I found two items today in Bulldog Reporter of interest. One, Craigslist is being sued by Cook County, Illinois for allegedly being the biggest source of prostitution in the country. The other is about the Seattle PI, owned by Hearst, shutting down as a daily and considering going to an online only ...

This story from The Guardian in UK is so astounding I kind of wonder if I am being hoaxed. I just got off a call with a student researching online crises and crisis management and one of the questions essentially was: do companies today “get it� when it comes to the online risks. I said I they w...

I’ve advocated that there are some times in a reputation crisis when you have to take the gloves off. I know I have done this on several occasions, particularly when the activist/opponent shows little regard for the truth and they are getting traction. These battles always come down to credibi...

Blogging certainly has its benefits and this morning I was one of 6 bloggers invited to participate in an interactive conference call with Admiral Harvey Johnson, number 2 at FEMA. Since it is Martin Luther King Day, the last day of this leadership group’s employment at FEMA, and the purpose s...

Here is another guest post from Neil Chapman from London. Critical issue addressed: the dangers of speculating on cause. Sometimes the obvious takes time to sink in. It’s just past the third anniversary of the Buncefield explosion in the UK. It’s also the length of time it has taken government-a...

This Economist article points out how public discourse seems to be going sideways in Britain–like it has been going ugly here for quite a long time. Here’s a great summary: a tabloid media that are at once sensationalist and stridently censorious; a reductively adversarial parliament; an...

Just returned home from speaking at the PRSA International Conference in Detroit and now preparing my comments for my presentation at the Homeland Defense Journal Risk and Crisis Communication conference in DC on Nov 3. A few reflections. The PRSA conference struck me as a strong contrast to the con...

This July 17 New York Times article is a blistering attack on the reputation of one of the world’s most respected and revered non-profit organizations–the Red Cross. Having met some of the key communication leaders of this organization, I was eager to observe them effectively responding ...

I’ve always believed when you screw up you should say you’re sorry. Forgiveness is usually generously given in light of a completely sincere acceptance of responsibility and repentance. When I ran for state senate in 2004 one of my key goals was to improve access to doctors in our state ...

I found it very interesting that just today I got two invitations to participate in webinars on crisis planning. One put on by PRSA, and the other by PR University from Bulldog Reporter. Both of these look like worthwhile presentations by expert presenters. My question is this: how can anyone determ...