Regan Conley Communications
Currents Magazine
Managing crisis response on the sophomore issue of an employee magazine
During production of just the second issue of a construction company's employee magazine, a long-time employee died in an on-the-job accident. Staff were shocked and grieving; leadership needed to address safety, legal and media backlash; and everyone wanted to honor a beloved colleague. As managing editor, I led the pivot to a new cover story for the magazine.
Project Services
Employee communications
Topic development & story creation
Writer & editor
Ghostwriter
Editorial calendar
Manage publishing schedule
Assign & edit
writers’ and graphics work
Approve drafts
Markets
Bridge construction
Heavy civil construction
Infrastructure
Employee communications
Fortune 500
Magazine publishing
Approach
As managing editor, my work included a full range of editorial responsibilities:
Topic development & story creation
Managing the editorial calendar
Managing the publishing schedule
Assigning and editing writers’ work (both professional writers and staff contributors)
Approving drafts
Ghostwriting articles and the president’s letter
This issue included several articles that I ghostwrote or did significant re-write for.
To respond to the incident, the magazine’s creative director and I quickly rearranged the issue to accommodate a multi-page obituary. I also:
Revised the president’s letter to reflect the incident and address new safety initiatives
Wrote the obituary and interviewed colleagues and family
Worked with the designer, who rapidly sourced family photos and rushed turnaround on recent professional photos of the employee at work with his team
Both pieces were cleared by legal, due to an ongoing investigation.
Results
I led a timely and credible response to a major incident that was closely coordinated with corporate communications. The result was revised content and a respectful and vibrant profile of the employee that wasn’t bogged down by distractions of corporate safety admonitions.
We increased the print run to distribute extra copies to the field crew and to share with the family.
See the entire issue at the PDF link above.