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For Spotify, ‘The Joe Rogan Experience’ is an Object Lesson In Fumbling Crisis Communications

Thom Fladung, Hennes Communications Spotify, the streaming service that provides music and podcasts to hundreds of millions of users, has lately been providing a different service: A guide to mishandling a reputational crisis. For almost a month now, Spotify has lurched from one thorny situation to another centered on the popular “Joe Rogan Experience” podcast, […]


Four Lessons from Two Decades of Newsroom Lawyering

By Richard Tofel, writing in NiemanLab… Sometime early next month, I will formally retire from the practice of law after 26 years at the bar, including more than 21 years as a full- or part-time newsroom attorney.1 As I do this, I want to take stock of a few of the more important things I think […]


Why Should a Government Agency Reach Out To a Crisis Communications Firm?

By Stephanie York, JD, Hennes Communications Any government agency should prioritize communicating truthfully, transparently, quickly and effectively, using traditional media, social media, the agency’s website and any other methods available. A serious issue or crisis ups the ante on communications. That’s when stakeholders most need correct and timely information.  That’s also when damaging misinformation and […]


Just Because You Don’t Believe in Conspiracy Theories Doesn’t Mean You’re Always Right

From Adrian J. Rivera, writing for The New York Times… Every so often, something so awful and senseless happens that it’s hard to fully absorb it. An apartment building collapses as residents sleep within. A movie star’s prop gun fires a real bullet on a film set, killing a young mother. A concert crowd morphs […]


Why Should a Local School District or Independent/Parochial School Reach Out To a Crisis Communications Firm?

By Stephanie York, JD, Hennes Communications Q: Why should a local school district, an independent or parochial school reach out to a crisis communications firm? A:  Quick – What’s the single highest priority for a superintendent, head or board president?  It’s not education.  It’s safety.  And just one part of that safety net is making […]


Crisis Communication: 5 Steps for Damage Control

By Thom Fladung, Hennes Communications Attorney Andy Phillips, like many folks, looks back a bit wistfully at the “good old days.” “I wish it was back in the day where I could go home at 6 o’clock and sit down with the paper for a half hour,” says Phillips, whose practice at von Briesen & […]


Police Response to Astroworld Tragedy Shows Importance of Timing, Risk Management

John Guilfoil writes… The Astroworld Tragedy is gut-wrenching. Media reporting about it, especially a New York Times story today, reminds us how important professional journalism is to finding the truth behind a major incident. In the story, a source tells the Times that Houston Police Chief Troy Finner shared concerns about crowd control directly with performer Travis […]


Communicating Effectively With The Public About Terrorism In Crowded Places

From the Centre for Research and Evidence on Security Threats… Effective public communication can help prevent attacks on crowded places by encouraging reporting. It can also reduce the impact of attacks that it was not possible to prevent by informing the public about how to protect themselves. Despite this, there has historically been limited research […]


Threats Rarely Work: A PR Lesson from HBO’s ‘Succession’

David Ball, writing for PR News, hits it on the head… With the return of HBO’s “Succession” next month, I remember at least one teachable communication moment from the second season.  In episode six, a magazine writer approaches the leaders of fictitious Waystar Royco with a story of sexual harassment and abuse within the company. The story […]


A Journey in Organizational Resilience: Crisis Management

From George Platsis, writing in Security Intelligence… So far in this organizational resilience journey, we have focused mainly on the planning phase, or, as some call it, ‘left of the boom’. For a moment, let’s look at a ‘right of the boom’ (post-incident) theme: crisis management (CM), an important component of your cyber resilience planning. A good CM […]


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