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

Sex Offenses Trigger Maelstrom of Allegations

Volume XVIII, Number 11

November 30, 2017

Just a Thought

"You can't sweep dirt under the rug when it's so damn easy to look underneath".

- Jonathan Bernstein

From the Editor

The past weeks have been filled with the sound of well regarded individuals falling from grace, and we're guessing this is still just the tip of the iceberg. From Hollywood to D.C. and everywhere in between, allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse of power are swirling.

We have a rule at Bernstein Crisis Management - damage taken from negative events has a direct connection to existing expectations. The greater the expectation that an individual is a moral individual, the more drastic the fallout when the public discovers things that indicate otherwise. Case in point - the public's swift 180 on Matt Lauer.

With the public clamoring for action those facing accusations are being removed so fast heads are spinning, but why now? What's changed that means those accused of wrongdoing need to be removed immediately rather than fully investigated and even protected?

It's simple - if you stick by someone and the allegations turn out to be true, you're going to be viewed as an accomplice to the behavior. When the dust settles, there is always a 'poster child' for major controversies, and everyone is scrambling to not wind up holding a smoking gun. There's no time for things to be settled in a court of law, the court of public opinion has already spoken.

Now here's a question for you - does your own organization have a plan for accusations of wrongdoing being leveled against top employees of representatives? How long would it take to go from initial finding to fully prepared for a media interview? If the answers to those two concern you, get in touch with us today.

P.S. Let's connect on LinkedIn! I love networking with readers and am always looking to make new connections.

- 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, features case studies, advice, and the latest news on techniques, threats, and the latest stories in crisis, PR, and reputation.

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

Some reporters are legitimately doing their job, and some will bend ethics to breaking if it means printing a juicy story. To help you deal with the latter, we've shared some Tools You Can Use When the Media Goes Too Far.

We find ourselves asking the same question over and over when we see crisis management being mishandled. "How Much Pain Does It Take?" Revisited looks again at the importance of prevention and preparedness efforts in preserving both reputation and human life.

Under or over-reacting to a negative situation is a common way to make an incident so much worse. In What Does "Crisis" Mean to You? we look at why you need to define what constitutes a crisis for your own organization today.

While crises can certainly come out of nowhere, the vast majority at least fall into predictable categories of incidents. Anticipating Crises is a primer on why and how you can determine what issues you need to prepare for.

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. Spending the last decade hands-on with crisis and reputation management, he has developed proven methods to prevent, prepare for, and reduce damage taken from crisis situations. He's watched first-hand as the internet and social media changed how we communicate, and leverages that experience to the benefit of clients.

Write to Erik at:

erik@bernsteincrisismanagement.com.

Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc. is located at 700 S. Myrtle Ave., #404, Monrovia, CA 91016. Telephone: (866) 772-5552.

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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