Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
AT&T's long distance service interruption in New York on September 17, 1991 was a serious threat to its image. After some initial confusion, including an ill‐advised attempt to shift the blame to lower level workers, Richard Allen, Chairman of AT&T, placed a full page newspaper advertisement to restore its image. This essay critically analyzes that statement, extending previous work on image restoration discourse by Benoit, Gullifor, and Panici (1991). Three primary strategies were developed appropriately in the discourse: mortification, plans for correcting the problem, and bolstering. Key concepts: ApologyAT&Timage restorationlong distancecrisis management
Benoit et al. (Sat,) studied this question.