Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius said, "Conceal a flaw, and the world will imagine the worst."

The CEOs who have committed public relations blunders so far in 2010 need to bone up on the Roman philosophy.

The list -- like the BP oil spill -- is staggering.

As we near the mid point of the year, here's our list of nominees for the CEO PR Hall of Shame.

Grand Prize: Tony Hayward

He singlehandely has disproved one

Some reflections after three days of continuous television and social media coverage of the flood of 2010:

To Gov. Bredesen -- Thanks for your leadership. Nashville could use every bit of it right now.

To Mayor Dean -- A+ on the response. You were visible, struck the right tone, and managed the communications well. Please remember that crises are ultimately defined by the recovery. Lots and lots of work to do.

To all

The aftermath of Lane Kiffin's departure from the University of Tennessee has many lessons for future coaches and business people alike.

We'll address Kiffin's decision in a future post.

More interesting right now is the press conference where Kiffin announced his departure and what it illustrates about the future of media relations. Here is the raw footage of the negotiations between university PR representatives and the