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Just a Thought
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"Americans do not have a good track record when it comes to preparing for disasters, unless they see a clear possibility of personally being in harm's way." |
From the Editor
This past Tuesday marked the one-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, one of the most violent and devastating storms to ever hit the States, and still, the scars remain.
In New Jersey's seaside communities, waterfront businesses stand abandoned and in ruins, piles of sand and debris litter many areas, and power has still not been restored on some particularly hard-hit streets.
In fact, a new study, published by the Rutgers School of Public Affairs and Administration, estimates another $28.4 billion is needed in Jersey alone in order to recover from Sandy's impact.
Many areas of New York are no better. Coney Island Hospital is still in pieces, operating MRI and CAT scans from mobile units, temporary barriers in place to protect the emergency room, and the psychiatric, emergency and pediatric inpatient units remain closed. As for smaller businesses in the area, well, they're even worse off, if they were able to reopen at all.
If there is one crisis management lesson I could pass to every single individual and organization, it's that preparation is vital to keeping safe what you hold dear. You can't always prevent a crisis from happening, but you can mitigate the damage it causes to the greatest degree possible, and a massive contributor to how much you're able to mitigate is how well you prepared.
In short, hope for the best and prepare for the worst. That's really all we can do.
If you like what you see in this ezine, please pass it on to others by using the "Forward Email" link at the bottom of the ezine and tell them to subscribe!
(Note: If you just "Forward" using your own email program's "Forward" function and your recipient thinks they're being spammed, they can click on the Opt Out link and opt YOU off the list. So use the "Forward Email" link, please.)
Thank you, and read on. |
| Jonathan Bernstein Talks Church Crisis Management with St. Paul Pioneer Press Columnist Ruben Rosario |
As yet another sexual abuse scandal involving the Catholic church unfolds, this time in the Twin Cities area, columnist Ruben Rosario sat down with our own Jonathan Bernstein for a chat on crisis management.
They discussed an interesting phone call Jonathan had with a certain archbishop in 2002, went over some major crisis communications mistakes being made, and took a look at what really needs to happen if the church is serious about putting these debacles behind.
You can find the full story here, and, as always, we welcome our readers' viewpoints on what's certainly a hot-button topic.
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Interested in repurposing BCM articles
or blog posts?
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Would you like to share a post with your audience, reprint one of BCM's how-to's for office use, or take students through a set of case studies?
We're happy to give permission for material to be repurposed in just about any way you'd like. Simply submit a request to jonathan@bernsteincrisismanagement.com.
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Blogs!
By Erik Bernstein
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A sober teen answers a text from a drunk friend and heads straight over to drive her home. Pretty responsible kid, right? Sober Honor Student Punished for Driving Drunk Friend Home looks at the backward response from the teen's school, and offers up a strategy to set things right. Crisis Management Musts: Saying "No" the Right Way breaks down one of THE most important abilities a PR pro can have, as well as sharing an example of the wrong way to do it. It's perhaps one of the most oft-broken rules of Social Media Crisis Management: Don't Drink and Post. If you're one of the many who think it's just fine to share on social media after downing a few drinks, we have an infographic that should set you straight. Staying on top of changes in the services you use is an important part of crisis management, so to help out we present Facebook's Latest Privacy Change and You. When you're discussing a tragic death, the words "shit happens" should never, ever leave your lips. 2Day FM Chairman's Crisis Communications Fail reviews a jaw-droppingly bad quote from someone who should absolutely know better. The first crisis to be affected by the recent nonsense in Congress, Shutdown Cripples CDC's Ability to Assist with Salmonella Outbreak explains how the organization was left unable to help with a widespread health food contamination event. The title Crises Cost $56 Billion in First Half of 2013 is not a typo. Despite a rise in acceptance of crisis management basics, most organizations are still not properly prepared, leading to staggering losses for many. A 9-year-old boy was able to board a Delta flight, with no ticket, alone, yet the airline felt the need to congratulate its staff after he was found out. Hey Delta, Are You Smarter Than a 4th Grader?When you run into trouble, it's best to stick to the social media channels you know. We take a few notes from colleague Chris Syme to help explain why Lack of Focus Hurts Social Media Crisis Management Efforts. |
| Apropos of Nothing |
Social Media Training
Want to get your feet wet with social media but don't know where to start? Maybe you have accounts, but aren't sure what to post, or how to reply?
Being active on social media is a must these days, but you have to do it right. Erik Bernstein, Bernstein Crisis Management's Social Media Manager, now offers social media training sessions in person or via Skype for groups and individuals.
For questions or pricing info, please email erik@bernsteincrisismanagement.com
Bernsteins Available to Deliver Free Guest Lectures, Q&A Sessions
Jonathan alone, or the team of Jonathan and Erik Bernstein, are available at no charge to deliver guest lectures and host Q&A sessions with college classes via Skype or Google Hangout. Our latest presentation was to a graduate-level Healthcare Marketing course at Cal State Long Beach.
