Business Communication and Character

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Esquire's 9/11 Mistakes

Esquire.com made two mistakes on September 11. First, the website posted the well-known image of a man falling from the World Trade Center on 9/11 next to a story about commuting to work.

  Esquire 911

When people criticized the mistake, a tweet told people to "relax."

Esquire 911 tweet

Not surprisingly, Esquire.com suffered worse for its response.

Discussion Starters:

  • How does the tweet response fail? Analyze the word choice and tone.
  • Rewrite the tweet for Esquire. What might have worked better?