Out of Control

Jonathan Bernstein crisis management, Crisis Prevention, Crisis Response, media training

When acclaimed UK eatery, “Fat Duck,” once named the #1 eatery in the world, was stricken by a series of shellfish-related food poisonings earlier this year, it raised major questions over their safety procedures. With a total of 529 diners sickened and the owners unsure of the cause of their …

The Big Crash

Jonathan Bernstein crisis management, Crisis Prevention, Crisis Response

If the entire Internet went down today, would you be able to survive? While most would be quick to say “yes,” I believe few have truly thought about the impact this would have. In the event of a crash, everything but the very simplest tasks would be impossible – no …

A Bad Idea

Jonathan Bernstein crisis management, Crisis Prevention, Crisis Response, media training, reputation management

Microsoft recently unveiled a brand-new ad for their business productivity software. While the U.S. version was fine, someone at the software behemoth’s Polish subsidiary decided to make a change that spawned a storm of negative criticism throughout the Web and on Twitter. Here’s a description of the switch that angered …

More about Whole Food’s John Mackey on the Hot Seat

Jonathan Bernstein crisis management, Crisis Prevention, Crisis Response, media training

Whole Foods Market’s CEO John Mackey is well known for landing his company in the hot seat. The outspoken Mackey first caught the public’s attention after being outed for using a pseudonym to both promote Whole Foods and blast their competition on the Yahoo! Finance bulletin boards, an incident which …

Corporate Malware

Jonathan Bernstein crisis management, Crisis Prevention, Crisis Response

mal·ware (māl’wâr’)n. Malicious computer software that interferes with normal computer functions or sends personal data about the user to unauthorized parties over the Internet. Although the news media usually focuses on more widespread attacks like the recent Conficker worm, there is a new generation of malware aimed solely at gathering …

Vick Gets it Right

Jonathan Bernstein crisis management, Crisis Prevention, Crisis Response, media training

Disgraced quarterback Michael Vick, recently released from an 18-month stint in prison, granted one of his first interviews to CBS’ 60 Minutes. The interviewer pulled no punches and, unlike nearly every disgraced sports figure in recent memory, Vick made no attempts to deflect them. A recent Yahoo! Sports article has …

Crisis Protection

Jonathan Bernstein crisis management, Crisis Prevention, Crisis Response, public relations

Effective crisis management starts long before an incident ever occurs. The world is an unpredictable place, and the best way to mount a rapid, convincing response is to be prepared beforehand. In his piece, published in the most recent Crisis Manager newsletter, PR vet George Hayward gives some important steps …

The Dark Side of Social Media

Jonathan Bernstein crisis management, crisis manager, Crisis Prevention, Crisis Response, reputation management

Social media has exploded onto the scene, bringing promises of more interaction with, and among, customers. This platform, which appears to be a marketers dream, has also shown itself to be dangerous, most recently causing trouble for corporate giants Johnson & Johnson and Pepsi. In her guest article from the …