Author Archives: Jonathan Bernstein

About Jonathan Bernstein

Jonathan L. Bernstein, president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. has more than 30 years of experience meeting clients' needs in all aspects of crisis management - crisis response, vulnerability assessment, planning, training and simulations. Prior to launching his firm in January 1994, Bernstein created and served as the first director of the Crisis Communications Group for Ruder Finn, Inc., one of the world's largest public relations agencies.

Bernstein's crisis and issues management experience has encompassed a wide range of industries and subjects, to include accounting, architecture, associations, banking, charities, education, environment, financial services, food (retail and B2B), health care, housing, insurance, labor & employment, litigation, manufacturing, product recalls, professional services, real estate development, religious institutions, securities, security, senior housing, and white collar crime. He is a self-admitted "Internet nerd," online since 1982, who has pioneered strategies and tactics for Internet-centered crisis and reputation management.

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Defining the Roles of Traditional vs Social Media

Published on 15th May 2013 by . 7 Comments. Click to add yours.

Social media’s role should be to bring information to us quickly.  Traditional media’s role should be to bring information to us accurately.

That distinction came to mind recently after I witnessed the horrendously inaccurate traditional media reporting about the Boston Marathon bombing, which was often fed by an apparent desire to keep up with social media rumors.

Chris Martin of The Poynter Institute, which trains traditional journalists on ethics, had this to say about news reporting from Boston:

“No one remembers who got this story first. They only remember who got it wrong.”

Sadly, newsrooms mired in traditions of the 20th Century are focused on avoiding being “scooped” and, in so doing, are no longer taking the time to fact-check properly.  Ignoring the reality that they can’t have it both ways – and hence the need for a definitive distinction between their role and the role of social media.

And while I can talk all day from my bully pulpit, the only way the public will ever clearly understand that distinction is if social media influencers and highly respected traditional journalists (a) buy into the idea and (b) start walking that talk.

Journalists, in particular, need to stop putting speed before fact-checking.  They need to return to making credibility their most important asset.  In today’s world, a Walter Cronkite could not exist as a credible source, because he would be fed unverified information on a regular basis, information that would come back to bite him.  And that’s just sad.

Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist and craigconnects and a strong supporter of the work of Poynter and others involved with improving journalistic ethics, is fond of saying “I want news I can trust again.”

Me too, Craig, me too.

Jonathan Bernstein
President
Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc.

[Author's Postscript: On a contracted basis, I am the Project Director for craigconnects, hence my knowledge of Craig's involvement with this topic.  However, this blog post comes from my experience and my heart - it is not part of my responsibilities for this client.]

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How to Prevent Terrorist Attacks

Published on 19th April 2013 by . Leave a Comment

I know something about terrorists.

From 1972-74 I was part of a US Army counterintelligence operation that successfully infiltrated a front group for what became known as the “Red Army Faction,” a terrorist organization in Europe that killed dozens.

From 1975-77 I worked out of the US Army Intelligence Command’s Ft. Meade HQ, where I read daily classified “Terrorism Reports” from around the globe, activity that seldom made the news back here in the good ol’ “safe” USA.

The names have changed, the nature of the beast has not.  We Americans aren’t only at risk abroad, but in our own cities, at our own major events, and at virtually any other public location.

So if you’ve been playing ostrich, get your head out of that hole, because the only way to protect yourself is awareness.  The best form of crisis management has and will always be crisis prevention.

Every citizen of Israel knows the warning signs because suicide bombers and other terrorist attackers have been unfortunately commonplace over the years.  Russians are more aware than ever because of attacks by the same group, radical Chechens, that are allegedly responsible for the Boston bombing.  In the UK, until peace was finally made with the Irish Republican Army, every Brit was hyper-aware of the risk factors every time they went out in public.

Now it’s our turn, and here’s where to start – The FBI’s “Preventing Terrorist Attacks” page.  If you want more info, follow any of the many links provided at that page.  And share the info with your loved ones.  If we all do this, more terrorists will be detected before they can strike, others will have their plans at least somewhat thwarted.  Can we prevent them all?  Of course not.  But the experience of other countries is that we can do a lot more than we’re doing now, as individual citizens.

There is no way law enforcement agencies can do the job themselves, we have to take individual responsibility as well.

Jonathan Bernstein
President
Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc.

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Crisis Management Lesson #1 from the Boston Bombing

Published on 16th April 2013 by . Leave a Comment

Here’s an important message from Bernstein Crisis Management president Jonathan Bernstein, available in both text and audio form. Permission to re-use with attribution is freely given.

