This CNN story criticizes BP Oil’s tactics to control the message by using paid advertising and AdWords that, this critic says, preempts the ‘fair and balanced’ reporting by the news.

The struggle with crisis management, especially in this case, is that the company is fighting an unfair uphill battle that can’t be won in the heat of the moment. An offending company can do no right, they can only climb out from the grave. So is what BP oil is doing inherently bad from a PR perspective? My answer is that the tactics are good, the timing is wrong.

More commentary to come.