Good morning. The New York Times and Wall Street Journal are holding
on lines 3 and 4 looking for comment about the incident
you thought would go away when you first learned about it yesterday.
In reality, traditional media and social media leap on stories like these:
Sexual misconduct…data breach…active shooter…accusation of fiscal mismanagement…
activist attacks…athletic scandal…curriculum controversy…labor unrest…angry parents…bullying…special education issues…management transitions…community outrage…
board-superintendent disputes
You have a situation. We have a strategy.
Because the Court of Public Opinion is always in session.
When you’re caught in the crosshairs of public outrage—whether from a controversial decision, a parent accusation or a viral rumor, the instinct is often to explain, defend, or push back. In high-stakes, emotionally charged situations, that reflex can make things worse.
Today, education controversies are litigated in the Court of Public Opinion at least as much as in a Court of Law. Your school, district, college or university can gain — or lose — enormously based on how the situation is framed and understood by families, employees, students, alumni, donors, regulators and the media. Reputation is immeasurable, and often an institution’s largest uninsured asset. Even when you “win” legally, you still lose if trust is damaged. And because most disputes resolve well before trial, public perception frequently influences not only goodwill and enrollment, but also legal leverage and settlement dynamics.
News breaks first on social media, and traditional outlets routinely scan X (Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok for leads and reaction. In a crisis or a hot-button issue, a story can escalate globally in minutes, often before leadership has a chance to align on facts, process and next steps. Since reputations take years to build and moments to undermine, disciplined, coordinated communications are not optional; they’re a core competency for superintendents, heads of school, board members – and their attorneys.
Hennes Communications works with public, private, parochial and independent K–12 schools, as well as colleges and universities to navigate legal and reputational risk. We are accustomed to operating in attorney-directed environments and are frequently engaged by counsel who want communications strategy that supports (not compromises) legal objectives, preserves credibility and helps institutions regain stability quickly.
Our seminars, all previously-certified for Continuing Legal Education credits, include:
- Effective Crisis Communications for Education Leaders and Their Attorneys:
Because the Court of Public Opinion is Always in Session
Our signature seminar can be done as a short, 45-minute to 1-hour seminar, appropriate for breakfast or practice group lunch meetings, or as a 2 to 4-hour seminar. Especially in today’s world of immediate information, when reporters won’t wait long for you to return that call before posting the story online and where virtually everyone is a “journalist” armed with a camera and able to reach thousands of people with one simple Facebook message, education leaders and their attorneys simply cannot wait until a legal decision is rendered. They must be prepared to vigorously defend their situation in a wide variety of venues, as well as media outlets. This seminar includes: establishing & maintaining “control of the message”; when a reporter calls – making your points and not just answering questions; reporter’s agenda vs. your agenda; dealing with the press proactively and reactively. We frequently present this seminar, in varying lengths, for state school board associations, local school districts, bar associations and at law firms.
Our newest seminars aimed at education officials and their attorneys include:
- Winning on Social Media: Crisis Management in an Echo Chamber
Law firms, lawyers, companies and business leaders spend years building a sterling reputation that social media trolls can tear apart in seconds. Social media – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat and more – have become a primary information source and a dominant driver of reputation for individuals and organizations. Experience has shown that the faster and more forthright an organization is when it responds to thorny, emerging issues on social media, the more likely it is to contain or neutralize what might otherwise become an extended and damaging attack on its reputation and brand. This one-hour seminar places heavy emphasis on pragmatic, practical tools you can use to help your clients or your law firm succeed on social media.
Learning Objectives
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- How the fundamental rules of effective crisis communications apply to social media.
- How to leverage your social media accounts and make them work for you in reaching key stakeholders – the people who care most about you and your organization.
- How to evaluate social media threats and how that assessment informs your response.
- Social Media and the Courts: A New Frontier
Three have been more “trials of the century” than we have had centuries. This seminar explores why trials have been big news for decades, but also how profoundly coverage of those trials has changed with the digital revolution in communications – and what lawyers need to know about it. Topics will include: a brief history of high-profile media coverage of trials – and the sudden, recent change in how the coverage works; how and why social media are now crucial for journalists and why you must understand “iterative reporting”; social media’s impact on jurors and court rulings; the scarcity of research on how social media and digital journalism impact witnesses and trials overall; pros and cons of social media and digital journalism in trial coverage.
Learning Objectives
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- Lessons from jury misconduct on social media that led to mistrials and reversals.
- Understanding iterative journalism and what it means to attorneys and firms in the media spotlight.
- Do’s, don’ts and best practices for effective use of social media by attorneys.
- Getting to the Truth: How to Detect Fake News
Fake news is not new news. Masters of the art include Benjamin Franklin. But in the digital media era, when information – true and false – travels in seconds, fake news has become a prevalent challenge in society. This seminar delves into the history of fake news, explores how we are living through a second coming of Yellow Journalism and provides practical tips for how to recognize fake news – and avoid spreading it.
Learning Objectives
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- Lessons from history may show how to overcome the latest fake news era.
- Understanding confirmation bias and why it is the gasoline thrown on the fake news fire.
