Navigating Crisis Communications: PR Storms in the digital age‍ ‍

An in-person event at 6pm on Tuesday 26th April 2026 at The Conduit.

Event Description

In an era of ‘permacrisis’ - where issues escalate, attention fragments, and trust erodes - how can organisations adapt their crisis communications to stay credible and effective?

The event included leading practitioners and experts unpacking what’s changed, what hasn’t, the importance of pre-crisis planning , and how to respond in the first hour, day, and week of a crisis.

We debated recent UK flashpoints – including the Marks & Spencer cyber-attack, reputation management challenges at the BBC, and the Post Office Horizon scandal.

We also discussed the media issues surrounding the crisis communications industry – the impact that AI is having, how to best handle social media, and what it takes to manage a crisis successfully.

The event was organised by the Media Society in partnership with the Conduit.

Event Panel

Simon McCoy (Chair) – Broadcaster and journalist, and former BBC presenter. Royal Commentator for ABC, conference moderator and media trainer.

Anoushka Mutanda Dougherty – a BBC broadcaster, journalist, and radio presenter. Host of the BBC Sounds podcast Fame Under Fire, which explores high-profile celebrity legal battles and the impact of social media on modern fame.

Abby Mangold – MD of Mangold Consultancy, a PR company that specialises in crisis communications. Abby founded her company in 2014, after working at the BBC and then global PR agency Burson-Marsteller.

Scott Langham - Senior Counsel, Reputation Management for Global Agency, VCCP. Previously, he was Head of Crisis at Freuds and Deputy Managing Editor of MailOnline. He also spent ten years at the Press Complaints Commission.

Event Schedule

6:15pm: Pre-event socialising and networking

A cash bar will be available for refreshments.

6:30pm: Event begins

7:45pm: Event ends

Networking drinks before and after the discussion event with pay bar.