What do Sam Bankman-Fried and Rod Blagojevich have in common?  They never met a reporter or an open-ended question they didn’t love to use to defend their innocence against far-reaching charges (and in Blago’s case, convictions) of fraud.    Both men deployed unusual strategies to defend their cases in the court of public opinion before their

In the high-stakes world of professional sports, success isn't solely measured by on-field wins and championship titles. The reputation and public perception of a sports franchise can significantly impact its long-term popularity and profitability.   While more high-profile and consumer facing than our clients, say, in manufacturing or energy or tech, sports teams’ problems and challenges

It’s like the proverbial tree in the forest: Is it news if no one is there to cover it?  This fascinating — and frankly, depressing — report from PBS’ Judy Woodruff explores the dangers of the decline in local news. My alma mater the Medill School of Journalism put some numbers to the challenge: Since

First, there was Facebook.   In 2008, the Obama campaign was widely credited for harnessing the power of social media to fuel its unlikely path to the White House.  Today, political campaigns continue to experiment with new digital and social media tools that push the envelope on reaching audiences and creating new means for authentic

“It’s the economy, Stupid.”   I was 15 (ah-hem) when that phrase became the soundbite of the Clinton-Gore ‘96 presidential campaign.   Today, the line still resonates.  Simplicity rules. Aka the “KISS” Rule.  In our post-Clinton, post-MTV, post-long-form world, we now daily battle the ongoing onslaught of information offered up by a 24/7 news media and a

Practice makes perfect. Yes, we all know that’s the rule, but when you’re the CEO or C-suite executive dealing with so many competing interests, how do you justify the time required to go into preparing for media interviews?   From my experience advising senior leaders in the private sector and the political arena, you can learn

It’s the quiet times that worry me the most — when things are humming along, operations are working fine, teams are collaborating as they should. Just business as normal.   To me, this is the time to think ahead: What happens when the unthinkable happens? Are you ready for that moment?  If your organization is ready

The terms “issues management” and “crisis management” may seem like they’re interchangeable, but nothing could be further from the truth. They’re actually quite different and require different approaches depending on a client’s circumstances.   My business partner Dennis Culloton likes to explain that a crisis is an issue that wasn’t managed. A metaphor I’ve heard compares

Celebrities. Mega-consumer brands. Fortune 500 companies. And of course, former presidents.  No one is immune from a crisis, even your average Joes can fall victim to a crisis by going viral for the wrong reason.   As we like to say, it’s not a matter of it but when a crisis will strike.  When in crisis,

You would have to be living under a rock to have missed the cryptocurrency scandal surrounding FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. As his world began to crumble, we watched him turn to all public avenues from media interviews to social media channels to clear his name. This surely made all crisis communications experts like myself