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, Facebook and YouTube for leads. Whether your organization is immersed in crisis or dealing with a hot-button issue, your news can quickly […]
By Bridget Johnson for Homeland Security Today ISIS roared onto the social media landscape not with a gruesome beheading, but with a fluffy kitten. The beheadings would be infamously broadcast by the terror group, leading to scattershot social media bans followed by new accounts created by terrorists and their loyalists to replace and augment the […]
By Bruce Hennes, Hennes Communications Public officials, CEOs, executive directors and members of for-profit and non-profit boards have a responsibility to their stakeholders to plan for situations that will imperil life, limb and the ability of their organizations to fulfill their missions. In the immediate aftermath of a major incident, such as a mass shooting […]
By Tony Jaques, for Managing Outcomes – When a boatload of tourists was involved in an incident in remote northwest Australia, and more than a dozen were taken to hospital – some with serious injuries – you might expect the company to express shock and sympathy. But apparently not. According to media reports, the only statement […]
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. […]
From Rachel Monroe, writing for The New Yorker – The paper’s employees lost neighbors, acquaintances, and a daughter in a school shooting. Then they had to report the story. The news, as it initially came over the police scanner in staticky bursts of information, was confusing. A shooting, a car crash, a man with a […]
From Christopher J. Tennyson, writing for Crisis Quotient Blog – In the Early Hours of a Crisis, Getting Things Right Trumps Fast Response We’re all still processing the horror of last week’s mass murder in Uvalde, Texas. Continuing confusion about just what happened at Robb Elementary School that day is adding to the pain being […]
By Hinda Mitchell, with Inspire PR Group… Our nation has not been without a crisis for some time. In local communities, there are crises nearly every day. In families and relationships there are unfortunate, tragic events, unnecessary deaths, injuries and accidents. My purpose in writing is not to minimize any of these; each takes a […]
By Stephanie York, JD, Hennes Communications Quick – What’s the single highest priority for a superintendent, head of school or board president? It’s not education. It’s safety. And just one part of that safety net is making sure you have a pre-written crisis communications plan at your fingertips – or at least the phone number […]
There are scores of reasons why your district can be thrust into the news. Lawsuit…sports controversy…social media threats…active shooter… board-superintendent clash…criminal accusation…discrimination complaints…diversity issues…FERPA or HIPAA violation…fiscal mismanagement…protest… sexual misconduct…student newspaper story…challenging conversations… testing controversy…union grievance/strike… Suddenly, there’s a TV crew in the parking lot, your local newspaper is on Line One and the situation […]