Lessons learned are lessons planned, practiced, and shared. Each mass shooting incident has similarities and differences from all others, so articles like this one from 2012 can help better prepare all jurisdictions. By Sophia Paros for Domestic Preparedness On Saturday, 8 January 2011, at 10:10 a.m. Mountain Standard Time, a gunman opened fire on U.S. […]
In Chief Crisis Officer, our friend and colleague James Haggerty emphasizes the necessity for all organizations, regardless of size, to (1) have the structure in place for effective communications response, and (2) appoint a leader who can execute in the heat of the modern crisis—the “Chief Crisis Officer.” “Crisis communications planning is not merely for […]
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 […]