By Alex Liddington-Cox and James Fitzpatrick There aren’t many assignments more stressful than facing the media when your company is in crisis. Whether it’s a door-stop interview, radio hook-up or a media conference, the stakes are high as the journalists (and through them, your stakeholders) hang on every word. But it also presents a positive opportunity… an opportunity to restore trust in your organisation and confidence in your leadership. Like any test or performance, the

By Alex Liddington-Cox and James Fitzpatrick As any media and communications professional or company spokesperson will know, when a crisis occurs, everything unfolds rapidly. The pressure is on to put together a response and get a handle on the story before it spirals of your control. If you're unprepared, building strategy on the run, and choosing words based on 'gut feel'; there's only a small chance you'll succeed. Every time our team gets called out to support an organisa

The Prime Minister’s public relations staff have worked hard for their money over the last two weeks, with the arduous Labor leadership struggle reaching crisis point, Gillard Wins Australian Leadership Clash Against Rudd: Timeline. They have certainly been challenged by the recent Labor government leadership crisis. A challenging fortnight for Labor’s public relations people began on 19th February with the viral YouTube release of embarrassing archived video outtakes depict

The truth comes out in the end, as Elvis Presley so astutely observed: “Truth is like the sun. You can shut it out for a time, but it ain’t goin’ away.” Particularly with advancing technology – now phones, cameras and visual media devices are more accessible and less conspicuous – organisations that have something to hide would do well to remember Presley’s wise words, or risk inviting a crisis to their door. Just nine months ago, many Australians watched as an explosive F

You probably noticed that Australia Day 2012 proffered more for the media than the standard scenes of revelry involving barbeques, beers, and people wearing the Australian flag as a cape. Instead the news channels were awash with reports about the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader’s brush with Tent Embassy activists outside the Lobby restaurant in Canberra (Aboriginal activists attack Gillard, Abbott on Australia Day). For public relations professionals, or for those seek