 was joining its competitors in imposing the charge and even ap- plauded the company for exempting low-income consumers. The media coverage was straightforward and factual. It was a one-day na- tional story, with a very brief and localized reprise months later when the charge actually started showing up on customers' bills. But the way we handled this latest price increase generated several weeks of high-profile criticism, both for raising prices and for trying to mislead people about it. By the time the story died down, nearly half of American consumers were aware of the circumstances of Don't Confuse Politics and Public Relations AT&T's price increases, and they were three times as likely to say that their opinion of the company had worsened. They were far less likely to buy any AT&T-branded service, whether cellular, local, long dis- tance, online, or even cable.7 There are two components to trust: sincerity and competence. The 2000 CALLS fiasco called both components into question. Newsweek magazine's Allan Sloan was moved to ask, "Can't anyone here play this game?" The Denver Post editorialized that AT&T had dialed an- other "wrong number." And the Los Angeles Times's Cal Thomas wrote that AT&T went "from Ma Bell to call girl."8 Several months later, I ran into Bob Allen at the local deli. I hadn't seen him in about a year. A lot had happened, not all of it pretty, but he was still shaking his head over the way we had handled the pricing changes in the basic-rate schedule. I was embarrassed, and I couldn't even say, "I told them so." This page intentionally left blank Say Good-Bye to the Rah-Rah Brother- and Sisterhood With the slightest encouragement, the media and sell-side finan- cial analysts will happily become co-conspirators in blowing ex- pectations out of all proportion to your ability to deliver-the media, because this sells newspapers; the analysts, because it sells stock. But if you bring the media or analysts out on a limb with you, be prepared to break their fall if the limb breaks. Out of Reac