March 9, 2025
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The Skill Set That Got You Into the C-Suite Isn’t Necessarily the Skill Set You Need to Manage a Crisis
By Bruce Hennes, Hennes Communications
It’s a simple fact: Controversies today are tried in the Court of Public Opinion more often than the Court of Law. News now breaks first on social media, with traditional media sweeping Twitter/X, Facebook and YouTube for leads. Whether your organization is immersed in crisis or dealing with a hot-button issue, your news can quickly “go viral.” Since it takes a lifetime to build a reputation and only a few seconds to destroy one, “managing the message” is a necessary skill set for executives, attorneys and public officials in virtually every business sector.
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Speaking Out or Staying Silent: A Guide to Creating Communications Plans for Bar Associations (and other nonprofits)
By Nick Hansen, American Bar Association
“If you can see it coming, it’s not a crisis,” said Bruce Hennes, CEO of Hennes Communications, to audience members at a Bar Leadership Institute workshop titled, “Speaking Out or Strategic Silence? Organizational Approaches to Issuing Public Statements.” Hennes, along with (now former) Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association CEO Becky Ruppert McMahon, explained why it is important for bars to develop a communications plan for when a rapid response is needed, as well as when bars want to proactively comment on a situation.
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Does a CEO Op-Ed Serve Any Good Purpose in a Crisis?
Writing an op-ed to help frame an important issue is a well-established tool in the communications armoury. But when a CEO uses it to “explain” a corporate crisis, it comes with a high risk of backfiring badly. That was certainly the outcome when the CEO of UnitedHealth Group elected to pen an op-ed in the New York Times arising from the street murder in December of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
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The Communicator’s Role in an Anti-Expert Era
Basic scientific understanding is dangerously low. From the COVID-19 pandemic, we know that more, not less, information about health saves lives. The public needs statistics and science, but some information has already been removed from the Center for Disease Control’s website. When health becomes politicized, disease can spread even faster than disinformation. Communicators need a new playbook.
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5 PR Tips for Using Bluesky and RedNote
We’ve fast-forwarded past Vine, Google+, and Clubhouse to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok—and now, Bluesky and RedNote. As TikTok’s future wavers and President Trump tries to play its savior, China’s RedNote app has gained 700,000-plus U.S. users in two months. For PR pros, this leaves many clients with a question: what social platforms are right for their business?
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Should We Put Out a Statement?
That decision is more difficult if there are passionate disagreements about the issue among professional teams, boards, funders, and community partners. It’s often impossible to talk about public advocacy without inflaming internal disagreements—and that’s scary. When passionate ideological divisions arise on a team, they can be painful, time-consuming, and damaging to organizational culture. Understandably, employers often try to avoid workplace conversations about divisive topics.
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Social Media and News Fact Sheet
We still read three print newspapers a day, causing many to give us strange looks at the coffee shop in the morning. But we also consume copious amounts of social media. Digital sources have become an important part of American news diets – with social media playing a crucial role, particularly for younger adults. Overall, just over half of U.S. adults (54%) say they at least sometimes get news from social media, up slightly compared with the last few years.
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3/14/25 American Bar Association - Bar Leadership Institute
3/20/25 Consortium of State School Boards Annual Conference
3/26/25 National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA)
3/27/25 Neighborhood Leadership Devel. Program
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5/20/25 Managing Partner Bootcamp
5/21/25 Cleveland Southwest Safety Council
6/26/25 Consortium of State School Boards Association - Education Safety Conference
9/23/25 Ohio Trucking Association
10/21/25 Managing Partner Bootcamp
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