The Story Behind Caitlyn Jenner’s Masterful Press Strategy
From Vulture.com: The public transformation of Bruce Jenner to Caitlyn has been, by all accounts, a smashing success. Her cover profile and photo spread in Vanity Fair were greeted with rave reviews. She became a Twitter superstar overnight. Even Jon Stewart was amazed at how well the media covered her debut (well,mostly). The rollout didn’t happen by […]
Man Records Doctors Insulting Him During His Own Colonoscopy; Shock, Anger and Lawsuit Follow.
[By Bruce Hennes] Restaurant workers putting disgusting substances in customer’s food. Politicians seeking and accepting favors. Employees on disability doing yard work. Police officers committing crimes. Every day, a new shocking story on Twitter, another Facebook “caught on tape,” a “you won’t believe what the camera saw” on YouTube. Everyone you know now carries a […]
We’re Not Hennes Paynter Anymore
Hennes Paynter Communications, one of the few firms in the U.S. focused exclusively on crisis communications and reputation management, is now Hennes Communications. The firm also offers litigation communications and media training services to its clients that are “on trial” in the Court of Public Opinion. The change follows the departure of former partner Barbara Paynter, […]
Issuing a Public Warning Is Not an Easy Decision
The decision to issue a warning to the public is never an easy one. Crisis Manager Lucien Canton writes about one of the most common reasons for failing to issue timely warnings: the fear of creating public panic. He argues that fear, particularly one that is contradicted by social science research, is never an excuse for […]
OP3 Conference – For Ohio Companies Concerned About Disaster Prevention, Response & Recovery
Ohio Emergency Management Agency Ohio Public Private Partnership Conference Cleveland State University June 23, 2015 In an effort to increasingly serve Ohioans before, during and after a disaster, the Ohio Department of Public Safety (ODPS) relies on strong partnerships between citizens, government, and private business. To strengthen these partnerships across the state, ODPS created the Ohio Public […]
Up Periscope! Everyone’s a Live Reporter Now
[by Howard Fencl, APR] I’ve media trained dozens of industry leaders who are just now getting their arms around social media and grasping how a single iconic photo snapped during their organization’s crisis by a disgruntled party can spiral into a viral flame storm in seconds. They’re horrified. And they ought to be. Because whether […]
Selecting the Right Spokesperson
[By Nora Jacobs] One of the most common decisions we encounter when clients face a crisis situation is helping them choose the individual who will serve as their spokesperson. Rarely does anyone volunteer for this assignment and most draftees accept it with grudging resignation. In truth, being a spokesperson is a high-risk job and even […]
After a Public Shaming, Reclaiming My Dignity
Lisa T. McElroy is an associate professor of law at the Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law. She wrote this for The Washington Post. Three weeks ago, when I sat my teenage daughters down to deliver the difficult news, I said, “Girls, I have to tell you something upsetting.” My younger daughter’s face […]
Baltimore Officials and the Media Blame Game
[By Howard Fencl] You cannot criticize TV media for doing their job. Baltimore City Council President Jack Young blasted the media for covering protests that erupted into a night of violence, wanton looting and destruction. Protests were initially peaceful in response to the death of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old African-American who died from an unexplained […]
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams – How To Do It Right
[By Nora Jacobs] (Note: This article has been updated since being originally published on April 24) Clients sometime ask us for examples of organizations that have done a good job managing a crisis. When we first commented on the situation on April 24, Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams had just announced a full recall of the […]