In an age where face-to-face communication seems to be on the outs, even the gruesome act of firing someone has transposed itself onto the social media platform. Rather than do the deed in person with a melancholic handshake to seal the deal, many have taken to mass media outlets instead.

Chris Colfer of Glee reported last week that he found out he was not going to be a cast member for the show’s third season…through Twitter. According to People Magazine, Creator Ryan Murphy took to Twitter before letting Colfer know he got the boot, and of course, thousands tweeted Colfer with their reactions.

“I didn’t necessarily know that it was going to be our last season next year,” he told Access Hollywood. Well, he certainly knows now! And Colfer isn’t the only one that’s gotten the bad news from the media. According to Crushable.com, former American Idol judge Kara DioGuardi found out she’d been expunged via a news article, Fox-News on air commentator Marc Lammot Hill got notified of his expulsion by checking his own Google Alerts, and Alyson Hanigan reportedly heard she had been slayed from Buffy the Vampire Slayer by tuning into a co-star Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Entertainment Weekly interview.

Though this certainly means bad news for Colfer and his fellow ousted co-stars, Lea Michele and Cory Monteith, it could be worse for Fox if they don’t enact some sort of crisis communications plan. Having yet to comment on the incident, Fox needs to address the hurt done unto the three actors as well as the mistake made by the Glee producers.

And most importantly, while media, both social and traditional, is a current craze, some institutions require personal attention. As in, in person! If you’re letting someone go, do so respectfully. Look them in the eye, explain the reasons for your decision, and shake their hand.

In the wake of the Weiner scandal, Spirit Airlines has proved that capitalizing on hot topics in popular culture can be an effective marketing strategy.  As explained in a recent Miami Herald article, the Miramar-based company is now roasting up “The Weiner Sale”—a 9 dollar fare with round trip purchase.  Though Spirit never mentions the congressman specifically, the jabs do anything but shy away from Anthony Weiner. The airline touts that its Weiner deal is “too hard to resist” and that patrons should “hurry to book now, before this sale gets hacked!”

While Congressman Weiner faces public humiliation, Spirit might just make bank off its “shock marketing” strategy. Current pop culture crazes like Weiner’s lewd photo or Rebecca Black’s hit single “Friday” can serve as potential marketing platforms, outlines for jingles, puns, wordplay and instant consumer recognition.

Spirit’s charade has garnered the airline national attention, with spreads in The New York Daily News, The Wall Street Journal and a segment on MSNBC. As Arun Sarma, marketing professor at University of Miami explains, “They’re quick decision-makers in the sense of, ‘Why not take advantage of this?’” Why not, indeed.

You don’t have to be as big as Spirit Airlines to take advantage of a public relations opportunity like this. If you see a chance where you can tie into a hot news story that could make sense with your campaign or your product, as Sarma says, why not? The publicity you could generate via email and word of mouth could bring you just as much buzz as Weiner himself!

New York Congressman, Anthony Weiner, has had a “ca-tweet-strophe” for the ages. A photograph “mysteriously” surfaced on Weiner’s twitter account of an underwear-clad groin.  Subjected to puns for perhaps the rest of time, Weiner has consistently refused to say “with certitude” that the picture was of his, well, you know. But he hasn’t outright denied it either.

While the situation is utterly embarrassing to say the least, Weiner’s pickle provides a lesson for all of us in crisis communications, or the process of skillfully handling news stemming from a bad situation.

The congressman has said his account was hacked, but never went to the police. It’s important to have some sort of credibility in these situations. While a hacking was definitely possible, without a second source it’s harder to believe.

Weiner has also given contradictory remarks to various media outlets. Our advice to him would have been to “Pick a stance, defend it, and stick to it.”  After he said he was “not going to allow this to be what I talk about all week,” he sat down for approximately eleven hours of interviews with NBC, Fox News, CBS, CNN, ABC, and others. Through it all, he’s remained mysterious and said different things as to his breadth of knowledge regarding the photo, and if in fact it was taken of him.

As House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said on Fox news this week, “My advice would be to come clean and clear it up. I mean, perhaps he’s trying, but I know there’s a lot of explaining going on without a lot of clarity.”

Crisis communications isn’t about spinning bad news into good, it’s about limiting the fall-out from bad events and making sure the stain doesn’t permanently taint your good reputation. Weiner could’ve used some tips from Boardroom’s crisis communications experts.

To get his panties out of a bundle, (pun intended), Weiner could and should have done the following:

o Call his trusted advisors. As soon as word gets out, call your PR consultant versed in crisis communications, as well as your attorney.

o Think before speaking. Take time to assess the situations, and the irrevocable consequences.  If Weiner wasn’t prepared to speak he should not have expressed concern, as he told Fox News, “We’re concerned about saying anything indefinitely.”  Right there, it implies that Weiner has something to hide. If you’re not prepared to speak, say, “We are determining exactly what has happened and will respond with a statement when we can.” This shows you’re actively engaged and not avoiding the questions, and the truth.

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Don Silver, COO of Boardroom Communications, will moderate a panel discussion this Wednesday at Florida Memorial University, titled: “BP, PR and the Crisis Response Lessons: One Year Later.” 

The panelists will examine the collaborative response to the spill by BP, the federal government, the Gulf States and municipal governments, with a focus on crisis management and communications breakdowns and effective tools used during the spill.

