Michael Sam's Publicist Shares Lessons Learned from His Coming Out Story

We think you’ll agree that Fifteen Minutes PR chief and Reputation.com vice chairman Howard Bragman scored one of 2014’s biggest PR wins to date by breaking and managing the Michael Sam story.

He also happens to be a LinkedIn “influencer” who shared his lessons learned in a post earlier today. His key point: coming out is less about making news than “owning your truth”—which sounds like a great message management tagline.

So what are his universal PR lessons?

• Jump out in front of a pending story to make sure no one else can intercept and run with it
• Tell the tale once and let the rest of the media worry about turning it viral
• Prepare for a worst possible scenario response: be ready to defend your offensive strategy
• Stick to trusted channels and friends so no third party can spin your story
• Emphasize the fact that there’s a well-rounded person behind the announcement
• Release...