Hurricane Sandy is a vivid reminder that a crisis can strike at virtually any time. A crisis communications plan is essential. But what if you don't have one or know where to start?

In this three part series, we'll take a look at what you should do before, during and after a crisis. 

Before the Crisis

• Give some thought to what might go wrong. Sure, a crisis is sudden and you cannot foresee every kind of emergency, but you can certainly brainstorm some of the crisis scenarios you might face.
  
  
• Weave crisis communications into your strategic planning. How will you be positioned to handle a crisis? Determine the key decision makers. Who will talk with the media? What procedures will be followed?
  

What drives news coverage more than anything else? What determines whether a story leads a newscast, gets buried on page 25 or doesn't get covered at all?

The simple answer is news value. How much news value or newsworthiness an issue or event has will determine how much interest the media will pay to it. 

So, how do you determine news value? Another great question. Defining news has always been highly subjective. What's important to one editor may get a yawn from another. What winds up on the front page of one paper may get only a couple of paragraphs in another.

To help you out, here are three characteristics of news that tend to generate more interest on the part of reporters, editors and producers. If your story fits any one of them, you're chances of coverage rise dramatically.

The Mack team is busy unpacking boxes and moving furniture as we settle in at our new office home in Naperville. We're not all that far from our previous office, so we remain ideally located for quick response to clients in the western suburbs as well as the city of Chicago.

Moving gives us with the opportunity to toss old files, notes and folders from successful projects of the past, so that we can focus on the new challenges of today. We continue to develop new and innovative ways to help our clients tell their story, whether through social media, video or more traditional public relations strategies. We're also doing more media training and coaching.

As difficult as any office move can be, we're glad it's almost over, and we look forward to meeting your needs from our new location in the months and years ahead. Let us know how we can help you! Contact us today.

News happens quickly. Gone are the days of the 24 hour news cycle when folks tuned into television news at 10 p.m. or 11 p.m. or read their morning newspaper. News is now.

What that means to potential newsmakers - executives, experts, thought leaders and business professionals - is that your response to events almost must be "now." You need to be able to strike while the iron's hot, so to speak.

That's why a statement can be just as effective as a press release, if not moreso, when trying to insert yourself into the mix of fast-breaking news coverage. No need spending hours writing a detailed press release when a few carefully crafted sentences will suffice.

Tonight's Presidential debate and the two that follow will be critical for President Obama and Governor Romney. Both candidates have an extraordinary opportunity to reach out to undecided and independent voters, especially those in the swing states.

What each one does with that opportunity will be the subject of countless other debates in the media, offices, bars and cafes across the country. 

Here are five things to keep in mind as you watch or listen to the debates.