Seven Phrases You Should Never Say on Television
In the most general terms, “risk communications” takes place before something actually happens. According to emergency management expert Dr. Jeff Rubin, “In the preparedness business, engaging the public is a necessity and a challenge. Effective risk communication includes identifying audiences and understanding how they perceive the messages we broadcast. With that in mind, with tongue […]
Who Are Your Stakeholders?
[By Nora Jacobs] Short of prison time or financial ruin, businesses and other organizations probably fear media coverage of their problems more than any other threat confronting them. Media, of course, love to leap on stories laden with conflict, guilt and incompetence, so it’s a justified fear. Good crisis communication response strategies make sure clients […]
Bill Cosby’s Team Comes Out Swinging Against Accusers
[by Bruce Hennes] Bill Cosby has repeatedly refused to talk about decades-old allegations of sexual misconduct. Meanwhile, his legal team has launched an aggressive, organized and expensive effort to quash accusations by attacking the accusers’ characters and motives, according to The New York Times. Sure, it’s possible that Cosby is not guilty of any of […]
How Some Reporters Get Ready to Talk To You
When the New York Times decides to pursue a major story, there are often days, weeks or even months of work that must be done before the article is published. Here, Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Matt Apuzzo tells his reporter colleagues how to investigate you. Even if you don’t work for a powerful institution likely to […]
Say Goodbye to the Hennes Communications Crisis Comm Newsletter and Hello to Crisis & Reputation Today
You know us as experts in Crisis Communications – and we are. But, much of the work we do might better be described as “reputation management” – and, in fact, crisis communications fits nicely under that umbrella. So, to better reflect that reality, we’ve changed the look and name of our twice-a-month newsletter to Crisis […]
Six Reputation Resolutions for the New Year
[By Nora Jacobs] 2014 was a rocky year for reputation management – from the NFL and Hollywood, to Main Street USA and the corporate board room, entities of all sorts lost ground due to both bad behavior and bad communications. As we embark on a new year, here are six resolutions designed to protect your […]
Why Tell a Story in a Crisis?
[By Bruce Hennes] In a recent New York Times article, reporter Alina Tugend wrote “It’s not enough just to offer up the facts about you or your company. You need to be compelling, unforgettable, funny and smart. Magnetic, even. You need to have a good story.” Tugend is right, suggesting that people are often attracted […]
“It Can’t Happen Here”
[by Nora Jacobs] Over the years, we’ve spoken to countless clients about the crisis threats their organizations might face. Many willingly accept that their business might be struck by an act of God — tornados, floods and fires most often come to mind. But a surprisingly large number of clients seem to feel immune to […]
6 MORE Steps to Take When the Media Get It Wrong
[by Bruce Hennes] In my last post on this subject, we started with George Clooney publicly pointing the finger at The Daily Mail for publishing a story he said was untrue from start to finish. We then discussed pausing before acting, handling small errors of fact, egregious errors, using blogs, submitting short statements to media […]
Did Ebola Kill a Hospital’s Reputation?
[by Howard Fencl, APR] For all the things we do not yet know about the deadly Ebola virus, we do know this: it mercilessly attacked Texas Presbyterian Hospital’s reputation. No hospital in the United States had yet diagnosed a patient with Ebola when Thomas Duncan showed up sick at the Dallas hospital on Sept. 25. […]