Who’s Zoomin’ Who? Zoom Body Language Hacks
by Howard Fencl, Hennes Communications The more we get used to Zoom, Webex, Microsoft Teams and other live video teleconferencing platforms, the more danger that we get a little too relaxed. I’ve seen Zoomers drone on and on, delivering their presentations in a disinterested monotone. I’ve seen “listening” participants slouching, checking email and who-knows-what-else on […]
Crisis Communications in Sports
Crisis Communications in Sports breaks down the latest news and crises in sports communications. Sports marketing veteran Jim Rocco and crisis communications strategist Isaac Benjamin offer their insight on dealing with sensitive situations and how to rectify problematic actions; whether it is dealing with the media, tone-deaf public statements, or complicated internal affairs. Episodes feature […]
Public Health’s Share of the Blame: US COVID-19 Risk Communication Failures
The World Health Organization defines risk communications the exchange of real-time information, advice and opinions between experts and people facing threats to their health, economic or social well-being. The ultimate purpose of risk communication is to enable people at risk to take informed decisions to protect themselves and their loved ones. Risk communication uses many […]
Covid in the Classroom? Some Schools Are Keeping It Quiet
From Dan Levin, writing in The New York Times… On the first day of school in Camden County, Ga., local Facebook groups were already buzzing with rumors that a teacher had tested positive for the coronavirus. The next day, a warning went out to school administrators: Keep teachers quiet. “Staff who test positive are not […]
What if Facebook Is the Real ‘Silent Majority’?
From Kevin Roose, writing in The New York Times: Listen, liberals. If you don’t think Donald Trump can get re-elected in November, you need to spend more time on Facebook. Since the 2016 election, I’ve been obsessively tracking how partisan political content is performing on Facebook, the world’s largest and arguably most influential media platform. […]
Are the Biggest Threats to Your Organization’s Reputation Languishing in HR’s Bottom Drawer?
By Nora Jacobs, Hennes Communications As we have seen countless times during these COVID-stricken months, employees are working on a short fuse. Isolation, stress and a galvanized political landscape have combined to create an environment where casual comments on social media explode into wars of words, workplace rules spawn walkouts, and long-simmering resentments about past […]
Social Media Platforms Fight Back Against Manipulative Foreign Actors
From the American University School of International Service Disinformation Research Team writing in Homeland Security Today: Although Americans expect to encounter disinformation via social media platforms in the run-up to the 2020 elections, many continue to consume news online primarily via social media. Foreign actors have used social media to increase discord in the United […]
Ellen’s Celebrity Defenders Aren’t Helping Her
From Spencer Kornhaber, writing in The Atlantic: Famous people want the world to know that Ellen DeGeneres is nice to famous people. Addressing media reports alleging a culture of harassment and bullying at DeGeneres’s talk show, the singer Katy Perry tweeted Tuesday that she’s “only ever had positive takeaways from my time with Ellen.” Ashton Kutcher, Kevin […]
The Permeating Stench of Negative Media Coverage
By Howard Fencl, Hennes Communications What if you woke up to find that your company had racked up $47 million in negative publicity because of something your CEO said? Certainly, any company prescient enough to have a crisis communication plan packed with doomsday scenarios would include fill-in-the-blank messaging responding to an exec gone rogue. But […]
Ellen DeGeneres — Time for a Crisis Management Lesson
From David E. Johnson, writing for CommPro: Talk show host and comedian, Ellen DeGeneres is the latest celebrity that could be cancelled. Both she and the top management of her hit talk show, “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” are under an internal investigation by the show’s distributor, Warner Brothers. There are allegations of intimidation, sexual […]