Want To Sell the CEO On A Crisis Communications Plan? Sell The Attorney First
Q: How do you convince leadership that creating a crisis communications plan is a good idea? A: We get it. People don’t want to think about their businesses or organizations being thrown into a crisis because there’s been a data breach, or an allegation of sexual harassment, or an inappropriate social media post. And who […]
Lessons From The Boeing Airline Crisis – And From The Crisis Management Industry’s Response
By Thom Fladung/Hennes Communications The crash of Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 and subsequent focus on the Boeing 737Max airliner brought with it the usual analysis and reaction from crisis communications consultants. Some of our crisis communications peers provided insight into how Boeing was dealing with its crisis. And some reaction, unfortunately, we found lacking in […]
You Can’t Spin Your Way Out of Bad Behavior – Boeing & Wells Fargo
By Bruce Hennes, CEO, Hennes Communications On September 11, 2001, the world changed. The terrorist attack on the U.S. altered American politics and propelled us into a foreign war, changing government surveillance, our travel habits and even the architecture of our buildings. On a micro-level, it also changed Hennes Communications. For the previous 12 years, […]
Not For All of Our Readers — Terror of Tomorrow: What Organizations Must Know to Share and Prepare
From Homeland Security Today Gate 15’s David Pounder asked Homeland Security Today Managing Editor Bridget Johnson to help paint a threat assessment for the year ahead for the benefit of critical infrastructure entities and Information Sharing and Analysis Centers and Organizations. We share that Q&A here for the benefit of all HSToday partners and readers. In […]
Q&A: On crisis communications and attorney-client protection
Q: How can my organization use legal privilege to protect sensitive information when we’re dealing with a communications firm and discussing with them a controversial issue or a crisis? A: [From Stephanie York, Hennes Communications:] You can never ensure that sensitive communications will fall under the attorney work product doctrine – ultimately, a judge must […]
Not On My Facebook Page: How Smart Companies Deal with Dumb Online Trolls
By Thom Fladung/Hennes Communications The reaction is typical. Watch what happens when a business, organization or news outlet removes a user’s post from a Facebook page, website or comment string. “Censorship!” “You’re violating my free speech rights!” “You’re trashing the First Amendment!” Well, no. None of that has happened. The laws around social media use […]
Starbucks Baristas Served Lukewarm Talking Points for Dealing with Caffeinated Political Issue
[By Howard Fencl, Hennes Communications] Imagine you’re waiting in line at your regular Starbucks. By now, you know the baristas by name, they know yours, and you regularly chat them up. Today there’s a loudmouth jerk in front of you giving your favorite barista a hard time about the presidential aspirations of former Starbucks CEO/Chairman […]
How Free Is Free Speech On Social Media? The Courts Are Weighing In
By Thom Fladung/Hennes Communications The wild west of social media just keeps getting wilder, doesn’t it? Consider these court rulings, from the past few months: In Virginia, a federal appeals court ruled that an elected official violated the First Amendment by temporarily blocking a constituent on Facebook, the Washington Post reported. In Northeast Ohio, a […]
Q&A
Q: If I do a TV news interview, won’t reporters change my answers when they edit it? A: [From Howard Fencl, Hennes Communications:] It would be utterly unethical for any journalist to put words in your mouth by chopping up an interview and rearranging your words to say something other than what you intended. In […]
Q&A: On the Covington Catholic High School controversy and the use of ‘dark magic’ crisis communications
A recent attendee to a Hennes Communications presentation by Bruce Hennes was prompted to email us this question, regarding the incident in Washington, D.C., involving high school students from Covington, Ky., two different groups of activists and whether clever use of crisis communications on behalf of the students had made the incident “go away.” Here’s […]