SLOW NEWS, FASTER CRISES?

Christmas and new year can be a slow time for news.  During the lull, stories which might otherwise pass under the radar are more likely to be picked up by media, especially reputational issues that journalists have been tracking or which might have a seasonal twist. If there’s a potentially problematic development on your horizon, the bar for ‘newsworthy’ drops and the risk of your well-earned break being sabotaged increases. But how can you tell which of the many issues bubbling beneath the surface are most likely to erupt into a crisis at the worst possible moment?

There’s no official checklist of warning signs and even if there were, the news agenda can be unpredictable, even (and perhaps especially) at Christmas. Having said that, most slow-burning crises tend to share certain characteristics that you shouldn’t ignore – at any time of year. Here are ten of the most common:

 1. Wrongdoing You don’t need to have the status of Chancellor Rachel Reeves (who failed to obtain the right licence to rent out her family home) to find yourself the subject of similar scrutiny. Whether suspected or confirmed, any kind of misconduct, negligence, theft, cover-up or wrongdoing will almost always make the news – especially if you have any kind of public profile.

 2. Illicit behaviours When Andy Byron and Kristin Cabot – two married, senior executives enjoying an outing to a Coldplay concert in Boston – became the subject of a global outpouring of moral judgement, they weren’t the only ones caught in the spotlight: their company, Astronomer, had to act quickly to regain its reputational footing. Stories involving scandal tend to reflect the kinds of moral, sexual, financial or ethical issues that offer low-hanging fruit for global media.

 3. The perception of recurring failings Three decades have passed since the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence on 22nd April 1993, but multiple incidents of misconduct, cultural failings, racism and misogyny still frequently overshadow the many successes of (my former employer) the Metropolitan Police. The force was shaken further by devastating undercover footage broadcast in October 2025. A recurrence of any previous problems or incidents connected to your organisation is more likely to catch the eye of a journalist, as it can be seen as part of a pattern of failings rather than an isolated incident.

 4. Health, safety or safeguarding concerns Whether it’s a child protection case or distressing allegations of mistreatment in a care home, anything that puts people at risk - especially children and other vulnerable groups - is highly newsworthy and often attracts sustained attention, particularly as regulators respond.

 5. Conflict Issues linked to global conflicts where tensions play out locally tend to carry significant emotional heft, raising the stakes for organisations. West Midlands Police are currently learning this lesson the hard way following the banning of Maccabi Tel Aviv supporters from a match against Aston Villa; the force now faces serious allegations that it fabricated intelligence, exaggerated claims of violence and made false claims to MPs about the support of the local Jewish community.

 6. ‘David versus Goliath’ From football fans being priced out by their club to the devastating impact of the Post Office scandal, any story that pits an individual or a group against a much more powerful entity can escalate very quickly and prompt accusations of injustice or exploitation.

 7. Open secrets If you’re aware of anything that falls into the category of ‘everyone knows but no action is taken’, you may be sitting on a ticking timebomb of systemic cultural and/or leadership failings. These are particularly problematic for high-profile institutions, as the BBC found to its peril when a report found that multiple claims against MasterChef’s Greg Wallace were not dealt with appropriately.

 8. Celebrities Sometimes politicians, actors, singers, sports stars, TV presenters and other high-profile figures suddenly propel unsuspecting companies into very unwanted limelight.  When former Chancellor George Osbourne tried in 2012 to introduce a ‘pasty tax’ and the (now Lord) John Mann MP asked him when he’d last gone to Greggs, the baker’s share price dropped by 4%, wiping £20m-£30m off the company’s total market value.

 9. Contagion If other organisations or companies are in trouble for a problem that you’re also experiencing, media may seize on it as part of a pattern of mounting evidence of a systemic issue.  In 2025, separate hacking incidents affecting Marks and Spencer, the NHS, Heathrow Airport, Jaguar Land Rover, Kido nurseries, the Co-op and others were rehashed every time a new victim surfaced, and individual issues combined to reflect an even bigger threat. This dynamic means that even smaller brands, which might otherwise be overlooked, could catch a journalist’s eye unexpectedly. 

 10. Stereotype Anything that fits a familiar media narrative – ‘elite schools’, ‘greedy corporations’, ‘uncaring bureaucracy’ – is a significant risk factor because it plays into existing beliefs and makes it harder for an organisation to convince people that the story might be inaccurate. 

I hope that none of these problems will come up for you and that you’ll have a very happy Christmas and enjoyable new year! Remember, though, crises aren’t just for Christmas, so if you’re dealing with something that might warrant specialist support, do feel free to get in touch for a confidential, no-commitment chat.