Our good friend and colleague, Dr. Tony Jaques, is a prolific writer and commentator on risk, issues and crisis management. Based in Melbourne, Australia, he consults and has written three books in the field, also producing his must-read newsletter, Managing Outcomes. Tony’s latest book is titled Ten Things Law School Doesn’t Teach About Crisis Management. […]
By Bruce Hennes, Hennes Communications Cancel culture is a movement aimed at ostracizing, discrediting and “deplatforming” individuals and companies for behavior or transgressions deemed offensive. According to Wikipedia, cancel culture is a controversial topic that exacerbates political polarization, with arguments from two opposing sides. One side argues that it gives a voice to marginalized communities […]
by Thom Fladung, Hennes Communications Whether in-person or virtual, the kids are still in school. For the moment, however, this will be a class for the adults – and class is now in session on how to handle a social media crisis. On a Labor Day Sunday some time ago, the leadership team at a school […]
By Howard Fencl, Hennes Communications There’s nothing the self-righteous embrace more than joining with their fellow self-righteous to gang up on some unfortunate target. The angrier the echo chamber, the better. Social media is their perfect rage machine. It’s where anonymous trolls can obsess and pile on. And they do it relentlessly and instantly over […]
Whether it’s a staff meeting on Teams, a webinar on Zoom, a private conversation on FaceTime or a short training video you record on WebEx, it’s not just what you say, but how you say it. And if it’s an interview with a seasoned reporter, the stakes are even higher. You must be prepared to […]
University Teams with Crisis Communications Expert Bruce Hennes in New Offering A new partnership between Ohio University’s Scripps College of Communication and Hennes Communications will allow communication professionals the opportunity to earn one credit hour towards a 12-hour graduate certificate in crisis communication. Anyone attending certain seminars taught by Hennes Communications, a crisis communications firm based in Cleveland, […]
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 […]
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 Stephanie York, JD, Hennes Communications Quick – What’s the single highest priority for a superintendent, head of school or board president? It’s not education. It’s safety. And just one part of that safety net is making sure you have a pre-written crisis communications plan at your fingertips – or at least the phone number […]
There are scores of reasons why your district can be thrust into the news. Lawsuit…sports controversy…social media threats…active shooter… board-superintendent clash…criminal accusation…discrimination complaints…diversity issues…FERPA or HIPAA violation…fiscal mismanagement…protest… sexual misconduct…student newspaper story…challenging conversations… testing controversy…union grievance/strike… Suddenly, there’s a TV crew in the parking lot, your local newspaper is on Line One and the situation […]