| The financial crisis of 2008 exposed critical weaknesses in some of the world's largest corporations. As problems surfaced, company leadership was forced to answer to shareholders, employees, customers, government regulators and even American taxpayers. Communicators were tasked with providing difficult answers to these stakeholders in the midst of a rapidly changing media environment.;This paper employs a case study approach to examine the communication challenges that faced Lehman Brothers, AIG and Washington Mutual as the financial crisis unfolded in the latter part of 2008. Analysis focuses upon communication efforts among key stakeholders of each firm in an effort to identify successes, failures and key learnings. Analysis of these cases signals a new order of crisis communications in which flexibility and openness are essential. While preparation remains vital to effective crisis communication, practitioners must be armed with impeccable judgment to counsel leadership in such unpredictable times. |
