Forget Those Hokey, Fake Backgrounds on Zoom

By Bruce Hennes, Hennes Communications If you’ve used Zoom lately, you’ve noticed the fake pools, sunsets and palm trees.  We’re all starting to envy the Pottery Barn-like kitchens, living rooms and dining rooms.  And don’t you just love those libraries full of books we know none of us have ever read, the coffee shops we […]

Crisis Comms: Saying Nothing is the Worst Strategy

From Greg Friese, writing for PoliceOne.com… t has been more than a week since mass protests and riots erupted in dozens of cities in the U.S. in response to the death of George Floyd. In the days that followed, public safety leaders expressed their grief for Floyd, condemnation of the four former officers, and discussed their […]

National Museum of African American History and Culture Releases “Talking About Race” Web Portal

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture today launched Talking About Race, a new online portal designed to help individuals, families, and communities talk about racism, racial identity and the way these forces shape every aspect of society, from the economy and politics to the broader American culture. The online portal provides digital tools, online exercises, video instructions, scholarly […]

Science vs. Politics

When the H1N1 Swine Flu vaccine became available ten years ago, at first the scientists and other public health experts said that pregnant women should immediately get the vaccine.  Then they said it should be administered to those over 65 years of age, then it was anyone who was immunocompromised, with changing death projections and […]

Food Brands Tweet #BlackLivesMatter, but What’s Behind the Words?

We remind our clients that apologies must be real, honest and authentic.  We remind our clients that “spinning” is “lying.”  And we remind our clients that if you’re going to talk the talk, you need to walk the walk. From this week’s New York Times, an insightful piece by Tejal Rao… It (seems) that, to […]

Verbs Take Sides in George Floyd Demonstration Coverage

Public trust in the media has tanked in the last four years. Police have become increasingly hostile to media, lately arresting or hectoring reporters covering demonstrations of George Floyd’s killing by one of their own. Yet, media tend to gravitate to milquetoast verbs writing about police behavior in riots. Police “deploy” anti-riot tactics or “disperse” […]