Weasel Words: The Lexicon of TV Pundits (But Not Exclusively)
From CommPro, written by Arthur Solomon, Public Relations Consultant: Depending upon which dictionary you use, a weasel will be defined as “sneaky or untrustworthy,” (Meriram-Webster); “achieve something by use of cunning or deceit,” (Oxford Living Dictionaries); or “a word used “to temper the forthrightness of a statement; that makes one’s views equivocal, misleading or confusing,” (Dictionary.com). Perhaps […]
Wide-Awake: Sanofi’s Rapid Response to Roseanne Barr’s Twitter Attack – Lessons Learned
[By Howard Fencl, Hennes Communications] By now you know the story: Acerbic, sharp-tongued comedian Roseanne Barr shoots her mouth off on Twitter, posting a racist tweet targeting Valerie Jarrett, a former aide to President Barack Obama: “Muslim brotherhood & planet of the apes had a baby=vj [Valerie Jarrett]” ABC wastes no time cutting ties […]
How Lawyers Can Minimize Professional Mistakes During a Scandal Like That at Penn State
[By Stephanie York, JD, Hennes Communications] “What were they thinking?” That’s what we all ask when a big scandal unfolds, such as Penn State, Enron, Watergate and most recently, the Michigan State sex abuse scandal. Those on the outside are left scratching their heads, wondering how those huge institutions got so deep and so far […]
How Facebook’s Response Ignited the Cambridge Analytica Scandal
From our good friend and colleague, James Haggerty: In a crisis, it’s not the event itself that counts. It’s the response. Unfortunately for Facebook’s shareholders, it appears Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, and the company’s other leaders did not understand this basic rule of crisis management when handling the Cambridge Analytica scandal. For my 2017 book, Chief […]
He Predicted The 2016 Fake News Crisis. Now He’s Worried About An Information Apocalypse.
From Buzzfeed: “What happens when anyone can make it appear as if anything has happened, regardless of whether or not it did?” technologist Aviv Ovadya warns. In mid-2016, Aviv Ovadya realized there was something fundamentally wrong with the internet — so wrong that he abandoned his work and sounded an alarm. A few weeks before the 2016 election, […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
Facts Don’t Change People’s Minds. Here’s What Does.
From Ozan Varol: If you had asked me this question–How do you change a mind?–two years ago, I would have given you a different answer. As a former scientist, I would have cautioned you to rely on objective facts and statistics. Develop a strong case for your side, back it up with hard, cold, irrefutable […]
Corporate Attorneys & The Court of Public Opinion
[By Thom Fladung, Hennes Communications] “The house could be burned down before you even smell smoke.” In 2009, The Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics set out to study how the court of public opinion can shape legal controversies. The sources were the people on the front lines – responses gathered from a questionnaire sent […]