Tag Archives: CNN

Crisis Management, Interviews with experts, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Matt Horace: Policing in the Digital Age

Social media has transformed America’s confidence in law enforcement and the reputations of law enforcement professionals. We asked Matt Horace, a security and crisis management expert, how police agencies around the country can adapt to this new reality. Matt Horace is a 27-year veteran of local, state and federal law enforcement.

He is frequently featured in live broadcast news segments related to homeland security and law enforcement matters on CNN, Headline News, MSNBC, FOX and local affiliates. In his upcoming Hachette book, White, Black and Blue: A Cop Reveals What Happens Behind the Blue Line, he chronicles his career as a black law enforcement officer, the current state of policing in the digital age and his trademarked term, “Coptics.”

You are a recognized expert and have also been on the front lines of law enforcement. Do you think the current media coverage about policing in the U.S. provides the public with a balanced view of that culture and its role in our communities?

Not all — it is actually the opposite. However, perception is reality. According to The Wall Street Journal, citizen confidence in the police is at its lowest point in 20 years among Americans of all ages, education levels, incomes and races. Law enforcement in the United States faces a public relations crisis. The crisis grows with each incident of police action that is caught on video and becomes viral. Even in situations where use of force actions are justified, the public’s perceptions become exacerbated by the existence of video. Unfortunately, that’s true even before incidents have been investigated. In this sense law enforcement is losing the battle of time, because incidents can become viral before police leaders are aware of an incident. The challenge we face is that the “optics” are driving the narrative and the narrative is being driven by visceral, emotionally charged video. This is creating the condition that I call “Coptics, The Optics of Policing in the Digital Age.”

The public doesn’t have a more balanced view because law enforcement organizations have not kept up with the pace of social media and its impact on public perception. Viral video clips of the use of force by police officers permeate our senses and raise many questions. We understand that there are countless stories of police officers doing great things. But “Coptics” is the condition. It presents serious impediments to law enforcement’s ability for building trust within their communities. The actions and behavior of a small percentage of law enforcement officers dominate public perception. But they do not represent the values and behavior of law enforcers on the whole. Further exacerbating the challenge, the negative images are dominating the airwaves. If and when the paradigm shifts, public perception may follow.

What solutions can police executives adopt to address the emerging challenges with policing in the digital age?

Police executives need to commit to police reform. That includes adjusting to policing in the digital age. The convergence of technology, the use of video cameras, police action and community unrest and access have created a public relations crisis for law enforcement in America. Until law enforcement rises to meet the challenges presented by the optics of policing in the digital age, we run the risk of continuing the devolving public relations spiral. This condition has a negative impact on communities and police agencies.

One solution involves executing community policing strategies that engage the community with police and the police with community. Leadership messaging needs to convey that police are the guardians of the community and not warriors against the community. While that process is ongoing, departments should begin to adopt proactive and consistent messaging campaigns utilizing social media and reputation management strategies. The time to incorporate these proactive strategies is before a crisis, not after. In many cases, police departments and chiefs have a fractured relationship with segments of the community before an incident. The incident just exacerbates the condition.

Police departments have historically been more reactive than proactive in their communications. But the public wants to hear from law enforcement, especially during crisis situations. What is your advice to police agencies new to facing such issues?

Every week I am called on to provide commentary on national news programs regarding police use of force. In each case, the incident is uniquely different and the response is equally different. The evolution of CCTV cameras, cell phone cameras, police dashcams and police body cameras has changed our culture forever. Currently, these innovations outpace law enforcement’s ability to maintain a strategy and governance to keep up with them. Culturally, police departments have been oriented to be reactive. From this perspective, police executives need to drive an innovative response utilizing farsighted public information and crisis communication strategies. They need to begin telling their stories and communicating thoughtfully during uneventful times.