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was the world’s largest marine oil disaster. The spill left a significant, long-lasting impact on the environment, as well as, the region’s tourism and seafood industries. The spill was also a classic example of a public relations nightmare for BP in particular. How prepared was BP for this disaster? How did its spokespeople do? How well did the federal government and the Gulf States communicate and connect with the public during the spill? What crisis communications messaging tactics, including PR and social media, worked?

The panel includes:

Dr. Bill Jong-Ebot
Chair, Humanities; Associate Professor, Journalism & Mass Communication
Florida Memorial University

Susannah Costello
Vice President of Brand
VISIT FLORIDA

Cynthia Martinez
Manager, Corporate Communications
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd

Matthew Beatty, M.B.A.
Communications Director
Sonshine Communications • Black PR Wire, Inc.

Tandaleya Wilder
Founder
She Got Game Media

With all that is going on in the world, there is no shortage of work for crisis public relations pros to handle. In addition to traditional media relations, crisis management experts frequently get involved with all avenues that lead to a client’s major stakeholders and audiences such as employees, investors, customers, regulators, as well as the industry and community-at-large. As we have seen with major crises, they come in all shapes – from Charlie Sheen’s meltdown to Japan’s nuclear situation to the election recall of Miami-Dade’s mayor and a commissioner to the Yoss Law Firm implosion. Each has its own unique challenges.

On Wednesday, March 30, Business Wire and JM Family Enterprises will be hosting a panel titled, “CRISIS! Expect the Unexpected: Plan, Manage, & Respond.” The event will begin at 11:30 a.m. at JM Family, 111 Jim Moran Blvd., Deerfield Beach.

Attendees will hear from top South Florida media and crisis communication experts. Panelists include: Laura Vann, Lynn University Marketing & Communication; Don Silver, COO Boardroom Communications; Elianne Gonzalez, Insurance Information Institute; Wayne K. Roustan, South Florida Sun Sentinel.

The event is FREE! Hope to see you there. For more information visit the event page here.

In the November issue of Las Olas Lifestyle Magazine, Boardroom Communication’s founder and president, Julie Talenfeld, offers advice on what to do in the event of a crisis.

“Bad things happen to good people, executives and companies,” says Julie “How you respond can make the difference between being dragged through the mud or emerging from the crisis with as little long-term damage as possible.”

Julie explains that crisis communications is a process that requires skill in handling news stemming from a bad situation. Trying to spin bad news into a good situation is not the right approach. You have to gather all the available information, formulate a plan, prepare a statement, and then stick to your message. The key is to have a plan with a strong message, but let it be flexible enough to evolve as the situation changes.

For more tips, click on the image below to read the full article

When Hewlett Packard’s Chief Executive Mark Hurd was forced to resign, the public – and the HP shareholders – were still left in the dark about the allegations that were leveled by Jodie Fisher.  On some spurious claim of filing false expense reports, Hurd left H-P.   But the real reason, the one not addressed, was that Hurd allegedly sexually harassed Fisher.

Whether he did or did not harass her will never be known for sure – just as any act behind closed doors becomes a case of “he said, she said.”  But the silence of the man – in this case Mark Hurd, did not give the public, his board, or his shareholders any idea of his reaction.

As Smart Money and Wall street Journal reporter James Stewart said, it’s hard to have confidence in the H-P board.  H-P, after going through a PR debacle four years ago, shows it hasn’t learned its lesson.  Speak up, say your piece – defend yourself or admit wrong doing.  But don’t dodge the claim.  The advice is simple – and remains true.  Face the music, H-P.  You may not like the song, but the silence is worse.

Read more — http://online.wsj.com/article/NA_WSJ_PUB:SB10001424052748704164904575421533941899838.html

It takes a certain amount of courage to do a live interview.  Even the most seasoned speakers make a gaffe that lives in infamy.  A recent Wall Street Journal article called “Keeping Your Foot Away From Your Mouth” recaps some of the more notable misspoken comments.  Just one slip of the tongue can often remain memorable for years.

The author doesn’t really say how to prevent the mistakes.  That’s what a good public relations counselor can do via media training sessions.    With practice, some dynamic Q and A, and a dash of wariness (some reporters do try to elicit the possible faux pas in the era of ‘gotcha’ journalism!), chances of misspeaking can be minimized.

A good public relations advisor will find out about the interviewer, anticipate questions and risk areas, coach the client, encourage brevity (the less you say, the less likely you are to say something stupid) and keep his or her fingers crossed. With the media, the adage “Think before you speak” couldn’t be truer. Check out the article on Boardroom’s website at http://www.boardroompr.com/news/keeping-your-foot-away-from-your-mouth/

The Learning Channel has a show called “What Not To Wear.”  Simple enough – avoid a fashion faux pas.

Maybe someone should launch a show called “When Not To Speak.”  All the people in the military, in government, close to government, and in politics in general, could watch it.

If we’ve learned anything from the McChrystal debacle, it’s that speaking – on the record or off the cuff – can have tremendous repercussions.  McChrystal and his aides said too many things in the presence of Michael Hastings, Rolling Stone reporter.  Their words came back to bite them – and to create a situation that could have been avoided by a little silence.

The media has a way of getting people to talk.  That’s their job.  But for the rest of the world, it’s smart to know when to stay silent, when to keep the answers short, when not to use clever quips at the expense of your boss and your job.

Too many people have done what General Stanley McChrystal and his group did – they vented about things that bother them.   Word to the wise – don’t do it with media in earshot.  Nothing good can come of it.

It makes for bad relations. As Florida crisis management consultants, we know that there’s virtually no public relations spin to be put on it.