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One of the maxims of employee communications is to avoid announcing job cuts or restructuring during the holiday season. General Motors ignored that norm with its announcement yesterday. Here are six other takeaways for communicators from GM’s announcement.

It’s unclear how accurate the NY Times’ account of how Facebook responded to two PR crises is; Facebook says it contains many inaccuracies. The Times says it stands behind its 5,600-word story that took more than one month to craft. As a case study for students and practitioners of PR, however, it’s loaded with important lessons.

As Hurricane Florence makes its way towards the U.S. Eastern seaboard, officials are urging residents of coastal North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia to evacuate before the storm makes landfall. But, as with all with major storms, some people just won’t listen. Communicators across government agencies and political offices alike must contend with skepticism, fear and just plain stubbornness from constituents when making announcements about hurricane preparedness and evacuation.

Several airlines have been in the news recently for crises, many of which were criticized for how the situations were handled. Alaska Airlines and its subsidiary Horizon, however, seems to have learned lessons from these situations, as its communications surrounding this tragic incident were quick, measured and informative. Here are some takeaways for communicators from the Alaska Airlines situation.

H&M’s media relations team told PR News that a controversial marketing image of a young boy wearing a sweatshirt emblazoned with “Coolest Monkey In the Jungle” resulted from internal procedures that had not been followed properly and that the item would no longer be for sale.

Accusations that Apple slows down the processing power of older iPhones in order to force customers to buy new versions has accompanied almost every new product launch. The rumors never attracted much news cycle traction until this holiday season, and now Apple is paying for it.

PR News recently asked its community to tell us who should be listed among the top game-changers of PR in the last few years. Here, we look at game-changer Bruce Hennes, founder and managing partner of Hennes Communications. He has been a confidant to scores of CEOs, executive directors and other leaders who trust his expertise in preserving and protecting an organization’s reputation. His long experience has convinced him that honesty, fairness and transparency must be at the root of all effective crisis communications.

PR News recently asked its community to tell us who should be listed among the top game-changers of PR in the last few years. Here, we look at game-changer John Guilfoil, who was compelled to start a PR agency focused on first responders after witnessing the terrorist attack at the 2013 Boston Marathon. His premise: No police or fire department is too small to have its own press secretary. After just three years in business, John Guilfoil Public Relations, LLC serves more than 200 clients, including over 100 police departments in six states.

Many organizations make the mistake of not planning for a crisis, thinking it’s either superstitious or somewhat futile. But when dealing with a crisis, you need to be fast, transparent and most of all, prepared, says Linda Rutherford, vice president and chief communications officer with Southwest Airlines. Here are three lessons she has learned from the airline industry and beyond.

You have to think about and plan for the possibilities of what could happen to your organization—those big, scary and hard to talk about possibilities that are beyond your control.