Tough Calls: Is Your Loyalty to the Person, Office or Organization?
A frequent concern at Hennes Communications before and during the work we do for clients is to make certain we understand who our client actually is. In most situations, it’s an institution, organization or company – not necessarily the individual who hired us or signed the engagement letter. Many of our readers must make that […]
The White House Flouts the First Rule of Crisis Communications: Get the Facts Out Fast
From The New York Times: WASHINGTON — By the time the furor over a presidential aide accused of spousal abuse reached a second week, the White House account of what happened became less clear, not more. The contradictions were multiplying. The daily news briefing was filled with caveats. “I can only give you the best […]
Preparing for Allegations of Sexual Misconduct
By Nora Jacobs, Hennes Communications NOTE: While this article is aimed at school-related allegations of sexual misconduct, the lessons here are applicable to all market sectors. As we have seen on the national stage recently, there appears to be no statute of limitations when it comes to allegations of sexual misconduct. Thanks especially to the […]
The Art of the Public Apology
From Ashraf Rushdy: Just prior to his sentencing, former USA Gymnastics physician Larry Nassar formally apologized to the more than 160 women whom he’d sexually abused. He joins a growing list. Over the past few months, many public personalities accused of sexual assault have apologized in public. Many of us at this point are wondering what these apologies mean. Indeed, like […]
The Sex-Abuse Victims America Ignored
The Penn State – Joe Paterno situation immediately grabbed public attention. But it took way too long for the Michigan State University gymnastics scandal to capture the country’s attention. Here’s why. From Alex Putterman, writing for The Atlantic: It was an arresting moment, even on a day full of them. The Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman […]
Revealing Client Information
When is it OK to tell tales? Our good friend and colleague, attorney Karen Rubin, has advice for both lawyers and non-lawyers: Holiday parties are great times to socialize and network with colleagues. But the casual atmosphere and the sometimes-plentiful adult beverages can also tempt you to tell war stories that reveal too much about your past […]
These Women Are on Front Lines of Harassment Fight
As has been said many times by those in our business, you can’t communicate your way out of bad behavior. It’s also true that silence doesn’t fix things, either. From Meg Fry, writing for ROI: Sexual harassment. It is common, career-altering and currently celebrity-driven. And it is a serious workplace issue that three New Jersey […]
The Incredible Shrinking TV News Audience
[by Howard Fencl, Hennes Communications] The fight for your eyeballs just escalated among TV news people. New numbers out from the Pew Research Center say that now, only half of American adults rely on television for their news. That’s down from 57% in 2016. The biggest user losers? Local TV news stations, which dropped from […]
Could It Happen Here? Talking about Somebody Else’s Accident.
Last summer’s deadly Grenfell Tower fire gave risk management expert Peter Sandman cause to consider whether a tragedy in one place should give encouragement to owners and managers of similar facilities reason to proactively talk to their stakeholders about similar risks. Conventional wisdom usually leads most to avoid drawing comparisons – or any attention whatsoever […]
Lawyers Who Do Their Own Media Strategy Have a Fool for a Client
From our good friend, Gene Grabowski: A disturbing sidebar to the story about accusations that Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein engaged in decades of alleged sexual misconduct features the performance of his former lawyer, Lisa Bloom. Bloom, who resigned after clashing with the Weinstein Company’s board of directors, was recently exposed for presenting to the board […]