Paula Deen must have an apology good enough to get past her racial slur contraversy. Deen's public apology on the Today Show tomorrow must be extremely convincing if Paula has any shot of repairing her career after the racial slur heard throughout the country.

Paula Deen will announce her apology to Matt Lauer on Wednesday morning. Deen has already attempted an apology but her Youtube video was considered "insincere" by PR experts. The edits in Paula's video were unnecessary and the the whole racial slur apology looked scripted. 

So how should Paula present her apology? PR expert Allen Adamson has have some important advice for Deen.

"First, she must stay composed and be confident. She has to start off by apologizing to Matt for standing him up. Honesty is always the best policy, so she should say, 'I was overwhelmed with the intensity of the issue, and I didn't think I could compose myself on live television, and I'm sorry I let you down.' "

Adamson adds that Deen should avoid a spin campaign and do everything she can to steer clear of getting lost in the muck of what happened. Instead, she has to move forward with her core audience firmly in her sights.

"The country is split into 'I'm a Paula Deen fan' or 'I'm out to get her.' She should focus on her base: 'I am committed to continue to do what I do best, which is prepare great food. My focus is on cooking great-tasting food and my restaurants and my recipes.' "

if Deen continues to play to her base during this scandal, she may be able to save herself and part of her empire.

"Six months from now, if it's blown over and she's gotten back to her base and gotten back to her core, memories are short and other sponsors will show up," he predicts. "She needs to turn to the people who are lined up outside her restaurant and connect with them. ... What marketers are interested in is the passion of the people who follow you. No one today can appeal to everybody. What's more important is how loyal a celebrity's followers are, and the more loyal they are, the more important they are to marketers."

The 66-year-old Savannah kitchen celebrity has been swamped in controversy since court documents filed this week revealed Deen told an attorney questioning her under oath last month that she has used the N-word. "Yes, of course," Deen said, though she added, "It's been a very long time."

The Food Network, which made Deen a star with "Paula's Home Cooking" in 2002 and later "Paula's Home Cooking" in 2008, fired Deen and weighed in with a terse statement Friday afternoon.

"Food Network will not renew Paula Deen's contract when it expires at the end of this month," the statement said. Network representatives declined further comment. A representative for Deen did not immediately return phone and email messages seeking comment on the decision.

The news came as Deen worked to repair the damage to her image, which has spawned a vast empire of cookbooks, a bimonthly cooking magazine, a full line of cookware, food items like spices and even furniture.

Deen initially planned to give her first interview on the controversy Friday to the "Today" show, which promoted her scheduled appearance as a live exclusive. Instead, host Matt Lauer ended up telling viewers that Deen's representatives pulled the plug because she was exhausted after her flight to New York. Deen said in her video she was "physically not able" to appear.

Are you rooting for Dean tomorrow?