- Practical tips for recognizing fake news and how to be a better – and better-informed – news consumer.
- Crisis Communications and Social Media for Attorneys & Public Officials
For elected and public officials, social media represents special challenges – and special opportunities. Accessibility, information-sharing and gauging public interest are easier and more convenient than ever before. As are the opportunities to criticize, organize opposition and spread misinformation. And when a crisis hits, it will play out on social media. This seminar will help participants understand the influence of social media – and how it’s only going to grow. How public officials can use social media to the benefit of their organizations and constituents. And you’ll explore how to apply the best practices of effective crisis management on social media in a public setting.
Learning Objectives
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- How public records and sunshine laws work on Facebook, Twitter and other social media.
- The critical step of distinguishing personal accounts from campaign and official government accounts.
- How to use social media to help achieve public policy goals.
- Journalism, Social Media & the Courts: A New Frontier (How Digital Journalism and Social Media are Changing Court Coverage)
This is a 1-hour seminar speaking to the fact that journalists have had a long love affair with reporting on lawyers, the courts and high-profile trials. That coverage looked the same for decades. Then, suddenly, just a few years ago, everything changed. Now, trials are covered live on Twitter. Lawyers’ opening and closing arguments are dissected in real time. And social media itself, with its recent dramatic impact on jurors and court rulings, is finding itself on trial. This seminar discusses how coverage of the legal system – in conventional media and on social media – has changed in the digital age, and what lawyers need to know about it. Other topics include a brief history of high-profile media coverage of trials – and the sudden, recent change in how the coverage works; how and why social media are now crucial for journalists and why you must understand “iterative reporting”; social media’s impact on jurors and court rulings; the scarcity of research on how social media and digital journalism impact witnesses and trials overall; pros and cons of social media and digital journalism in trial coverage.
For more information, please call us at 216-321-7774 and ask to speak to Bruce Hennes or Thom Fladung. For a short video of Bruce speaking, click here.
Hennes Communications has presented education-oriented seminars for the following organizations:
- Admiral Farragut Academy
- Alexander Local Schools
- Baldwin Wallace University
- Beachwood City Schools
- Beaumont School
- Bedford City Schools
- Benedictine High School
- Benjamin Logan Local School District
- Bowling Green City Schools
- Bowling Green State University
- Breakthrough Schools
- Buckeye Elementary School District
- Buckeye Valley Local Schools
- Camelot Education
- Canton City Schools
- Case Western Reserve University School of Law
- Chippewa School District
- Cleveland Council of Independent Schools
- Cleveland Heights – University Heights City School District
- Cleveland Institute of Art
- Cleveland State University
- College of Wooster
- Columbus Torah Academy
- Consortium of State School Boards Association
- Cuyahoga Community College
- Denver Public Schools
- East Noble School Corporation
- Elwood Community School Corporation
- Euclid City School District
- Fuchs Mizrachi School
- Gilmour Academy
- Goshen Local School District
- Gross Schechter Day School
- Hathaway Brown
- Hawken School
- Hiram College
- Hudson City School District
- Incarnate Word Academy
- Indian Hill Exempted Village School District
- John Carroll University
- Julie Billiart Schools
- Kent City Schools
- Kent State University
- Kenston Local Schools
- Kenyon College
- Lake County Educational Service Center
- Lake Travis Independent School District
- Laveen Elementary School District
- Lawrence School
- Litchfield Elementary School District
- Lorain County Community College
- Lou Ritenour Group
- Magnificat High School
- Mandel Jewish Day School
- Marana Unified School District
- Marin Academy
- Mary Institute & St. Louis Country Day School
- Maumee Valley Country Day School
- Medina City School District
- Miamisburg City School District
- Monroe Local Schools
- Music Settlement
- New Albany Plain Local School District
- Northeast Ohio Medical University
- Northwestern Local Schools
- Notre Dame Academy
- Oberlin College
- Ohio Northern University
- Ohio University
- Owens Community College
- Painesville City Local Schools
- Paradise Valley Unified School District
- Parma City School District
- Polaris Career Center
- Ratner School
- Richmond Heights Local School District
- Saint Edward High School
- Saint Francis University
- Saint Ignatius High School
- Saint Joseph Academy
- Saint Martin De Porres
- St. Paul/St. Vincent School
- San Domenico School
- Scottsdale Unified School District
- Shaker Heights City School District
- Southern State Community College
- South Suburban Montessori School
- Springfield Local School District
- Stark State College
- Tanque Verde Unified School District
- Tiffin University
- Tipp City Exempted Village Schools
- Twinsburg City School District
- University of Akron
- University School
- Urban Community School
- Ursuline College
- Virginia Marti College
- Walsh Jesuit High School
- Wellston City Schools
- West Branch Local School District
- Western Reserve Academy
- Willoughby-Eastlake City Schools
- Wooster, College of
- Youngstown State University
- Youngstown State University Foundation
Hennes Communications has also worked with many top law firms – and their clients – in the U.S. You can find a partial list here.
Contact us today and speak to one of our specialists.
Article: How Lawyers & Crisis Communicators Can Work Together