Crisis Management

The communication planet, Mercury, will appear to orbit backward soon. Similar to anticipating a PR crisis, planning for it now can help.

Bad stories rarely blow over or become tomorrow’s bird cage liner. Addressing them directly, promptly and truthfully usually is your best route.

You thought the last few years were challenging for crisis communication? Sure, we had a global pandemic and massive political upheaval. Disinformation and truth distortions reached record levels. Don’t forget the unprecedented changes to our planet. But, you haven’t seen anything like what awaits us in 2022.

Clearly, PR pros should update crisis communication plans to assure that weather and natural disasters are considered more likely, even in unlikely regions and at unexpected times of year. For organizations that lack a disaster communication or operation plan, there are free resources online that make planning much easier.

How has this moment influenced crisis, if at all? What crises can we expect to see in the next few months? We asked Justine Griffin, principal, Rasky Partners and Edward Segal, author, Forbes columnist and principal, Edward Segal Communications.

Communicating the withdrawal from Afghanistan included PR lessons, both what to do in a crisis and what to avoid. Here is a look at a few.

Tulane University took to social media as part of its communications plan with students and the public and faced a real backlash for messaging regarding its decision. 

Obfuscating bad facts is one way to survive a crisis. Unfortunately, it’s often not a good long-term strategy.

PRNEWS Live welcomed Elizabeth Penniman, vice president of communications at the American Red Cross. Penniman discussed crisis adaptability across multiple natural disasters and National Preparedness Month.

While public notices around dangerous weather conditions were once solely the realm of local governments and first responders, just about every type of organization now needs a climate-focused crisis plan in place. Here are some pitfalls and best practices.