FEMA Director Behind Fake Press Conference Apologizes

Eric Schwartzman

Eric Schwartzman is the principal consult at Schwartzman & Associates, a boutique public relations, SEO, and content marketing agency. He is also the author of 2 best selling books, an international keynote speaker, and a contributor at Adweek, Fast Company, TechCrunch, Yale Climate Connections, The Healdsburg Tribune, and many others.

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In this exclusive interview, Former Director of External Affairs for FEMA John “Pat” Philbin admits to his role in the notorious “Fake Press Conference” regarding the 2007 California wildfires, dealing with the fallout of bad PR, and overcoming negative bias with both the media and public.

“Pat” Philbin is the Senior Vice President at PIER Systems and the President of Strategic Communication Solutions, LLC. He has an extensive PR background with a focus on Government Relations that includes work with FEMA and the USProtect Corporation.

Show Notes:

3:26 – Philbin summarizes what happened in the now infamous press conference

5:25 – Philbin further summarizes the problems with press conference in regards to alleged plants

6:45 – Philbin on how to have an intelligent social media policy and deal with high profile debacles

8:40 – Philbin on what he would do if he had a second chance at the FEMA situation

10:30 – Philbin on overcoming pre-existing media bias

13:15 – Philbin on the persistence of bias and how to deal with it

14:15 – Philbin on the importance of communicating well

15:30 – End

Photo by Michael Held on Unsplash