Recently I saw a tweet from a radio producer I deal with in my public relations work.
It stopped me cold.
It read, “media training is the world’s greatest evil.”
Anticipate it, own it and communicate it: Three Ways to Handle a Crisis
No company or organization is immune to crises, whether they’re product recalls, accidents, attacks, inappropriate behaviour by management or staff, or scandals. The recent Volkswagen emission situation illustrates the latter. It plunged into crisis mode after the automaker’s efforts to cheat pollution tests were caught and made public in the media.
When Crisis Hits: The Tofino Boating Tragedy
When a crisis befalls an organization, as it did to Jamie’s Whaling Centre in Tofino, B.C. with the deadly capsizing of its whale-watching vessel, the organization’s tendency is to hide.
That is the worst thing to do if it hopes to survive the crisis.
Ask the experts: How do I successfully address a crisis of leadership?
If the breach is serious enough to warrant an apology (and not all are), have the leader make it sincerely, quickly and cleanly, before things get worse. But first, clarify:
what your leader is apologizing for.
who your leader is apologizing to.
–Ann Gibbon, Ask the Experts, Business in Vancouver, Dec. 3, 2013
News Release Writing Tip
A news release should read like a mini news story. To ensure yours has a conversational, easy-to-understand tone, read it out loud before you send it off. You’ll identify leaden prose along with any gaps in logic.
Just What Is News?
Your announcement is so earth-shattering it deserves prominent coverage in every major news outlet, right? Not necessarily. Journalists and the organizations they cover usually have vastly contrasting definitions of “news.”
Check Those E-mail Media Pitches!
The next time you send an e-mail pitch to a reporter, send the e-mail to yourself first so you can see what it looks like on the screen.