A BBC story this morning should be required reading for anyone running a company, a government, or a political campaign.
It matters who talks to the press. An off-the-cuff, arrogant and untested press spokesman brought down the Berlin Wall.
By accident.
East German Politburo member Gunter Schabowski told reporters that new regulations easing travel between East and West Germany were going into effect ‘immediately.’ Hearing the story, tens of thousands of East Berliners headed down to the border, telling the border guards that they now had the right to cross.
The Politburo members, meanwhile, had gone home and nobody could reach them. Left on their own, the border guards made the decision.
They opened the border, and the Wall came down.
Read the whole thing — and make sure your press secretary knows what she or he is doing.