Communicators are increasingly conducting crisis drills in anticipation of the next big operational failure, cyberattack, misinformation campaign or labor issue.

Why it matters: Communication teams are expected to take control of the crisis by quickly contacting the right stakeholder, at the right time, through the right channel.

State of play: Axios examined three recent crises of various degrees across different industries — Lyft's earning release typo, AT&T's network outage and CBS' programming error.

In each case, the companies quickly acknowledged the problem, owned the narrative and communicated with key audiences.

• Lyft CEO David Risher was immediately vocal after an earnings release typo affected the stock price in mid-February. By quickly engaging in media interviews and posting on social media, he was able to reshape the narrative, slow down the news cycle and ease investor concerns.
• Following a nationwide outage across AT&T's network in February, the telecom provider communicated directly with regulators, engaged with the media and posted across its digital and social platforms to provide updates to its customers, beat back misinformation and offer credits.
• After a CBS programming error cut Billy Joel's concert special short — "Piano Man" was interrupted by the local news in some areas — the network quickly apologized and worked with Joel, rights owner Sony Music and local TV stations to schedule a re-airing. The swift response kept the news cycle to under 24 hours, per Muck Rack data.

Zoom in: AT&T's outage attracted over 25 million readers on Feb. 22 — 114 times higher than its average daily readership, according to a new crisis index report by reader insights platform Memo.

• However, the story died down almost as quickly as it began, with readership falling 89% the next day.
• "In the first few hours of the crisis, articles about what might have caused the outage generated the highest average readership," the report said. "By addressing the cause of the outage right away, AT&T was able to keep conspiracies at bay. Ultimately the brand's explanation attracted more readers than initial internet theories."

What they're saying: Speed should not supersede accuracy, says Brooke Buchanan, chair of U.S. crisis and risk mitigation at Edelman.

• "The worst thing you can do in the middle of a crisis is create an inadvertent additional crisis by sharing information that isn't factual, because ultimately, you'll have to walk it back," she said. "That erodes trust not only with your key stakeholders but [with] your customers, your employees and regulators."

Reality check: Oftentimes it's the internal processes, not missing facts, that slow teams down, says Nathan Miller, founder of crisis communications firm Miller Ink.

• "They need legal review, they need the 12 members of the board to sign off, they need to have another internal conversation — and those are bad reasons to wait," he added. "If you do the crisis prep ahead of time, it makes a big difference because you've already determined what the decision-making process should look like, and everybody has signed off on it."

The big picture: The rampant spread of mis- and disinformation online only increases the need for communication teams to act quickly.

• An MIT study found false news online reaches people about six times faster than the truth, yet 28% of businesses don't have a formal mis-disinformation response plan in place and 23% have no plan.

What to watch: The U.S. election and those abroad — compounded by geopolitical issues, fragmented media landscape and the rise of generative AI — have the potential to gin up more mis- and disinformation campaigns.

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Agency partners are being tapped less for developing a crisis plan and more for executing the response, per Memo's crisis index report.

By the numbers: In 2023, 76% of agencies were being brought in as a crisis started and in the response planning period, compared to 64% this year.

• Meanwhile, 36% were brought in simply to execute a strategy — up from 24% in 2023.

Zoom in: When agencies are brought in to advise on a crisis, a majority say they are most effective at developing and executing a media strategy. However, in-house pros say that's where their agency is the least effective.

• Compiling research, reporting metrics and advising on a plan is where agencies are most supportive, per the report.

Yes, but: AI-powered tools now allow for in-house folks to quickly conduct research, monitor coverage and compile status reports.

• This means outside communications consultants could have to do more to help clients see beyond the crisis and play the long game.

What they're saying: "When it comes to crisis response, there's a lot of tactical sophistication and strategic ignorance," says Miller.

• "Fancy tools that gather sentiment analysis or social listening might help you get from A to B, but the greatest value [we] can provide is helping clients play chess and better understand how move A will impact move D or E. Sometimes we're trying to be so tactically sophisticated that we lose sight of the impact on the long term."

The bottom line: AI tools should enable all communicators to quickly capture and monitor data — meaning agencies should level up their strategic counsel and lean on institutional knowledge.

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Discord has tapped Stephanie Hess to serve as its first chief communications officer, the company told Axios.

Why it matters: Hess' hiring comes as Discord is trying to reposition itself as a top gaming platform and better explain its corporate story to users, parents, game developers and policymakers.

Context: As CCO, Hess will report to Discord founder and CEO Jason Citron and will unite internal communications, external communications and policy communications with marketing.

Between the lines: Bringing comms and marketing together is critical as Discord tries to reposition itself and "get back to [its] gaming roots," says Hess.

• Her team will also be responsible for protecting corporate reputation amid heightened scrutiny around children's online safety and content moderation.

What she's saying: "There's a lot that folks don't understand about Discord," says Hess. "And so it's up to us to tell those those bigger, broader stories."

What to watch: Discord recently started rolling out advertisements across the platform, which are expected to generate even more revenue amid whispers of a future IPO.

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As chief communications and administration officer for Fortune 10 company Cencora, Gina Clark's main priority is protecting and enhancing its reputation.

• Why it matters: Clark is working to shape what's next as the 100-year-old pharmaceutical company — formerly known as AmerisourceBergen — navigates a top-to-bottom rebrand.

📍How she got here: Clark has spent more than 40 years in the health care industry, holding communication and strategy roles at Premier Inc. and HealthSouth before joining Cencora in 2006.

🏗 How it's structured: Clark sits on the executive leadership team and reports to Cencora CEO Steven Collis.

• Her team manages global public affairs; marketing; brand and customer experience; diversity, equity and inclusion; environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG); and real estate.

🗣 What she's saying: Communications was historically viewed as "a nice to have," but the need for centralized communications and quality control became clear due to the company's growth, says Clark.

• "Nobody makes a move without bringing in communications," she says. "We are very front and center in everything that goes on in the company. And in fact, I would say if we're not the first phone call [during] a big event, we are the second phone call."

👀 What she's watching: Expectations of CEOs during an election year.

• "Communications has become an important partner as every CEO is called upon to respond to political or social crises — and when you're a public company, it's always a big decision," she says.

Go deeper ... read the entire spotlight.

Carta CEO Henry Ward is still drawing attention to the negative press surrounding workplace misconduct allegations.

• This time in a job application for an open chief of staff role.

❓Which got me thinking... what's the most time consuming assignment or wildest hoop you've had to jump through to land a job?

• How did it impact your view of the company?
• Let me know. We will cover this in a future edition of the newsletter.