CRISIS MANAGER
The Internet Newsletter about Crisis Management

"For Those Who Are Crisis Managers,
Whether They Want to be or Not"

ISSN:1528-3836
� 2017 Jonathan Bernstein

Helping After Harvey

Volume XVIII, Number 8

August 31, 2017

Just a Thought

"Damn it, you've got to be kind."

- Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

From the Editor

I started to write a different editorial here but fact is nothing I can say right now felt as important as sharing some info that might help victims of Hurricane Harvey.

Instead, I'd like to share a collection of links to verified charitable programs working to help those affected.

The Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund of Houston's mayor, Sylvester Turner, which is administered by the Greater Houston Community Foundation.

For those of you in Texas, the City of Houston Emergency Operations Center has posted a list of places where y ou can drop off donations.

Blood donors are sorely needed, the South Texas Blood and Tissue Center is reporting a critical shortage and is asking for volunteers.

The Texas Diaper Bank in San Antonio is asking for diapers and wipes to help affected kiddos and their families.

Unfortunately scams do pop up in the wake of major disasters, and it's important to verify before giving. Some resources to help:

The Federal Emergency Management Agency recommends checking with the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster for a list of trusted disaster-relief organizations in Texas.

Charity Navigator, which breaks down how effective many charities actually are, has a list of organizations that are responding to Harvey. They also have a post sharing tips on how to protect yourself from fraudsters.

The Federal Trade Commission also shared advice you may find useful in evaluating where to give.

It may be cliche, but our hearts truly are with those of you who were affected, including our own friends and family members in the storm's path. Be well.

- EB

Interested in reprinting BCM articles or blog posts?

We're happy to give permission for material to be reprinted in hard copy or online!

If you find something you would like to reprint, simply submit a request to jonathan@bernsteincrisismanagement.com.

Blogs

The Bernstein Crisis Management blog, along with our blog at the Free Management Library, are frequently updated and filled with case studies, advice, and the latest news on techniques, threats, and more.

Here, we share a look at some of the most popular posts from recent weeks:

We discussed the launch of Google's SOS Alerts for Crisis or Natural Disaster provides, a service which unfortunately is seeing a lot of use right now.

Failing to consider how any project might be misinterpreted is a common cause of crisis. Glittler, or Why an Outside Perspective is Critical to Crisis Prevention provides the perfect example.

How Much Could Bad Customer Experiences Cost Your Company? It's a question few ask until they've found out first hand. Check this post for plenty of reasons why you should make keeping customers happy a priority.

'Fake news" has been a hot topic recently, but what if I told you it was just getting started? How CGI and AI Will Make 'Fake News' More Difficult to Spot provides insight into the scary future of misleading information.

Do you have a topic you'd like to see featured in our blogs? Send an email to erik@bernsteincrisismanagement.com and there's a good chance you'll be seeing it right here in the next issue!

Business Announcements

(aka blatant self-promotion)

What if you could quickly find out how your stakeholders perceive you during a breaking crisis?

Bernstein Crisis Management now uses online surveys and other tools to get immediate stakeholder perception feedback, during a breaking crisis, with the option of continuing to monitor perception post-crisis.

More info from jonathan@bernsteincrisismanagement.com.

Are There Any Holes in Your Crisis Planning?

Your organization may well have crisis prevention and response-related plans in place - but are you sure they're going to cover all the bases? Bernstein Crisis Management's Crisis Document Audit is a low-cost, flat-rate service which will quickly provide you with a comprehensive analysis of your existing plans and recommendations for improvement.

Contact jonathan@bernsteincrisismanagement.com for more information.

We're Giving Away Keeping the Wolves at Bay and other crisis publications!

Keeping the Wolves at Bay, the widely used media-training manual published by Jonathan Bernstein, is available for free, as well as other useful publications.

To visit the download page, click here.

Social Media Crisis Training

A solid social media manager has quickly become a must-have for organizations of any size, and can make an immense difference by driving in customers and building your positive reputation online.

The problem is, the vast majority are simply not equipped to even identify building crises, much less take the steps necessary to cope with and mitigate the damage that can result.

That's where we come in.

Bernstein Crisis Management is now offering crisis management training for social media managers, both independent and in-house, as well as social media firms.

For an overview of our services, estimates, or more information, contact erik@bernsteincrisismanagement.com

About Us

Jonathan Bernstein is both publisher of Crisis Manager and president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., a national crisis management public relations agency providing 24/7 access to crisis response professionals. The agency engages in the full spectrum of crisis management services: crisis prevention, response, planning & training. He has been in the public relations field since 1982, following five-year stints in both military intelligence and investigative reporting.

Write to Jonathan at:

jonathan@bernsteincrisismanagement.com.

Erik Bernstein is vice president of Bernstein Crisis Management, and editor of this newsletter. Working in crisis management since 2009, Erik has watched the internet and social media change the field. Today, he brings that experience to bear assisting clients to protect and grow their reputations using tactics based on real-world knowledge and experience.

Write to Erik at:

erik@bernsteincrisismanagement.com.

Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. is located at 700 S. Myrtle Ave., #404, Monrovia, CA 91016. Telephone: (626) 825-3838.

Legal Disclaimer (aka the small print)

All information contained herein is obtained by Jonathan Bernstein from sources believed by Jonathan Bernstein to be accurate and reliable.

Because of the possibility of human and mechanical error as well as other factors, neither Jonathan Bernstein nor Bernstein Crisis Management is responsible for any errors or omissions. All information is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind. Bernstein Crisis Management and Jonathan Bernstein make no representations and disclaim all express, implied, and statutory warranties of any kind to the user and/or any third party including, without limitation, warranties as to accuracy, timeliness, completeness, merchantability, or fitness for any particular purpose.

Unless due to willful tortuous misconduct or gross negligence, Jonathan Bernstein and Bernstein Crisis Management shall have no liability in tort, contract, or otherwise (and as permitted by law, product liability), to the user and/or any third party.

Under no circumstance shall Bernstein Crisis Management or Jonathan Bernstein be liable to the user and/or any third party for any lost profits or lost opportunity, indirect, special, consequential, incidental, or punitive damages whatsoever, even if Bernstein Crisis Management or Jonathan Bernstein has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

A service of this newsletter is to provide news summaries and/or snippets to readers. In such instances articles and/or snippets will be reprinted as they are received from the originating party or as they are displayed on the originating website or in the original article. As we do not write the news, we merely point readers to it, under no circumstance shall Bernstein Crisis Management or Jonathan Bernstein be liable to the user and/or any third party for any lost profits or lost opportunity, indirect, special, consequential, incidental, or punitive damages whatsoever due to the distribution of said news articles or snippets that lead readers to a full article on a news service's website, even if Bernstein Crisis Management or Jonathan Bernstein has been advised of the possibility of such damages. Authors of the original news story and their publications shall be exclusively held liable. Any corrections to news stories are not mandatory and shall be printed at the discretion of the list moderator after evaluation on a case-by-case basis.

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