Just some quick thoughts here on the latest developments in the Domino’s story:

First, the fact that you release a video in the Dave Neeleman mode (the former JetBlue CEO who offered a heartfelt apology for the Valentine’s Day 2007 crisis) doesn’t mean you’ll be forgiven—especially if you’re disingenuous in the video.

Using the same YouTube venue his two former employees used to post the clip that kicked off this whole crisis, Domino’s USA President Patrick Doyle apologizes, but also asserts that the company was on top of the crisis instantly. Here’s an audio clip from the opening few seconds of Doyle’s video:

Problem is, not only is this not true but Domino’s communications VP, Tim McIntyre, is on the record in more than one place insisting that the company was not going to address the situation publicly for fear that it would only add fuel to the fire. How credible is Doyle when he says the company did something it did not do? And if he’s not credible about this, how credible can he be about anything else he says?

In AdAge, McIntyre said the company could handle the impressions but that “a strong response from Domino’s would alert more consumers to the embarrassment.” And in an interview with Ragan Communications set to appear on Thursday morning, McIntyre claimed that the story was only getting coverage in the blogosphere. “It’s not on ABC, CNN, or USA Today,” he told Ragan reporter Jessica Levco.

Of course, now the story is all over the mainstream media, which was inevitable and predictable. When I blogged the story yesterday, only the Consumerist was showing up in a Google News search. Tonight, as I repeat the search from my hotel room in Pittsburgh, Google News is showing coverage in The New York Times, UPI, the Chicago Tribune, FOXNews, SkyNews, the BBC, several local TV news outlets, the list goes on.

In his most recent blog post, Edelman President and CEO Richard Edelman offered up a thought about the role of PR and the definition of news. In not so many words, Edelman defined the altered nature of the news machine. No longer does the public catch the news at 6 p.m., then wait for updates at 11 p.m. A variety of sources, from bloggers and Twitterers to journalists and analysts, are covering the news on an ongoing basis; the thirst for news is insatiable and if PR counselors do not satisfy that thirst on an ongoing basis, alternative sources will fill in. Your opportunity to tell your company’s/client’s story is based on your ability to maintain a presence. As Edelman puts it, “We will have to persuade our clients to be more public with more news. News is less an event and more a continuous flow of information informing the ongoing discussion; we must correct misstatement with alacrity.”

The company now has a Twitter account (@dpzinfo), which currently has 271 followers (including me) and about 2-1/2 pages of messages; it’s an encouraging move. Now, McIntyre and his team will have to begin using this channel to address the underlying issue that could cause Domino’s the most damage—the belief that the two employees who created the original video are representative of many Domino’s employees. The crisis was never contained to the North Carolina operation, despite the fact that it’s the only restaurant where these two employees worked, yet the vast majority of the company’s focus is on the actions taken against the employees and the sanitizing of the store.

I would also hope that the next time a crisis hits Domino’s, the “let’s wait and see if this warrants a resonse” mentality has been shelved in favor of a “let’s get our story into the the continuous flow of information to inform the discussion” approach.

There will no doubt be more to discuss as the public and Domino’s continue to react.I’ve recorded some comments for Neville to use in tomorrow’s FIR as part of his commentary on the story.