With no barriers to entry, every public relations firm in the U.S. – and many around the world – now appear to offer “crisis communications.” They don’t. At least, all of those who claim to don’t. Crisis work requires a different – and often counterintuitive – skill set from the traditional practice of public relations. […]
From Evan Nierman, writing for The Hill… Whether he is reporting news in cryptic sound bites on Twitter or speaking from a gloomy subterranean bunker or darkened streets, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky continues to demonstrate the enormous impact of harnessing powerful messages and sharing them with the right tone and authority. In addition to his undeniable bona fide […]
By Gina Rubel, writing for Attorney at Work… I’ve been thinking about what it means to lead a company through crises and how each crisis affects law firm leaders. A few years ago, I believed I had handled just about every type of crisis conceivable. How wrong I was. In recent years, we have dealt […]
By Maja Pawinska Sims, writing for PRokeMedia… Over the past two weeks, we have seen an unprecedented brand exodus from Russia. International brands that have been present in the country for many years have made the decision to pull out of their operations, as a direct consequence of president Putin’s own decision to invade Ukraine. […]
By Alexandra Reed Lajoux, writing for Directors & Boards… Corporations have the right to free speech. Should they exercise that right? Should corporations take public stances on social issues? Should they make contributions to political action committees or political parties? Under what circumstances do such actions create issues for corporations and their boards? These questions […]
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Maria Feeley, chief legal officer for Washington and Lee University, has seen her share of crises, at Washington & Lee as well as Rosemont College, the University of Hartford and Florida A&M, where she’s worked or served on boards. Think about whether you’d like to be faced with any of these: A social media firestorm […]
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, […]
From Ashley Carman, writing for The Verge… You’ve probably seen this by now, but to catch you up if not: On Monday, Neil Young issued an ultimatum to Spotify: keep Joe Rogan or me. It can’t have both on the service. “I am doing this because Spotify is spreading fake information about vaccines — potentially causing death […]
By Seth Arenstein, PR News… PR pros hope there are few evenings like last night (Jan. 24). Relying on anonymous sources, CNN’s Oliver Darcy reported that CBS approached erstwhile MSNBC and NBC star Brian Williams with a job offer. Twice Williams was pitched on anchoring “The CBS Evening News.” Rehabilitated on MSNBC’s “11th Hour,” Williams left that post last month. Officially […]