By Bruce Hennes, Hennes Communications 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/X, Facebook and YouTube for leads. Whether your organization is immersed in crisis or dealing with a hot-button […]
By Seth Chalmers, writing for The Stanford Social Innovation Review… “Should we put out a statement?” If you’re a nonprofit communications professional, you’ve heard that question many times, often the day after some major news event. Since the October 7 massacres in Israel and subsequent war in Gaza, many nonprofits have struggled to decide whether […]
From The Pew Research Center… Digital sources have become an important part of Americans’ news diets – with social media playing a crucial role, particularly for younger adults. Overall, just over half of U.S. adults (54%) say they at least sometimes get news from social media, up slightly compared with the last few years. News consumption on […]
By Ken Belson, writing for The New York Times TV advertising is the lifeblood of the league, but knowing when to pause the games is a task undertaken by N.F.L. executives, network producers and on-field officials. Television commercial breaks are the bane of every N.F.L. fan. They interrupt a game already riddled with stoppages, bombard […]
By PRNews For some brands, the Super Bowl doesn’t necessarily mean creating a multi-million dollar TV ad during the big game. Many notable promotions don’t even require an actual ad anymore, as the event is now a multi-platform experience for companies and consumers. Most brands seem to be taking a hybrid approach, pairing a TV […]
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass declined to respond to criticism on Wednesday of the city’s handling of a series of wildfires that have left at least five people dead and thousands of structures burned. Bass was on a diplomatic trip to Ghana as flames tore through the Pacific Palisades and left on Saturday. Here, in […]
By Thom Weidlich for PRCG | Haggerty LLC We hoped to avoid writing about the ongoing and messy legal and comms battle between Hollywood actors Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni. But it’s become too sprawling and interesting to ignore. The multifaceted scandal has much to say about what crisis communications is — and isn’t. Lively […]
By Bruce Hennes, Hennes Communications This article highlights the critical distinction between true crisis communications and the practice of traditional public relations, especially in light of recent allegations of unethical tactics in the Blake Lively lawsuit. Crisis communications is portrayed as a principled discipline rooted in truth-telling, accountability and proactive problem-solving, unlike traditional PR, which […]
This article ran first in Crain’s Cleveland Business on December 19, 2024. By Bruce Hennes, CEO, Hennes Communications This article examines the crisis communications lessons from the tragic assassination of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO, Brian Thompson. It critiques the company’s public statements and explores the broader ethical and reputational challenges facing UnitedHealthcare in light of this tragedy […]
By Galen Stocking, Katerina Eva Matsa, Sarah Naseer, Christopher St. Aubin, Elisa Shearer, Mark Jurkowitz and Shreenita Ghosh for Pew Research Center Although it’s much newer than other media like television or books, the podcast ecosystem has created a rich library of content covering a wide range of topics both popular and niche. A new […]