Earlier this year, Joe Biden reached out to Anita Hill, the young law professor who famously testified that then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas had sexually harassed her. Biden presided over Thomas’s confirmation hearings, during which Hill was mocked, degraded, and humiliated. During the phone call, Biden expressed “regret for what she endured” and “admiration for everything she has done to change the culture around sexual harassment in this country.” Biden, however, failed to directly apologize for his role in how she was treated, leaving Hill “deeply unsatisfied.”
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Just How Important Are CSR Activities for Companies in Crisis?
One things clients experiencing negative media attention often ask us is, what kind of CSR should we be doing to mitigate this bad publicity? Before answering that question, it is worthwhile to explore whether or not CSR actually does help limit public blowback. Corporate social responsibility, also known as CSR, while difficult to define, can be described as a form of private business self-regulation that allows a company to take responsibility for the social and/or environmental impacts of its business.
Looking for a Public Relations Firm? Hire an Advocate, Not a Publicist
One valuable asset public relations consultants can bring is their own credibility with reporters. Credibility with journalists is not easily gained, and it’s earned through honesty and transparency with reporters over sustained periods of time. But, credibility doesn’t necessarily equate to the media reporting what you want. That’s why you always want to make sure […]
Crisis Management: Revisiting Rolling Stone’s Failures
It’s been three years since Rolling Stone published its infamous and defamatory report about rape allegations at the University of Virginia, but it’s important to revisit the most piercing analysis of what the magazine did wrong. Rolling Stone’s investigation: ‘a failure that was avoidable,’ a report co-authored by the dean of the Columbia School of […]
Tech Public Relations 101: BLOCKING AND TACKLING
Tech public relations requires executing at the foundational levels. While there are many steps to take beyond the basics, you need to get the basics right. If you can’t block and tackle, you’ll never gain a yard.
Public Relations Basics: Working With Reporters
For the uninitiated, the prospect of talking with a reporter can be daunting. Even trade reporters in esoteric industries can materially influence a company’s brand or reputation. With a few basic, public relations guidelines, however, you can greatly increase the odds that your work with a reporter will be a positive contribution to your cause. Indeed, these are important to follow no matter your public relations experience.
Taking Public Relations to the Next Level: The Dark Arts
Maybe it’s because we come from Washington, D.C. – the home of opposition research – but our experience is that too few companies execute public relations efforts targeting their competition or other adversaries. So-called oppo campaigns aren’t just for litigation. If you know of competitors’ actual or potential vulnerabilities in which their stakeholders might be interested, you’re competing with one hand behind your back if you don’t leverage them. Here are some public relations tips on how to do just that, as well as some caveats.
Crisis Management 101: Before Anything Happens
The companies best at crisis management aren’t the ones who do everything right after a crisis emerges; they’re the ones who do things right before there’s even the hint of a potential crisis. There are three steps you can take right now, when everything is calm, to put you far ahead of the game should […]