Crisis Management

President Trump, who according to photos released by the White House, has been spending his time at Walter Reed going along with his daily workload. However, not much is known regarding the details of his infection, marred by contrasting information (see Dr. Sean Conley and Chief of Staff Mark Meadows) and lack of transparent detail from the White House, leading much of the media to speculate and drum up outside sources. 

The City of Toronto’s CCO Brad Ross argues communicators have done a good job relaying vital messages about the pandemic. As people are tiring of safety measures and we face a second wave, this is not the time to take a break. Do not let this long crisis, and its critics, cause you to question the effectiveness of your work

The news of the day, of course, is the positive test results of the First Couple. In the coming days, PR pros, and everyone else, will be discussing whether or not the White House press operation informed the media and the public in a timely fashion. We take an early look.

You can’t stop what you don’t see coming. The internet is comprised of thousands of small, hyper-connected sub-cultures. Many will use brands to further their agenda. To protect her brand, the communicator needs to understand what motivates these online groups so she can spot a disruptive narrative in its earliest stages.

It’s not easy to compose a solid apology. Ellen DeGeneres infused hers with jokes and compromised the apology’s tone. Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf made a bad situation worse pretended the press hadn’t quoted his earlier comments about the diverse talent pool being small. He also loaded his apology with deflection.

It doesn’t take much for a brand to get swept up in a political firestorm it didn’t seek. Take Bumble Bee Tuna, for example. The legacy company for canned seafood and a lunchtime staple found itself front-and-center after President Donald Trump’s rally last night.  

This week the Big Ten Conference retracted its August decision to postpone the football season. While the plan to ensure students-athletes’ health appears to be well thought-out, the decision provokes plenty of questions, especially considering the opposite stance the conference took just a month ago. 

The House Transportation Committee report’s conclusions (Sept. 16) were unsurprising. The Boeing 737 Max 8 contained a system that overrode pilots’ control and plunged two of the aircraft downward, killing everyone aboard, 346 in all. Despite that unremarkable conclusion, there are a slew of PR takeaways.

No matter how you slice it, communication is a large part of the pandemic saga, at least that’s the way some communicators see it. The news today about HHS communicator Michael Caputo and Bob Woodward’s new book, with its revelations about the apparent discrepancy between the president’s private view and his public message, cement that view.

Similar to nearly all businesses, hospitals have had to adapt during the pandemic to succeed. This has put a premium on hospital communicators, who are applying a bevy of PR basics to the situation. Two senior directors at APCO Worldwide discuss the sector and how its insights can apply to communicators and business across industry.