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Do You Have a Crisis Communications Plan?

[By Bruce Hennes, Managing Partner, Hennes Communications, and Keynote Speaker, American Public Power Association Legal & Regulatory Conference, 2016] It’s not just terrorist attacks, explosions, active shooters, and environmental disasters. More often than not, it’s going to be sexual misconduct, data theft, unfair labor practices, OSHA complaints, mergers & acquisitions, layoffs, accusations, or employee fraud […]


Trick or Treat! Outrage Masquerades as Principles in Crisis Management

Why are organizations punished in the Court of Public Opinion for violating ethical principles when they have not broken any law? Dr. Peter Sandman, a preeminent risk communications expert, says when an issue sparks outrage (and we see plenty of organizations pilloried in social media by outraged trolls every day), society becomes desperate to blame […]


6 Tactics For Leveraging Your Employees During a Social Media Crisis

From GaggleAmp: Every company of any size inevitably encounters a crisis situation at some point. Today, with numerous social media platforms, a crisis can quickly become very public and spread far and wide – well beyond your local city or even state.  But, the same social media platforms that can help spread a negative story […]


You Can’t Spin Your Way Out of Bad Behavior

A colleague of ours, Don Etling, said it best:  You can’t spin your way out of bad behavior. The Penn State situation exemplifies that.  Joe Paterno & Co. knew that Jerry Sandusky was abusing children – and they looked the other way.  They didn’t have a communications problem – they had a performance problem. Volkswagen is […]


Engaging and Informing Employees During a Crisis

Most crisis communication plans depend at least somewhat on the ability and willingness of employees to come to work – but that assumption may not be valid. According to a Deloitte study, including employees in pre-crisis planning and keeping them updated during an organizational emergency are critical to ensuring their participation and maintaining consistent communications […]


How SeaWorld & the Humane Society Came Together

For decades, animal-rights activists have gone after SeaWorld and its Orca entertainment and breeding programs.  And for years, SeaWorld has fought-off those activists, in the Court of Law, as well as the Court of Public Opinion. Rather than continue to fight in those two courtrooms, SeaWorld did a dramatic turnabout, announcing in full-page print and television […]


We’re Not Hennes Paynter Anymore

Hennes Paynter Communications, one of the few firms in the U.S. focused exclusively on crisis communications and reputation management, is now Hennes Communications.  The firm also offers litigation communications and media training services to its clients that are “on trial” in the Court of Public Opinion.  The change follows the departure of former partner Barbara Paynter, […]


Is Labor Unrest a Communications Problem?

Frequently, Hennes Communications is engaged by an organization to help explain policies, procedures and situations put in place to address past miscommunications, disputes or illegal activities. One example:  a manager found manufacturing bombs in his office (as you might imagine, this was definitely contrary to corporate policy).  If humans do it, we’ve probably seen it. Almost […]


“It Can’t Happen Here”

[by Nora Jacobs] Over the years, we’ve spoken to countless clients about the crisis threats their organizations might face.  Many willingly accept that their business might be struck by an act of God — tornados, floods and fires most often come to mind.  But a surprisingly large number of clients seem to feel immune to […]


Risky Business

[by Bruce Hennes]  According to Reputation Dividend, a company that helps quantify the economic value of reputation for publicly held businesses, few CEOs would argue that their corporate reputation isn’t one of their company’s most precious assets. Giving thought to the difference between ‘brand’ and ‘reputation,’ Sandra Macleod writes, “The value and importance of a […]


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