Hennes Communications has been named among the top crisis PR firms in the U.S. by Chambers and Partners, the leading independent professional legal research company in the world. Hennes Communications is one of only 18 communication consulting firms included in the list for 2024. Bruce Hennes, chief executive officer, also received an individual ranking by […]
From The Conversation… In the immediate hours after the assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump on July 13, 2024, social media users posted the same videos, images and eyewitness accounts but used them as evidence for different rumors or theories that aligned with their political preferences. Among the deluge of rumors, one TikTok creator narrated […]
Why ‘meaning-making’ matters In every crisis, it is essential that government and public sector leaders provide a compelling story. A good crisis narrative teaches the public about the realities of the predicament. It conveys what leaders know, do not know and cannot know, and what they are doing to figure out as much as possible. […]
From our colleague, Annie Searle… Like practitioners in other disciplines that continue to evolve in a complex technological world, the maturity of risk managers varies widely. In recovering from the 2008 financial crisis, we’ve seen corporate managers rebrand themselves into this field or get promoted into it without necessarily understanding risk frameworks or methodologies. There […]
From Dan Stoneking, writing for Homeland Security Today… Build a kit. Have a plan. Get flood insurance. All the things we are told to prepare for an emergency can feel quite daunting. They are smart ideas, for sure. But money, time, and competing priorities can be imposing obstacles. In June 2012 my home joined a […]
Mike Janko is a good friend and colleague for those of us at Hennes Communications. Mike is one of the toughest guys we know. He even smiles – sometimes. What we can’t understand is why he isn’t stoop-shouldered, given the responsibilities he carries, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Mike works for The […]
From Josh Dzieza, writing for The Verge… The internet is carried around the world by hundreds of thousands of miles of slender cables that sit at the bottom of the ocean. These fragile wires are constantly breaking — a precarious system on which everything from banks to governments to TikTok depends. This article highlights the […]
By Thom Fladung, Hennes Communications Today’s assignment: Search “crises and schools” in a Google news search. You’ll find 382,000 results. Here’s a quick headline sample: A Crisis of School Absences Mental health crisis in schools: 4 ways educators can take action Report: Schools Won’t Recover from COVID Absenteeism Crisis Until at Least 2030 Crisis In […]
By Thom Fladung, Hennes Communications Only 49% of U.S. businesses report they have a formal crisis communications plan, according to Capterra’s Crisis Communications Survey, conducted in January 2023 with 243 U.S. business executives, all of whom held leadership positions of director or above. Another 28% said they have an informal or undocumented crisis communications plan – although […]
From our friend and colleague in Australia, Tony Jaques… Who should speak in a crisis? That deceptively simple question can help determine whether an organisation’s reputation is enhanced or irreparably damaged when things go wrong. And behind that question are two common errors in crisis management. The first error is the idea that “speaking with one voice” […]