Media and Crisis Management
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Crisis Management Articles

Teams more than plans may save you in a crisis

Posted on: July 28th, 2012

Crisis Management: Teams more than plans may save you in a crisis: Crisis Response Should your company or organization have a crisis plan? Yes. Will the plan protect you in a crisis? Maybe. In the wake of the hurricane Katrina response debacle most senior managers probably reviewed their crisis plans. Good. However they should not let the […]

Talk to Reporters – But Watch Every Word You Say

Posted on: July 28th, 2012

Crisis Management: Talk to Reporters – But Watch Every Word You Say: communications – from the archives Words matter. This was on my mind long ago after a Meet the Press clash between the late Tim Russert of NBC and then Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Russert showed Army SPC Thomas Wilson famously asking Rumsfeld in December why soldiers […]

Surviving A Crisis Psychologically

Posted on: July 28th, 2012

Crisis Management: Surviving A Crisis Psychologically: Self-help The client under public attack looked beat – and beaten. His symptoms were familiar: a thousand-yard stare like a combat veteran just back from the front, slumped shoulders, and eyes hollowed out by insomnia. Most noticeable was his habit every few minutes of sighing as though he were exhaling his […]

Spin Control is NOT Damage Control

Posted on: July 28th, 2012

Crisis Management: Spin Control is NOT Damage Control: Crisis Response When the American teenager Natalee Holloway famously disappeared and was presumed dead in Aruba and got tremendous cable news coverage, there was one aspect of case that was eclipsed. Citizens of that Caribbean island worked hard initially to deal with the her disappearance. In addition to the usual authorities being involved, the […]

Speed does NOT always save you in a crisis

Posted on: July 28th, 2012

Crisis Management: Speed does NOT always save you in a crisis: Crisis response As we’re caught up in the vortices of 24/7 news channels and info-by-the-second social media like Twitter, companies run breathlessly to keep up and protect their good names.  But what if in this media maelstrom the tortoise sometimes still beats the hare?  First some […]

Speak up – Steve Jobs

Posted on: July 28th, 2012

Crisis Management: Speak up – Steve Jobs : From archives (Note – This was clearly written before Steve Jobs died. Furthermore, the day this was published in the Business Journal of the Triad, John Edwards admitted the affair and coverup that would destroy his political career. Nevertheless, the principles, I believe, are timeless.) Apple CEO Steve Jobs and […]

Sometimes It’s Best to Shut Up During a Crisis

Posted on: July 28th, 2012

Crisis Management: Sometimes It’s Best to Shut Up During a Crisis: From the archives Sometimes it’s best to shut up. Nationwide, former reporters like me tell companies how to protect their reputations when they get in trouble. After years of journalistically pounding the skulls of businesses and institutions that erred, we are well suited to give advice. […]

Sometimes It Is Best To Simply Say, “I’m Sorry!”

Posted on: July 28th, 2012

Crisis Management: Sometimes It Is Best To Simply Say, “I’m Sorry!”: Crisis response The following is from the archives, but still holds true today. As you read this, remember – in these days of more frequent apologies – that right actions must accompany right words….. Let’s learn a business lesson from “Moses.” I am talking of the […]

Somebody is watching you: what are you doing/saying?

Posted on: July 28th, 2012

Crisis Management: Somebody is watching you: what are you doing/saying?: Social Media Somebody is watching you!   Countless somebodies are watching your business: news media, bloggers, employees, competitors, opponents, supporters and more. And you best be alert, was the implicit warning from media, social media, and PR professionals at a conference.    “People are tracking you and you don’t even know […]

Social Media and Your Reputation

Posted on: July 28th, 2012

Crisis Management: Social Media and Your Reputation: Crisis communications When US Airways flight 1549 crash-landed into the Hudson River in January, a Twitter user sounded the alarm one minute – one minute – after the jet hit.  The speed of that social network notification rocked worlds.  Mine too.  Traditional news media now practically trip over each other […]