Hennes Communications is staffed exclusively by senior-level consultants with many years of experience in crisis management and crisis communications. We are flexible, responsive and we’re able to get up to speed quickly, understand your issues, develop the best strategy for your situation and then partner with you to execute that strategy. Most important, our entire practice is focused on helping clients prepare for and manage crisis situations and effectively navigate through issues that threa

Paddy Power, an Irish betting company, launched this hilarious commercial to target a behavior that has become too normalized — sports fans on Twitter confidently criticizing professional athletes from the comfort of their sofas. Shot in a…

Here’s another thoughtful piece from our friend and colleague, Tony Jaques, Director of Issue Outcomes Pty Ltd, in Australia… In the sad pantheon of non-apologies, “I regret” or “it is regrettable” rank alongside the perennial “I’m sorry if you were…

By Ted Skinner, writing for Risk Management… On January 5, 2024, Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 was flying at 16,000 feet when a door plug blew off the Boeing 737 MAX 9 fuselage. The two seats adjacent to the opening were, by chance, unoccupied. That…

By Bruce Hennes, Hennes Communications Next time you’re watching morning or evening network shows with live music — Today, GMA, Colbert, Fallon, or SNL — notice the editing: cut to Camera A, cut to Camera B, pull back A, pan B, quick to C, fade A…

“The Curious Case of Sidd Finch” is famous not just as a baseball story but as a landmark experiment in narrative, credibility, and mass‑media trust. Written by George Plimpton and published in the April 1, 1985 issue of Sports Illustrated, the piece…

By Frank Ramos for Above the Law Communication is advocacy. Young lawyers often think the job is to know the facts, know the law, and then say the right thing. That is only part of it. The harder task is deciding how to say it so a client trusts you,…

Introduction by Bruce Hennes, Hennes Communications Cat YouTube? Happy Dog TV? Relax My Cat? DOGTV? If you’re thinking, “What on earth does Cat YouTube have to do with crisis communications?”, that’s exactly why this New York Times piece belongs…

By Ethan Mollick for One Useful Thing I have written eight of these guides since ChatGPT came out, but this version represents a very large break with the past, because what it means to “use AI” has changed dramatically. Until a few months ago, for…

By: Amaris Castillo for Poynter Laurie Hertzel remembers the old building on Portland Avenue in downtown Minneapolis and the space it had carved out just for books. At the time, she was the Minneapolis Star Tribune’s books editor, a fitting role for…

By Lisa Lang for Above the Law As in-house lawyers, we are often called in when there are problems to solve and challenges to overcome. The phone rings. The meeting invite goes out. Something has gone sideways, and leadership needs everyone…

By Thom Weidlich for PRCG | Haggerty LLC Not every crisis is a major facility fire or data breach. Companies must watch for the smaller crises, too. Let’s say, for example, a salesman in your car dealership refuses to sell a vehicle to a customer…

By Sam Allcock for FEAST Boards must monitor how CEOs and executives present themselves as public and private personas become inseparable As CEOs increasingly become the public face of their organisations, their personal brands are now inseparable…

By Justin Snair, Sarah K. Miller and Emma Erwin, writing for the Texas Division of Emergency Management and DomesticPreparedness.com Bad alerts can cost lives—jargon, acronyms, and unclear actions waste precious characters. This article shows how…

By Tony Jaques, Director of Issue Outcomes Pty Ltd. Outrage moves faster than facts—and “just stay silent” is rarely neutral. This article offers a practical way to decide whether to speak on contentious issues and, more importantly, how to make that…

By Julia Minson, writing for The New York Times A Harvard researcher describes a fraught conversation about immigration with her conservative, veteran father-in-law—and shares the behavioral-science playbook that kept it constructive. The takeaway…

By Andrew Marchand for The Athletic Tom Brady is on the other end of the phone line from Miami, going behind-the-scenes of his daunting rookie year as an NFL TV analyst. During postgame review sessions of his performances, he would say: “Why’d I say…

By Mark Athitakis for Associations Now 2025 has been a year of uncertainty and disruption for associations, as they’ve watched their members and industries get pushed and pulled by the political winds. Are tariffs in the offing, or not? Are members…

By Bruce M. Hennes, Hennes Communications Lawyers do not swear an oath to a client, a partner, or a paycheck. They swear an oath to the Constitution, to the courts, and to the law itself. That promise is easy to recite in a packed, ceremonial…

Regular readers of this newsletter know that we love commercials. The ability to tell a complete story in one minute, perhaps to spur action or tug a heartstring, is an art form unto itself. Please, watch this commercial. Then watch it a second time…