The lectures are fun for both us and students, and we're more than happy to allow recording for your future use. All you need at your end is a single computer with webcam and a strong broadband connection for us to appear in your classroom in real-time.
Contact us for more info!
Attention Corporate Boards of Directors (and those who serve them).
If you're connected with a corporate board of directors in some way and think that board would benefit from having a veteran crisis management pro amongst its membership, please contact me. -- Jonathan
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Business Announcements
(aka blatant self-promotion) Expanded Crisis Manager Bookstore We've recently expanded the Crisis Manager Bookstore to include offerings from esteemed colleagues like Melissa Agnes, Gerald Baron, Chris Syme and Jim Lukaszewski that cover topics from crisis communication and traditional PR to social media and cutting-edge crisis management. We'll be adding other authors we admire in the weeks ahead.
Visit the new Crisis Manager Bookstore to see all of the material available now!
Keeping the Wolves at Bay: Media Training  Learn how to deal with traditional or social media during a crisis in this educational and entertaining guide from Crisis Manager publisher Jonathan Bernstein. $25 for the hard copy and $10 for the PDF. Head to the Crisis Manager Bookstore for more information and/or to purchase.
Manager's Guide to Crisis Management
Whether you're a seasoned manager, aspiring up-and-comer, or student of crisis management, Jonathan Bernstein's textbook, Manager's Guide to Crisis Management (McGraw-Hill, 2011) will put you in control of any situation.
Looking for a Turn-Key Social Media Solution? Missing out on all the promotional, SEO and reputation management advantages of being active on social media platforms? Hire someone to be your voice...like Erik Bernstein, editor of Crisis Manager. He's the one largely responsible for keeping the Bernstein Crisis Management website and social media accounts highly ranked and popular and can do the same for you, while creating a set of valuable social presences that can be turned over to your full control at any time More info:erik@bernsteincrisismanagement.com. |
Guest AuthorsGuest authors are very welcome to submit material for "Crisis Manager." There is no fee paid, but most guest authors have reported receiving business inquiries as a result of appearing in this publication. Case histories, experience-based lessons, commentary on current news events and editorial opinion are all eligible for consideration. Submission is not a guarantee of acceptance. |
About Us
  Jonathan Bernstein is both publisher of Crisis Manager and president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., a national crisis management public relations agency providing 24/7 access to crisis response professionals. The agency engages in the full spectrum of crisis management services: crisis prevention, response, planning & training. He has been in the public relations field since 1982, following five-year stints in both military intelligence and investigative reporting. Write to Jonathan at: jonathan@bernsteincrisismanagement.com. Erik Bernstein is editor of Crisis Manager and is also Social Media Manager for Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. Write to Erik at: erik@bernsteincrisismanagement.com. |
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Legal Disclaimer (aka the small print)All information contained herein is obtained by Jonathan Bernstein from sources believed by Jonathan Bernstein to be accurate and reliable. Because of the possibility of human and mechanical error as well as other factors, neither Jonathan Bernstein nor Bernstein Crisis Management is responsible for any errors or omissions. All information is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Bernstein Crisis Management and Jonathan Bernstein make no representations and disclaim all express, implied, and statutory warranties of any kind to the user and/or any third party including, without limitation, warranties as to accuracy, timeliness, completeness, merchantability, or fitness for any particular purpose. Unless due to willful tortuous misconduct or gross negligence, Jonathan Bernstein and Bernstein Crisis Management shall have no liability in tort, contract, or otherwise (and as permitted by law, product liability), to the user and/or any third party. Under no circumstance shall Bernstein Crisis Management or Jonathan Bernstein be liable to the user and/or any third party for any lost profits or lost opportunity, indirect, special, consequential, incidental, or punitive damages whatsoever, even if Bernstein Crisis Management or Jonathan Bernstein has been advised of the possibility of such damages. A service of this newsletter is to provide news summaries and/or snippets to readers. In such instances articles and/or snippets will be reprinted as they are received from the originating party or as they are displayed on the originating website or in the original article. As we do not write the news, we merely point readers to it, under no circumstance shall Bernstein Crisis Management or Jonathan Bernstein be liable to the user and/or any third party for any lost profits or lost opportunity, indirect, special, consequential, incidental, or punitive damages whatsoever due to the distribution of said news articles or snippets that lead readers to a full article on a news service's website, even if Bernstein Crisis Management or Jonathan Bernstein has been advised of the possibility of such damages. Authors of the original news story and their publications shall be exclusively held liable. Any corrections to news stories are not mandatory and shall be printed at the discretion of the list moderator after evaluation on a case-by-case basis. |
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