Terrorists overseas have been exploding bombs and conducting armed attacks at public events for decades, but the United States’ experience in this area was limited prior to the Oklahoma City bombing and the horror of September 11.  At the same time, here in the U.S., we seem to have had more than our fair share of homicidal maniacs who target large groups.

The crisis management lesson common to these tragic events is the urgent need for all citizens, for all event organizers, for all venues, to stop thinking that it can’t happen here, wherever here might be.  A number of the interviews I heard from the slaughterhouse in Boston yesterday reflected this dangerous perspective.  None of us have any excuse to do so anymore, because when do we actually ENABLE the goals of would-be terrorists and criminally insane individuals.  With knowledge comes responsibility. We can’t prevent all of these horrific acts, but we can prevent some of them and reduce the damage from others.

Jonathan Bernstein
President, Bernstein Crisis Management
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com

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Crisis Management Ostrich Alert for Colleges & Universities

Published on 9th April 2013 by . Leave a Comment

You Might Be An Ostrich If…..

If you haven’t already initiated an independent investigation to determine whether or not you could be the next Penn State or Rutgers…you might be an ostrich.

If you know that something which has happened or is happening on your sports programs could seriously harm you in the court of public opinion and you think you can avoid being “outed”…you might be an ostrich.Ono the Ostrich

If you are still cutting athletes or athletic staff moral and ethical slack that clearly violates the standards established for the student body as a whole…you might be an ostrich.

If you’ve watched coverage of recent college crises and thought, “This can’t happen to us!”…you might be an ostrich.

If you think that ethically, legally and/or morally offensive behavior can be rationalized away…you might be an ostrich.

If you think legal risk is more important than reputational risk…you might be an ostrich.

If you think the only opinions that matter are those of only one or two of your many stakeholder groups…you might be an ostrich.

If you have little or no idea what’s being said about you in social media on a real-time basis…you might be an ostrich.

If you have not evaluated your ability to communicate rapidly with all stakeholder groups (strategy, tactics, messages, methods) when the stuff hits the fan…you might be an ostrich.

And, last but most certainly not least, if you think that a college sports program is the only silo at your school that can breed incredibly embarrassing/damaging/illegal activity…you might be an ostrich.

Jonathan Bernstein
President, Bernstein Crisis Management
http://www.bernsteincrisismanagement.com

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Technical Support Needs Technical Support: Time Warner is Good for a Laugh

Published on 19th January 2012 by . 1 Comment. Click to add yours.

YOU CAN’T MAKE THIS S**T UP

Yesterday, for reasons unknown, my Internet broadband speed dropped by roughly 2/3, so I attempted to get Time Warner Cable support via their Live Chat option.  That required, first, that I provide my name and contact information, summarize the issue, and indicate what type of support I needed (e.g., tech support, billing, etc.).  I chose tech support, of course.  That brought a tech named Willy online (who, I suspect from his syntax, is not in the United States), and the following chat occurred (from the official transcript emailed to me afterwards by Time Warner):

Thank you for contacting Time Warner Cable Chat

Micky:    Thank you for contacting Time Warner Cable. At the end of our chat you will be given the option of taking a brief survey. My name is Micky P. Please give me a moment while I access your account.

Jonathan_:    K thx

Micky:    Jonathan, I am sorry for the inconvenience caused.

Micky:    However, as this is regarding your internet speed i need to transfer you to our technical team.

Jonathan_:    ok

Micky:    Please be online while I transfer you.

Jonathan_:    still trying?

Micky:    I am not able to transfer due to techncial issues.

Micky:    *technical.

Micky:    I request you to contact us after some time.

Jonathan_:    Oh great.  YOU have a technical issue so you can’t help me with my technical issue?  This is going to make a REALLY good post on Twitter.

Micky:    I am sorry as it is not getting transferred , and we are billing team.

Jonathan_:    ok then, I asked for technical support in my original login, don’t know why I got billing team.  Bye!

END TRANSCRIPT

What if I, as a crisis manager, wasn’t able to manage a crisis that I faced?

What if an accountant couldn’t make change at a poker game (wait, I know one who fits that description!)?

What if a cosmetic surgeon looked like he/she was in urgent need of plastic surgery?

What if a web design firm has a lot of broken links and errors on its own website (I’ve seen that – recently!)?

THE CRISIS MANAGEMENT LESSON?

You have to be your own best client if you don’t want your reputation hurt.

 

 

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