That will ensure that they are able to communicate effectively with their community during a crisis. Managing crises means managing reality. Managing perception involves creating and managing a strong online presence, understanding and managing the relationship between public perception and reality, and choosing the best spokesperson to deliver your message. Police agencies need to develop modern preparation strategies: building a crisis communication plan, ensuring that the team is multi-disciplinary, and enlisting the support of professionals. They need a campaign of authentic, positive messages and images that engage public interest and boost public confidence.

Matt Horace is a former Senior Executive Service (SES) rank executive in the United States Department of Justice. He is an advisory board member for the New York-based Federal Enforcement Homeland Security Foundation (FEHSF), past President of the 100 Black Men of New Jersey and an Adjunct Professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University. He is an expert presenter at The Hetty Group’s Coptics Program, which helps police departments become more effective in connecting and communicating with a digital media savvy public. This is the thirteenth in a series of interviews with experts whose work relates to online reputation management.

 
 
Reputation Case Study, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

We previously highlighted how Toyota utilized innovative social media strategies to repair its reputation following recalls in 2009 and 2010, but more problems, including recalls in both October and November of this past year, have threatened to undo that progress. Toyota attributed these recent recalls to “its increased diligence toward quality and safety” and “fought vigorously in recent years to defend itself against claims that its vehicles were prone to speeding out of control with no warning,” according to Forbes.

The Value of Trust

Despite the historic size of the recent settlement—and the fact that the acceleration issues have not been scientifically confirmed—Toyota appears to have decided that the benefits to its reputation outweigh the cost. As the Wall Street Journal points out, the settlement “includes no admission of fault or unlawful conduct by Toyota and allows the company to avoid the risks associated with battling a lengthy trial.”

By offering support and compensation for both current and former owners of affected vehicles, Toyota is seeking to win back the trust of some of its most important customers. “This settlement is a nod to loyal Toyota owners whose car resale values were hurt by the unintended acceleration issue and the intense publicity that followed,” auto industry analyst Michelle Krebs told Forbes. Additionally, allocating $30 million “to finance automotive safety research related to driver behavior and unintended acceleration” allows Toyota to underscore its broader dedication to safety. “We concluded that turning the page on this legacy legal issue through the positive steps we are taking is in the best interests of the company, our employees, our dealers and, most of all, our customers,” said Toyota’s Christopher P. Reynolds. “This agreement marks a significant step forward for our company, one that will enable us to put more of our energy, time and resources into Toyota’s central focus: making the best vehicles we can for our customers and doing everything we can to meet their needs.”

An Expensive Solution

With its stock on the rise and the automaker set to once again become “the world’s biggest car maker,” Toyota appears to be faring quite well. But as Pepperdine University School of Law professor Richard Cupp warns in a Reuters article, “lawsuits like these could become increasingly common, even where there is not provable physical injury on large scale.” On Business Insider USC Marshall School of Business marketing professor Ira Kalb offers some valuable advice, pointing out how better crisis management and communication could have lessened Toyota’s woes. “To keep the top spot,” Kalb says, “making a better car is not enough.”

 
 
Reputation Case Study, , , , , , , , ,
Anderson Cooper’s Deft Reputation Management

Earlier this month CNN’s Anderson Cooper revealed that he is gay in a letter to The Daily Beast’s Andrew Sullivan.

According to the Huffington Post, Cooper’s decision to officially come out followed “a long discussion with his team making sure he wasn’t committing career suicide.” With rumors that Cooper may soon marry, that letter could be part of a larger plan to open up about his personal life while closely managing the tone and context of that revelation.

A Good Choice

The decision to make the announcement was a good choice. “I’ve always believed that who a reporter votes for, what religion they are, who they love, should not be something they have to discuss publicly,” Cooper states in his letter to Sullivan. But he also acknowledges that keeping his sexual orientation private had the potential to harm his reputation for honest and accurate journalism. “It’s become clear to me that by remaining silent on certain aspects of my personal life for so long, I have given some the mistaken impression that I am trying to hide something –something that makes me uncomfortable, ashamed or even afraid. This is distressing because it is simply not true.”

