carrier with the bigger future-facing vision. Topics Mentione d United Airlines, American Airlines, airline mergers, antitrust, global competitiveness, customer experience, CEO positioning, narrative control, Bloomberg reporting, earnings calls, regulatory risk, IBM, diversity programs, DEI, federal contracting, Civil Rights Fraud Initiative, Justice Department, corporate values, employee trust, compliance risk, government pressure, institutional independence, Harvard, credibility spend, corporate reputation Companies Mentione d United Airlines, American Airlines, Bloomberg, CNBC, JetBlue, New York Times, IBM, Harvard University, Microsoft Epi…","meta_description":"In this episode of Communication Breakdown, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll unpack two corporate reputation stories where the real action sits beneath the…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1953,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/communication-breakdown-7019931/episodes/united-plants-a-flag-ibm-waves-one/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/communication-breakdown-7019931/united-plants-a-flag-ibm-waves-one.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}