Crisis at St. Louis U

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, public relations, reputation management Leave a Comment

Leaked letter reignites reputation management crisis St. Louis University is facing a serious crisis, and to say that it’s not weathering the storm well would be an understatement. Early this fall SLU’s Faculty Senate and Student Government Association took a vote of “no confidence” against University President Lawrence Biondi, citing …

Good Crisis Management Means Getting Your Hands Dirty

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis leadership, crisis management, crisis preparation, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, public relations, reputation management, social media Leave a Comment

[Jonathan Bernstein here to say that I’m proud to introduce an original thought piece by my son, “chip off the old crisis manager” Erik Bernstein.] Keep leadership involved for crisis management success Organizations frequently bring in outside crisis management professionals in time of trouble, but just because you’ve hired someone …

Online News and Reputation Management

Erik Bernstein crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Erik Bernstein, ethics, Google, Jonathan Bernstein, Journalism, online reputation management, PR, public relations Leave a Comment

Hard evidence for the importance of fact checking Late last month a PRWeb press release went out stating that Google had acquired Rhode Island-based ICOA Wireless for some $400 million. It’s not unusual for the big G to pick up a smaller company, so what’s the problem? Well, how about …

Generic Lipitor Recall Crisis

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, FDA, Jonathan Bernstein, recall, reputation management 1 Comment

Evidence of a lack of crisis management concern? Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Inc. is recalling more than 40 lots of atorvastatin pills — the generic version of the popular statin Lipitor — over possible glass contamination. Statins, or lipid-lowering drugs, are among the most commonly prescribed medications in the United States. The …

When to Talk, When to Walk

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, crisis preparation, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, media training, public relations, reputation management Leave a Comment

Help with crisis management for tricky media situations Most of the time when organizations are dealing with crisis management, their leadership is very concerned, often even intimidated by, the media. This often drives people to speak when they really shouldn’t, simply because they’ve had a microphone shoved in front of …

Walmart’s iPad Abuse Crisis

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, iPad, Jonathan Bernstein, online reputation management, public relations, Reddit, reputation management, social media Leave a Comment

Ugly employee actions create reputation management crisis for retailer We’ve seen a growing number of YouTube-based crises created not by the actions organizations themselves, but those of employees. Domino’s was one of the first high profile cases, and this month Walmart joined the list. Four employees of a Pikeville, Ky. …

Bloomberg Scores with Sandy Crisis Management

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, disaster management, disaster response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, reputation management Leave a Comment

Strong crisis communication helps keep residents safe through the hurricane When Hurricane Sandy came down on New York, the city looked to its mayor for leadership, and he didn’t disappoint. Using all of his substantial crisis management skills, Mayor Bloomberg kept his constituents protected through the power of information. You …

Yes Men Are a Crisis Management No-No

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, public relations, reputation management Leave a Comment

Don’t fall into this common crisis management trap Every crisis presents an opportunity to learn, even if those involved choose not to take the lessons to heart. Fortunately, through case studies we can discover how to best conduct ourselves and our organizations in order to mitigate crisis management risks. In …

Twitter’s Own Crisis Management

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, online reputation management, social media, Twitter Leave a Comment

What crisis communications “must-do” did Twitter miss? If you have a Twitter account (and who doesn’t at this point?) you may have witnessed a bit of crisis management first-hand earlier this month. When a widespread security issue within the service put a large number of accounts at risk of being …

Dow’s Premature Release Crisis

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, online reputation management, PR, public relations, reputation management Leave a Comment

Chemical company does some quick crisis management after announcement drops early Double checking your work is always important, and it’s even better to get a couple of other people to look it over for errors. The core reason behind this, at least from a crisis management perspective, is not simply …

When Apologizing isn’t the Best Crisis Management

Erik Bernstein crisis communication, crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, public relations, reputation management 1 Comment

It’s a rare and unenviable situation The pages of this blog are full of crisis management case studies where we recommend that organizations or individuals apologize for their actions, so much so that it might lead one to assume that there are no cases where it’s better to do the …

Nothing is Invulnerable

Erik Bernstein crisis management, crisis preparation, Crisis Prevention, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, vulnerability audit Leave a Comment

Even Superman had a weakness Many individuals and organizations would like to believe that they are invulnerable. For some, the belief has been slowly built by success. Perhaps they’ve even encountered a few minor glitches that ironed themselves out, further encouraging the belief that nothing bad can really happen to …

Crisis Management and Survival Tips for After Sandy

Erik Bernstein crisis management, Crisis Response, disaster management, disaster response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein Leave a Comment

Crisis management advice to protect you from dangerous conditions With nearly one million people still without power, not to mention the countless displaced by storm damage or flooding from Hurricane Sandy, virtually the entire East Coast is in crisis management mode. Compounding the situation is a wicked nor’easter that’s just …

Speaking Effectively for Crisis Management

Erik Bernstein crisis communications, crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, media training, public relations, reputation management Leave a Comment

Master this skill and boost your crisis management abilities Impressions are extremely important when it comes to crisis management, and the act of public speaking is perhaps the most vulnerable to creating the wrong one. There are those rare speakers that convey confidence and purpose while navigating the booby trap …

Busted! Constant Recording as a Crisis Management Reality

Erik Bernstein crisis management, Crisis Prevention, crisis public relations, Crisis Response, Erik Bernstein, Jonathan Bernstein, online reputation management, public relations, reputation management Leave a Comment

Recording catches joyriding mechanics, highlights possibility of constant surveillance In our tech-heavy world, recording devices are everywhere. From the cell phones we all carry to the plethora of James Bond-esque gadgets available online, the chance of your actions being recorded at any given time is such that a prudent crisis …