Critical Race Theory and the Push to Keep it Out of US Public Schools
By Denise-Marie Ordway, writing for The Journalist’s Resource… Two experts offer insights to help journalists – and non-journalists – make sense of the recent controversy around critical race theory, a decades-old legal framework for examining how U.S. laws and systems have perpetuated racism. Republican lawmakers and elected leaders across the U.S. have spoken out in […]
UFOs, Once Consigned to Conspiracy Theories, Have Landed in Mainstream American Journalism
From Amaris Castillo, writing for Poynter… Last Friday, U.S. intelligence agencies released a report that many were eagerly awaiting: a preliminary assessment on unidentified aerial phenomena. In layman’s terms, UFOs. The unclassified report said these phenomena clearly pose a flight safety issue but that there aren’t enough high-quality reports on them to draw any firm conclusions. Sightings […]
7 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Crisis Communications Firm
By Bruce Hennes, Hennes Communications Crisis communications is a sub-specialty of the public relations profession that is designed to protect and defend an individual, company, or organization facing a public challenge to its reputation. Crisis communications is aimed at raising awareness of a specific type of threat, the magnitude, outcomes, and specific behaviors to adopt to reduce the threat. […]
What Makes a News Story Trustworthy? Americans Point to the Outlet that Publishes It, Sources Cited
By John Gramlich, writing for the Pew Research Center… Americans see a variety of factors as important when it comes to deciding whether a news story is trustworthy or not, but their attitudes vary by party affiliation, demographic characteristics and news consumption habits, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. Overall, broad majorities of U.S. […]
7 Things You Should Know About Guns
Written by Denise-Marie Ordway for The Journalist’s Resource, published by the respected Harvard Kennedy School-Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy, we changed the title from 7 Things Journalists Should Know About Guns to 7 Things You Should Know About Guns. Regardless of your beliefs, we thought it would be helpful to start with […]
Sports Writers Could Ditch the ‘Clown Questions’ and Do Better When it Comes to Press Conferences
Nicole Kraft, professor of sports journalism at The Ohio State University, writing for The Conversation… LeBron James had enough. During the press conference after Game 1 of the 2018 NBA finals, James was questioned repeatedly by ESPN’s Mark Schwartz about the mental state of teammate J.R. Smith, whose final-seconds rebounding blunder contributed to a Cleveland Cavaliers overtime loss. […]
Special Facebook Tools for Government Agencies and Nonprofits
By Stephanie York, J.D., Hennes Communications It’s worth stating over and over – social media is your organization’s most important tool to disseminate information to your stakeholders amidst a crisis. People who care most about you go to your website. They follow your Twitter feed. Many likely interact with you on your Facebook page. Because […]
Hey ! Wait a Minute !
The Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association has a new video series titled Hey ! Wait a Minute !, allowing their members to talk for just 60 seconds on topics of interest. Here, Bruce Hennes uses his minute to talk about “The Court of Public Opinion.” For the short video, click here. In our last issue, Bruce […]
Hey, Wait A Minute !
From Bruce Hennes, Hennes Communications The Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association has a new video series titled Hey, Wait A Minute ! Here, bar association members have a chance to say what’s on their minds or teach a quick lesson in just one minute or less (a skill set that is certainly not taught in law […]
To Navigate the Dangers of the Web, You Need Critical Thinking – But Also Critical Ignoring
Sam Wineburg, Professor of Education and History at Stanford University, writing for The Conversation… The web is a treacherous place. A website’s author may not be its author. References that confer legitimacy may have little to do with the claims they anchor. Signals of credibility like a dot-org domain can be the artful handiwork of a Washington, […]