The Mass Shooting Playbook Introduction by Bruce Hennes, Hennes Communications… A mass shooting is not just a tactical emergency. It is a communications crucible. This article introduces the Mass Shooting Playbook, a research-driven, practical handbook for leaders and communicators responsible for communities under threat. Built on real-world cases, it offers checklists, clear roles, and guidance […]
By Tony Jaques, Director of Issue Outcomes Pty Ltd. Outrage moves faster than facts. And “just stay silent” is rarely neutral. This article offers a practical way to decide whether to speak on contentious issues and, more importantly, how to make that call without sounding performative or losing trust. It lays out a shared-values framework […]
By Julia Minson, writing for The New York Times A Harvard researcher describes a fraught conversation about immigration with her conservative, veteran father-in-law and shares the behavioral-science playbook that kept it constructive. The takeaway isn’t “win the argument,” but keep the relationship intact. She explains why curiosity beats persuasion, how to signal respect while disagreeing […]
From our friend and colleague, Tony Jaques, Director of Issue Outcomes Pty Ltd. When the Trump administration launched an unprecedented attack on the painkiller Tylenol – known in most of the world as paracetamol – it was a serious product crisis for drugmaker Kenvue, as well as its previous parent. Johnson and Johnson, which spun off its […]
By Bruce Hennes, Hennes Communications Before James Comey headed up the F.B.I., he served as general counsel of Lockheed Martin Corporation. While at Lockheed, he spoke at the National Security Agency about how studying law is similar to the education intelligence analysts receive. “You read a case and decipher…relevant facts, the [outcome] of the case…you are drilled […]
By Adam Probolsky Most Americans are not trying to get to the “shining city on a hill.” They can’t see “a thousand points of light.” They do not believe it’s morning in America.” But it gets worse, recent national polling shows that just 54% of us have a positive view of capitalism – it’s down […]
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 Christine Haughney Dare-Bryan, writing for Provoke Media PR officials offer their greatest wisdom on how to lead through angry times. CHICAGO — There’s no debate that society is living through an “age of rage” — from the murder of health care executives to the polarizing political debates that dominate news headlines. But at Provoke […]
By Julianna Jacobson, writing for PR News In the last few days, major platforms relying on AWS experienced widespread outages, leaving users locked out, brands scrambling internally and support teams overloaded with frustration they didn’t create but are expected to fix. What happened was bigger than a technical disruption: it was a trust disruption. And when your company […]
The online anger over the logo change and calls to oust the CEO were actually turbocharged by bots. Even the green beans are making people mad. Introduction by Allison Girvin, Hennes Communications In today’s digital landscape, a brand crisis can erupt in hours. As Cracker Barrel’s recent logo controversy shows, it can be fueled not […]