How a Communications Vacuum Creates a Crisis
Derick Waller is a five-time Emmy Award–winning journalist, spokesperson, and media coach with 15 years of frontline experience reporting for major outlets including ABC 7 New York and CBS News.
💡When ten different people in positions of leadership feel comfortable spilling the beans (anonymously) to a reporter at The New York Times, that's a clear sign your communications strategy isn't working.
Throughout my career, I’ve seen firsthand how a narrative vacuum fuels speculation. In high-stakes environments, silence doesn’t create control. It invites crisis.
The faucets on W. 57th Street starting dripping as soon as Bari Weiss took the reins as editor-in-chief of CBS News last week. Weiss's subsequent demand to crack down on the leaks was then also leaked to the press.
(I've attached a gift link, so you can read the reporting for yourself.)
The 41-year-old opinion writer was brought on to shape news coverage at one of America's premier legacy news outlets, but so far she hasn't even managed to effectively shape coverage of her own story.
Weiss declined to be interviewed for The Times article, allowing unnamed employees to set the tone.
Here's the lesson: The story will be written with or without you. The most effective executives engage quickly, offer clarity, and set the tone from the outset. Proactive transparency isn’t a vulnerability. It’s essential to an effective strategic communications plan.
