Ono the OstrichCRISIS MANAGER
The Internet Newsletter about Crisis Management  Editor: Erik Bernstein  Publisher: Jonathan Bernstein

"For Those Who Are Crisis Managers,
Whether They Want to be or Not"

ISSN:1528-3836
© 2012 Jonathan Bernstein

 

Volume XIII, Number 10

May 30, 2012   


JUST A THOUGHT    

 

Traditional PR and crisis management are like baseball and cricket. Being skilled at one doesn't automatically make you good at the other.  

  

                           Jonathan Bernstein   

                                


FROM THE EDITOR  

  

 

The results from our poll, "Do you get most of your news online or off?" are in, and BCM readership definitely proved themselves to be some of the most 'net aware in the nation, with 70% answering "Yes" to the question, significantly higher than results in similar surveys.

What does the continuously rising influence of online media mean to your organization? Quite simply, hop on the bandwagon and ride with it. Build relationships with bloggers in your area or covering your niche, same goes with writers for influential websites. While doing this, don't forget to become a source of news yourself! Post to your own blog and social media network frequently and share information your stakeholders will find useful, interesting, or entertaining

Our next poll is already up over at the Bernstein Crisis Management Facebook page, and you might find the topic and questions themselves quite entertaining.  Feel welcome to leave a comment as well; we'll publish the results and any choice tidbits in an April issue of Crisis Manager. While you're over there, hit us with a "Like!" I promise we don't bite, and we'd love to share notifications of new polls and contests with our readers.

 

As always, below you'll find a summary of the best from both of our blogs.   

If you like what you see, please share it with others by using the "Forward Email" link at the bottom of the ezine and tell them to subscribe!  IMPORTANT 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. 

  


BCM

 

Thank you, and read on!

 

          - Erik

 

  

BLOGS!
By Erik Bernstein

Here's a look at some recent posts from both the Bernstein Crisis Management blog and our Crisis Management blog over at Carter McNamara's Free Management Library. Whether you're looking for case studies, crisis management advice, or simply love to shake your head at the antics of misguided PR folk, we've got something for you.

The sandwich specialists at Arby's learned exactly How You Can Cause a Crisis by Giving Someone the Finger. When a Michigan-area Arby's served up a chunk of an employee's finger in a teen's sandwich (a fact he didn't notice until chomping down on "something tough"), consumer faith dropped like a rock, putting Arby's on the defensive.
Erik Bernstein
Erik Bernstein

Here's a question for your iPhone - Is Siri Stalking You? Employees are using Apple's voice assistant software to do everything from record meetings to find directions, but the fact that Siri collects and saves bucketloads of confidential information every day is giving CIO's cause for concern. IBM has already banned use of Siri entirely.  What's next?

No, it's not an old post. H1N1 is still around, with the latest Bird Flu Breakout affecting some 95,000 chickens and killing two people in northwest China. A grim reminder that crises can rear their ugly heads long after the mainstream media has lost interest, this post is a must-read.

It takes a steady hand and strong mind to navigate The Crisis Management Freeway. Make the right moves at the right time, and things flow smoothly. Get in someone's way or take a wrong turn and you're lost, or worse!

The USDA's latest Crisis Management for Mad Cow showed vast improvements over its performance in the last round of scares. Getting ahead of the story, sharing key information, and taking industry jargon out of the equation led to a "how-to" case study and a reputation bump for the beef industry.

It's a rising trend - Twitter Vengeance Leads to Crisis Management. The ease of access and amazingly wide reach of Twitter has led to it becoming a prime outlet for angry employees to share damaging or disparaging thoughts and information about their bosses, employers, and peers. Prevent the problem before it starts, or you could find your organization's dirty laundry aired on the front page of the Internet.

Erik Bernstein is a freelance writer, editor of Crisis Manager, and Social Media Manager for Bernstein Crisis Management
APROPOS OF NOTHING

     

 

The Crisis Show - HOLD THAT DATE!

 

Be sure to mark 7-8 pm eastern time (U.S.), June 13 on your calendar, because that will be the first airing of "The Crisis Show," a program on which three top crisis management professionals (Rich Klein, Melissa Agnes and I) discuss crises in the news, interview special guests, and more, using "Google Hangouts on Air," with the show recorded to YouTube for delayed broadcast and embedding on other sites. Look for a special announcement about the show that will be sent to all Crisis Manager readers. -- Jonathan

 

Citibank- A Grimm Fairy Tale: The Final Chapter

 

Many of our readers expressed how much they enjoyed the story of BCM president Jonathan Bernstein's experiences in the wilds of the banking world, so enjoy the final version of Citibank - A Grimm Fairy Tale, and discover the end of our intrepid publisher's adventure. -- Erik 

 

SmartBrief on Social Media

 

SmartBrief on Social Media is a daily e-newsletter featuring a rundown of current events and coming trends in social media. We've found it to be tremendously informative, and recommend our readers take a look. --Jonathan 

 

Crisis Management Database

 

If you are a crisis management professional or work in a related field -- e.g., media training, business continuity -- write to me for information on how to be part of my new Crisis Management Database. -- Jonathan

   


BUSINESS ANNOUNCEMENTS
(aka blatant self-promotion) 

 

Manager's Guide to Crisis Management

 

MgrsGuideCover

Whether you're a seasoned manager, aspiring up-and-comer, or student of crisis management, Jonathan Bernstein's new book, "Manager's Guide to Crisis Management," (McGraw-Hill, 2011) will put you in control of any situation. Reviews at Amazon (the link above) are stellar, and McGraw-Hill reports they are pleased with sales-to-date. 

 

 

 

Keeping the Wolves at Bay: Media Training 

 

Book Cover JPG

What has 80+ pages of hard-hitting, enter-

taining and easy-to-read guidance on how to deal with both traditional and online media during times of crisis? The answer is 

Keeping the Wolves at Bay - Media Training. 

The, four-color, perfect-bound, 8x10 manual is currently available both in hardcopy ($25) and PDF form ($10). Volume discounts are available; write to Jonathan Bernstein for that information.

 

Here's a couple of teaser reviews for you:

 

Jonathan Bernstein's Keeping the Wolves at Bay is an eminently practical guidance for anyone - business leader, celebrity, politician - who must willingly or unwillingly face the glare of media attention. It appears
at a moment in time when the social media and other digital communications have upped the ante exponentially.
Bernstein's practicum on media relations takes on renewed urgency as news, gossip, and opinion now drive
public perception virally and at the speed of light.

 
Richard Levick, Esq.
President & CEO
Levick Strategic Communications, LLC

 
Even if you think you'll never, ever be interviewed by the media, buy this book and read it cover to cover. It isn't a substitute for media training. But it will give you the tools and confidence to go head to head -- and possibly even defang -- rabid reporters, blood-thirsty bloggers and social networking buffoons who are out to besmirch your good name.

Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound 

 

Want To Blog And Tweet About

Your Organization But Don't Have Time? 


Missing out on all the promotional and SEO advantages of doing so? Hire someone to be your voice...like Erik Bernstein, editor of Crisis Manager.

 

More info:erik@bernsteincrisismanagement.com.

 


GUEST AUTHORS

Guest 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 THE PUBLISHER AND EDITOR


JB NewErik Bernstein

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.

 


LEGAL DISCLAIMER

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.


In This Issue
Just A Thought
Blogs!
Apropos of Nothing
Quick Links
Contact

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