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20 Feb 2024

Celebrating Journalism and Democracy with the National Press Foundation Dez News

        One of my favorite classes at the University of Minnesota was an elective journalism law and ethics course. Ironically, I never wanted to be a journalist in the trenches of reporting the news, but I always knew the news was important and had a deep respect for The First Amendment and […]

11 Feb 2016

What’s a ‘win’ in a crisis situation? Aaron Walker

I’m often asked, “What’s a ‘win’ in a crisis situation?” And, “Are there times that there is just no saving the client?”  It’s a pretty reasonable question, considering our 24-7 news cycle world. Quite simply, the primary goal for crisis managers is to try and change the minds of the general public and sway media […]

18 Dec 2015

Newseum lists their top 10 podcasts The Newseum

As 2015 winds down, I was pleased today that The Newseum listed on their Twitter account my January 2015 speaking engagement as one of their top 10 podcast episodes. If you didn’t get a chance to listen in person here’s a link to the podcast.  The topic was Managing Scandal in the 24-hour News Cycle.

14 Dec 2015

Chipotle Mexican Grill – Caught in the “Fiasco Vortex” Aaron Walker and Stephanie Allen

America’s fast food darling, Chipotle Mexican Grill, is caught in America’s crisis du jour as the result of food contamination issues linked to hundreds of sick customers across 10 states. Chipotle is caught squarely in the “Fiasco Vortex” and rather than seeking to “come out ahead,” the company should be squarely focused on fixing operational […]

17 Jul 2015

Eric Dezenhall at the Newseum

This July Eric Dezenhall spoke at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. With former Assistant Secretary of Defense Torie Clark about handling online attacks on brand and personal reputations.  Sign up below to receive updates from Eric Dezenhall regarding speaking engagements and recently published articles. Sign Up Now

29 Apr 2015

Baltimore Mayor’s Failure to Be Seen, Communicate Steven Schlein

After the 2008 presidential election, a Reagan Library spokesperson joked that the facility was really busy. You’d think the punch line was that conservatives were pining for their hero, but, in fact, it was the Obama team making request after request for copies of the Great Communicator’s speeches and photos. Why? Because they understood that governing requires […]

28 Jan 2015

What time is the Super Bowl? Josh Culling

Even if you are currently under a rock, by now you’re aware of the controversy surrounding the New England Patriots’ alleged deflating of footballs to gain an edge in the AFC Championship Game. The coverage of “Deflate-gate” has been ubiquitous and hysterical. A Google News search for “NFL Deflate gate” turns up 73 pages of […]

13 Jan 2015

Media Complicit in Manufacturing Political Crises Aaron Saunders

The old adage goes, “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.” While the saying rings true, it often provides justification for a preordained conclusion. However, when crisis strikes – particularly political “scandals” – there is often nothing more fueling it than a smoke machine.

04 Nov 2014

Crisis and Context for Virgin Galactic Eric Dezenhall

Richard Branson had it right when he complained about people who knew nothing about the crash of SpaceShipTwo diving in front of cameras to analyze what must have gone wrong in the Mojave Desert. Welcome, Sir Richard, to the “Fiasco Vortex,” a concept I write about in my new book, Glass Jaw: A Manifesto for […]