A longtime broadcast journalist, ABC News correspondent, and business communication strategist shows how you can craft an honest and authentic response to any scandal, rather than try to deny it, and ultimately bolster your brand.


In twenty years as a television reporter, T. J. Winick covered many scandals, including the British Petroleum oil spill, the Pennsylvania State University football scandal, the Catholic priest molestation scandal, and the Toyota recall of 2009-2010. The biggest mistake he's seen organizations make in their crisis communication is to try to "make it go away" by refusing to apologize, declining to comment, or going on the attack-anything to deflect attention.

Instead, Winick argues for communicating ethically, with transparency, honesty, authenticity, and empathy. Handled correctly, the way you address an egregious violation of your standards can increase your reputation capital. It can remind people of what those standards are and how strongly you believe in them.

Drawing on his intimate insider knowledge of how the media works, Winick addresses every aspect of how to respond to a scandal. He includes the Ten Crisis Commandments-universal dos and don'ts. And he gives practical advice on who you should talk to and when, who should do the talking, how to form a crisis communication team, what tone you should strike in your message, how to work with the media, and much more.