Crisis guru Jonathan Bernstein, will be joining my PR Campaigns class this Thursday to talk about the Matt Bandy case specifically and using the Web to fight crisis generally.
To get you up to speed on this case, here are a few posts:
The Matt Bandy Story: Justice4Matt.com
The 20/20 Story
Classically Liberal: They couldn’t win in court, so they smear a teen in the press (2/10/07)
My post on the topic
Fox News story from 1/28/07
Looking forward to our chat, Jonathan.
Sometimes for students, it’s difficult to understand how quickly a crisis can destroy your livelihood, your peace of mind, or even your life, and how important it is to have good counsel.
Jonathan Bernstein, a well-respected crisis manager (and soon-to-be-guest in my Advanced PR Writing Class), represents a family with a story we can all imagine happening to us. This crisis, about child pornography images that 16-year-old Matt Bandy says he did not put on his computer. However, he’s being charged with a felony.
You can see the full story on Matt’s Web site: www.justice4matt.com. And think about the question the header asks – how could you go to prison for life for images someone else put on your computer? And think about how you would fight for your life, your reputation and your future.
In crisis management, we must deal with two “courts” – the court of law and the court of public opinion. Using new and traditional media to wage this battle – Jonathan is fighting for support on the court of public opinion. And you can join the fight.
What do you think? Are you vulnerable? What could Matt do to help get the word out about his case?
