By Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Four months after slapping Chris Rock in front of millions of people, Will Smith has posted an emotional video apology asking for forgiveness and understanding. Undoubtedly, the question in many people’s minds is whether the apology is a sincere expression of remorse or a desperate attempt to salvage an imploding career. Following […]
Bruce Hennes, Chief Executive Officer of Hennes Communications, was again named to the 2022 Lawdragon Global 100 Leaders in Legal Strategy and Consulting, the definitive guide to the experts in management, marketing, communication and recruiting most valued by law firm leaders. Hennes Communications, founded in 1989 and located in Cleveland, Ohio, is one of the […]
By Arelis R. Hernández and Paul Farhi for The Washington Post UVALDE, Tex. — Journalists had been threatened with arrest for getting too close to the mourners, so Houston Chronicle reporter Julian Gill stayed in the designated media area when he reported on funerals the week after the massacre at Robb Elementary School. Nevertheless, a […]
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 […]
Introduction by Bruce Hennes, Hennes Communications Along with the sheer horror and heartbreaking tragedy of the massacre at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, we have been witness to an “information crisis,” in the words of Marc Duvoisin, editor in chief of the San Antonio Express-News. As the Washington Post pointed out in a […]
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 […]
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. […]
By Howard Fencl, Hennes Communications – Surprise! Fewer and fewer newspaper readers pore over editorial pages. So many fewer, that publishing giant Gannett recently announced a sweeping change in its approach to editorials, op-eds and political endorsements. Gannett says its readers don’t want to be told what to think – that editorial content is frequently the […]
By Howard Fencl, Hennes Communications… Public record requests can be complex and time-consuming. In many instances you need to drop everything you’re doing and launch a scavenger hunt through voluminous caches of electronic and paper records across a number of different departments to fulfill the reporter’s request. Yes, it may be frustrating, and it may […]