Q: How can my organization use legal privilege to protect sensitive information when we’re dealing with a communications firm and discussing with them a controversial issue or a crisis? A: [From Stephanie York, Hennes Communications:] You can never ensure that sensitive communications will fall under the attorney work product doctrine – ultimately, a judge must […]
By Thom Fladung/Hennes Communications The reaction is typical. Watch what happens when a business, organization or news outlet removes a user’s post from a Facebook page, website or comment string. “Censorship!” “You’re violating my free speech rights!” “You’re trashing the First Amendment!” Well, no. None of that has happened. The laws around social media use […]
[By Howard Fencl, Hennes Communications] Imagine you’re waiting in line at your regular Starbucks. By now, you know the baristas by name, they know yours, and you regularly chat them up. Today there’s a loudmouth jerk in front of you giving your favorite barista a hard time about the presidential aspirations of former Starbucks CEO/Chairman […]
By Thom Fladung/Hennes Communications The wild west of social media just keeps getting wilder, doesn’t it? Consider these court rulings, from the past few months: In Virginia, a federal appeals court ruled that an elected official violated the First Amendment by temporarily blocking a constituent on Facebook, the Washington Post reported. In Northeast Ohio, a […]
Q: If I do a TV news interview, won’t reporters change my answers when they edit it? A: [From Howard Fencl, Hennes Communications:] It would be utterly unethical for any journalist to put words in your mouth by chopping up an interview and rearranging your words to say something other than what you intended. In […]
A recent attendee to a Hennes Communications presentation by Bruce Hennes was prompted to email us this question, regarding the incident in Washington, D.C., involving high school students from Covington, Ky., two different groups of activists and whether clever use of crisis communications on behalf of the students had made the incident “go away.” Here’s […]
By Thom Fladung/Hennes Communications We’re hard-wired to hope bad news goes away. And when that hope is dashed, as it so often is, we hope that the fewest number of people possible find out about our bad news. So, imagine your bad news being broadcast live to potentially millions of people. That’s what Southwest Airlines […]
Telling the truth is an absolute necessity if you or your organization is caught up in a crisis. First, of course, it’s the morally right thing to do. But if morals aren’t your cup of tea, pragmatically it’s the right thing to do. The truth will come out. And if the truth shows you’ve been […]
By Thom Fladung/Hennes Communications When working with companies and organizations on crisis communication plans, we ask a simple question to the leadership team: What keeps you up at night? The #1 answer for businesses across the world is becoming clear: cybersecurity. Infosecurity Magazine, citing the 11th Annual Survey of Emerging Risks involving 200 risk managers […]
[by Howard Fencl, Hennes Communications] The 2016 election was inextricably entwined in social media “bot” controversy that may challenge you today in a crisis at your organization. Bots are automated accounts that can be unleashed to spread information – or disinformation – in the blink of an eye across the web using Twitter and other […]