The Sydney Morning Herald online has an article examining the significance of public apologies, mainly from businesses and politicians:

The calculated cost of an apology

Sorry, as Elton John reminded us, seems to be the hardest word. It's certainly the trickiest in politics and business.

...

But what's more interesting is the noise the S-word has created. It speaks volumes about how much accountability has changed. There would have been a time when a simple apology, or the refusal to give one, would not have blown up into an election issue.

 It's a different story in an era in which former British prime minister Tony Blair apologised to Ireland for the 19th century potato famine and when the Catholic Church, which has plenty to apologise for, has offered apologies all round to the Jews, the Gypsies, victims of sexual abuse, Galileo and the citizens of Constantinople (now Istanbul) for its sacking 800 years ago by the knights of the Fourth Crusade.

There are two reasons for the change. First is the way news gathering, the internet and globalisation have changed the flow of information. Put simply, news good or bad travels a lot faster and further. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.

Secondly, according to Aaron Lazare, professor of psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts medical school, there is our increased interdependence and fragile connectedness in today's global village. The increased layers and connections mean that more people are bumping into each other. In such a crowded space, it only heightens expectations for apologies.

The article makes some points we have made at Apology Index:

... For corporations, the apology itself is less about contrition than it is about crisis and reputation management....

... In politics and business, the calculated apology is about the commodification of the mea culpa....

... Done too little or too late, or making it too obviously tactical, can be disastrous and destructive....

And offers some advice:

Public relations and strategy experts cite 10 questions CEOs need to ask before embarking on the apology route:

1. Was the offence serious?
2. Should the CEO assume responsibility?
3. Is the cost of saying something likely to be lower than the cost of saying nothing?
4. What function would the apology serve?
5.Who benefits?
6. Why would an apology matter (for strategic reasons, moral reasons)?
7. What happens when the apology is made and would it placate the injured parties and hasten resolution?
8.Will an apology create legal problems?
9. If you don't apologise, will the problem fade?
10. Will a refusal to apologise make it worse?

As examples, it references several apologies we have covered, including recent apologies from Apple and Mattel.

Worth a read.