New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is in a tough crisis situation. Every day bad news seems to come up, keeping his sexual harassment allegations in the news cycle.
Cuomo tried to apologize but he broke every mistake I laid out in my Forbes editorial – How to Apologize when the Media is Listening. If you read that article, you can learn how to authentically apologize for your mistakes.
So how do you control negative news once it’s out? And when you know more bad news is coming, how do you release it?
The end-game strategy of crisis communications is to get out of the news as quickly as possible. You don’t want any story to linger because as new developments unfold, it keeps your story in the news cycle.
News is always about advancing a story. During my time as Executive Producer with NBC, we would frequently see a story in the morning’s New York Post or Daily News – and try to figure out how to advance it.
Every day new information comes out, the more chances your negative story remains in the news.
How do you Release Bad News?
If your business is in the headlines with negative news – and more bad news is still buried away – make sure you get it out as quickly as possible. All of it.
You don’t want a drip, drip because it gives reporters new elements to advance their story. In addition, reporters are paid to uncover bad news. If a drip leads to a better angle, you’re story isn’t leaving the news cycle.
The challenge with managing negative news is you must communicate why this won’t happen again. Without that element, the story is still unresolved.
And it’s more than just issuing an apology. Many politicians, like Gov. Cuomo and President Clinton, wrongly believe an apology will lead to forgiveness with voters. Yes – Americans are very forgiving, but they don’t won’t support a hypocrite.
MACIAS PR has run crisis campaigns for politicians, nonprofits and financial organizations. If you’re facing a difficult situation and need private consultation, feel free to email us and we’ll coordinate a time to speak.
Marketing peers named MACIAS PR the 2017-2020 Strategic PR Firm of the Year. In 2015, 2016 and 2017, Finance Monthly named MACIAS PR the Financial PR Firm of the Year. The founder – Mark Macias – is a former Executive Producer with NBC and Senior Producer with CBS in New York. City & State Magazine named him a PR Political Power Player in 2021.