By Art Holliday
St. Louis (KSDK) - Todd Akin has apologized and he's appeared on the Today Show to answer tough questions, but is Akin's media strategy working?
A local public relations expert offered free damage control advice for Congressman Akin.
NewsChannel 5 is told that Todd Akin spent Monday and Tuesday developing a media strategy and damage control with an Ohio-based political consultant.
Local media strategist Jon Sloane, Vice President of Public Relations for The Twist Agency, says Akin's media strategy has flaws.
Mistake number one: don't run away from reporters. Remember this video Tuesday night at the airport when Mike Bush tried to interview Akin? Sloan says he would advise Congressman Aiken to stop running away from local media trying to interview him.
Sloane says Akin will need local media state-wide and should cooperate with them.
He also believes Akin's comments about rape could be an opportunity to show voters that he's willing to learn more about a sensitive topic.
"I think he should align himself with women's groups, groups that do advocacy for rape education, rape treatment, that sort of thing. Go through some education, go through their classes and seminars. Publicly align with those people. Show that he's making an effort to understand what he might not have understood before," said Sloane.
Sloane also says Akin's national TV appearances on the Today Show and Good Morning America were ineffective to the female audience. Sloan says Akin's apology should have been handled better.
KSDK