02/19/2025
We can't help but look at a tragedy like the air disaster in D.C. and marvel at the professionals whose job it is to help pick up the pieces.
First responders, investigators, and... yes... the public relations professionals who have to live that nightmare when the unthinkable happens.
There's a lost nobility in SERVING people who are in the depths of grief… sacrificing your comfort and your agenda to try and give THEM what THEY need... information and, ultimately, some kind of closure.
But they pay a price for it too. There's no way to immerse yourself in someone else's despair and emerge unchanged.
We learned all this... and gained a new appreciation for the toll of working as a PIO during an air disaster... in a really sobering conversation I had with Jennifer R. Hudson, APR. She worked for American Airlines during the Flight 965 tragedy 30 years ago.
And her story offers some rare insights into what’s happening behind the scenes right now… and lessons about empathy and transparency that we can ALL apply to our OWN professional practices.
A PR rep's on-site experience with the Flight 965 disaster in Colombia 30 years ago.Three weeks after accepting a new role as an American Airlines spokeswoman in 1995, Jennifer R. Hudson was paged out of bed in the middle of the night.The worst had happened.Flight 965 had disappeared in the mountain...