Corporate Crisis Communications | Making the most of what to say when words mean the most.

In a giant step toward " cosmopolitan"  reporting, two of Jacksonville’s local Television News Stations have recently purchased helicopters to bolster their reporting.  For most large cities having Television News Helicopters isn’t a novelty, but for Jacksonville it seems to be big deal.   Local news is proudly sending their choppers airborne to cover the most benign of stories, from lost dogs to traffic jams to continuous coverage of the unchanging crime scene of a waning homicide story at The Beaches . Earlier this week Action News and News4Jax both sent their dueling news-birds to hover incessantly over Seagate Avenue in Neptune Beach, Florida and it wasn’t to cover a high speed chase or daring bank robbery.  No, it was to provide a live feed, both on Facebook and Television, of a shallow grave behind a house where a grandmother was killed by her grandson one week earlier.   Grant it, the story is an unusual one for the sleepy First Coast...

Everyday headlines blare of misconduct run amok from Tallahassee to D.C. – ethics, sentencing and intelligence hearings dot the headlines.  One common theme that ties all of these investigations together is the common, rote refrains we hear as explanations.  Outright denials to contrived mea culpas to convenient lapses in memories seem to be the only responses we get from politicians or public figure caught in the cross hairs of controversy.  It would be refreshing if at least one new mantra for bad behavior entered the lexicon of crisis. This week we saw all three play out in top stories; Al Franken’s two part apology for playing grab-ass on a plane was the most refreshing – "yes I did and by god I’m sorry, please investigate me".  Although not hugely popular, Al’s response seemed the most genuine.  We also saw a similar, yet less full throated, apology from prison-bound Corrine Brown – but the motives there were clear, "spare me a life in the clink"....

As county courthouses and governmental agencies continue to modernize and digitize public records, information that was once laborious to obtain is only a few mouse clicks away.  The ease of obtaining these records combined with social media ubiquitous distribution points makes for an unforeseen challenge to balance misuse of information with access to public records.   Known as “Doxxing”, the distribution of public information in order to harass or shame someone has become more and more prevalent, as was recently reported by Pro Publica. Used properly, the exposure of publicly available information can be a powerful investigative reporting tool.  However broad distribution of public information without the benefit of professional journalists, editorial boards and legal counsel can be dangerous, malicious and counterproductive to open and transparent government.  If social media cannot find a way to balance open communication with responsible usa...

Now that social media is a ubiquitous part of everyday life, from the White House to Waffle House, maybe it’s time users took a look at their habits.  Sharing is great when it means something, but today’s level of self-absorbed streams of consciousness clogging Twitter and Facebook are probably not exactly what the founders of these now tech giants envisioned.  We have a President who can only communicate in 140 character grunts, regurgitating what Fox and Friends spews leading a generation who is fixated on posting, SnapChatting and Tweeting every aspect of their daily lives. Social Media is captivating swaths of users like a mirror captivates an orangutan at the zoo – with the exception that users have iPhones with data-plans; who can share their every waking thought.  Throw liquor and peer pressure into the mix and you have NewsFeeds that would make the New York Post and National Enquirer cringe.  Recently, some high power politicos have remarked on how ...