By Deb Hileman for PRNews Maui continues to reel from wildfires that are now the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century. It has been widely reported that in the hours leading up to the deadly Lahaina wildfire last week, Maui’s all-hazard sirens did not alert residents, and officials apparently relied on social media posts that reached […]
By David Lancefield for Harvard Business Review Picture this scenario: You’re planning to make some organizational changes that will result in layoffs. Perhaps market conditions are difficult, or you’re integrating a company you acquired. You haven’t figured out all the details about numbers, timing, and terms, so it’s too early to share the full picture […]
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 […]
By Laurel J. Radow for Domestic Preparedness On August 21, 2017, time stood still for many in the United States. On that day, the first total solar eclipse transversed the continental United States in nearly a century. Communities across the country saw what many in the recent past had to travel great distances to view. That widespread special […]
By Ron Derrick for Domestic Preparedness A community’s level of resilience during a disaster often relies on the preparedness efforts of its private sector partners. Companies that invest in preparing for and responding to large-scale events are protecting much more than just company profits. For example, the thought and design that went into one hamburger […]
By Steven Johnson for Domestic Preparedness Few preparations made in anticipation of a disaster pay bigger dividends than how the team communicates with the news media and the public during a disaster. Seamless and coordinated communication is as important as seamless and coordinated operations – both during the disaster and in the recovery stage. Communications […]
By James F. Haggerty and Thom Weidlich for PRNews A big challenge to handling media relations around a lawsuit is understanding the rise and fall of media interest as the litigation drags on (as it typically does). One way to think about it is to keep track of standard mileposts in litigation that will be […]
By Bruce Hennes, Hennes Communications Before James Comey headed up the F.B.I., he served as general counsel of Lockheed Martin Corporation. While at Lockheed, he spoke at the National Security Agency about how studying law is similar to the education intelligence analysts receive. “You read a case and decipher…relevant facts, the [outcome] of the case…you are drilled […]
By Mike Bell for American City and County Some crises are short-lived, barging through our lives and routines, and before we can get a sense of what’s happened, we’re left dealing with the aftermath. But many crises build slowly, with many early warning signs, and once they’vehit their breaking point, panic and uncertainty overwhelm the […]
By Sherri Kolade for Ragan Consumers across the board are not shy about letting brands know where they mucked up – and communicators, for the most part, are interested in responding to crises as they come as well. According to the 2nd Annual HarrisX & Ragan CEO/Communicators Perceptions Survey, published last October, about three in five […]