Taking Control of His Message

By choosing to share the news in a thoughtful and eloquent letter to Sullivan, a friend and himself an openly gay journalist, Cooper took control of his message and preempted any threat to his reputation that his previous secrecy had posed. By doing so he was also able to frame the announcement in a way that underscores his values and reputation, both personally and professionally. “I have always been very open and honest about this part of my life with my friends, my family, and my colleagues,” Cooper wrote, adding that he has always tried to keep his private affairs and identity out of his journalism. “I’ve never wanted to be any kind of reporter other than a good one, and I do not desire to promote any cause other than the truth.”

Cooper also minimized the story’s ability to expand by making the announcement while he was in Botswana, out of the reach of the media.

The way Anderson Cooper has handled this is a model of how to get in front of potentially controversial personal issues.  On a broader level, Cooper has set an important example by treating sexual orientation as a subject that is not relevant to public or professional reputation.

 
 
Branding, Reputation Case Study, , , , , , , , , , , , ,
CNN

With its April ratings reaching their lowest point in a decade and primetime ratings the lowest in two decades, CNN’s reputation as the best source for hard news seems to no longer be enough. But rather than adopting a reputation for partisanship like those that have helped MSNBC and Fox News attract larger audiences, the Time Warner-owned network is attempting to expand its range beyond the realm of breaking news.

CNN continues to be the first place audiences go for serious news coverage. It beat its rivals’ ratings the night of the last presidential election and saw better numbers during this year’s primaries and debates and last year’s Egypt coverage. But its ratings rise and fall with the news cycle. “It does have a great reputation and a great global brand name for the casual news viewer,” former CNN researcher Brad Adgate told TVNewser. “The news is still the star at CNN and it isn’t necessarily the star at other cable news networks.”

Expanding Into Areas Beyond Its Core Strength

The network’s recent acquisition of globetrotting chef Anthony Bourdain from the Travel Network and anchor John Berman from ABC News, as well as its decision to turn to more outside producers for its documentary programs, suggests that CNN is aiming to smooth out its ratings roller coaster by expanding into areas beyond its core strength. It clear CNN does not want to give up its reputation for hard news. In the Wall Street Journal, Time Warner executives stressed “that ratings aren’t the only measure of the channel’s value, pointing to its reach online and overseas and its status as the outlet that viewers turn to when there is big news.” Its revocation of a job offer to the Fox News producer responsible for a controversial anti-Obama video indicates that CNN won’t trade in that status for the more politically charged reputations that have worked for its competitors.

But with these moves, are they leveraging their brand, or diluting it? CNN Worldwide VP Mark Whitaker described Bourdain as “a great addition to CNN’s team as we continue to broaden our coverage of news that impacts our audience’s lifestyles,” and Politico speculates that Berman’s addition to CNN’s “Early Start” morning program “may also signal an effort to move the tone of the program away from the news desk and toward the informal, kitchen-table model that has been so successful for MSNBC’s ‘Morning Joe.’”

The Experts Weigh In

The New York Times’ Brian Stelter highlights the fact that CNN is still performing well financially, but he’s not alone in acknowledging that it ranking against other networks “drives public perception — and employee pride — and declines there may gradually damage CNN’s networks as a whole.” Talking to TVNewser, CNN co-founder Reese Schonfeld offers a similar perspective: “CNN is the flagship of the entire CNN brand, and if it sinks it may destroy the entire organization.” Last month Poynter.com summarized a few other takes, including that of NYU journalism professor Jay Rosen, who wrote last year that “defining itself as ‘not MSNBC’ and ‘not Fox’ begs the question of what CNN actually is.”

We don’t know how successful CNN will be in expanding its programming, but building upon its existing strengths and preserving its core values clearly seems like the correct move, especially when MSNBC and Fox News are already known for slanting to the left and right. Bourdain may burnish the network’s image as a cultured, global source, and Berman will contribute to its reputation for news coverage, even if his approach is softer. Turner Broadcasting CEO Phil Kent hinted that more changes could be on the horizon, so it will be interesting to see how CNN’s reputation evolves as more faces (and programs) come and go.