{"podcast":{"title":"Communication Breakdown","slug":"communication-breakdown-7019931","podcast_index_feed_id":7019931,"rss_url":"https://www.spreaker.com/show/6301456/episodes/feed","website_url":"https://ocrnetwork.com/podcasts/communication-breakdown","image_url":"https://d3wo5wojvuv7l.cloudfront.net/t_rss_itunes_square_1400/images.spreaker.com/original/bb1654c4c2ff3f77a3c1f292f51b3d52.jpg","author":"Observatory on Corporate Reputation LLC","episode_count":86,"summary":"Communication Breakdown is a postgame show for PR pros. In each episode, hosts Craig Carroll (Founder of the Observatory on Corporate Reputation, Editor of the SAGE Encyclopedia of Corporate Reputation, Lecturer at Rice University’s Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Business) and Steve Dowling (former head of communications at OpenAI and Apple) discuss the strategies and tactics companies are using in high-visibility crises and PR initiatives, giving listeners unique insight into how key decisions are made. The podcast offers two unique perspectives on communications theory and practice, drawing on Craig’s research and teaching on reputation at USC Annenberg, UNC Chapel Hill, and universities worldwide, and Steve’s two decades of experience as a comms leader at some of the world’s most influential companies. Whether you’re a PR professional, marketing executive, or just curious about how companies make key communications decisions, you’ll find these discussions insightful and valuable.","last_synced_at":"2026-06-05T04:21:27.467075+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/communication-breakdown-7019931"},"episode":{"title":"Friendly skies vs. strong headwinds","slug":"friendly-skies-vs-strong-headwinds","published_at":"2026-03-26T13:00:03+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/communication-breakdown-7019931/friendly-skies-vs-strong-headwinds","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/communication-breakdown-7019931","url":"https://www.spreaker.com/episode/friendly-skies-vs-strong-headwinds--70884926","audio_url":"https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/70884926/ep_76_friendly_skies_vs_strong_headwinds.mp3","summary":"In this episode of Communication Breakdown, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll examine how United and Delta communicated through a punishing week for the airline industry, marked by soaring fuel costs, geopolitical instability, airport disruption, and rising public frustration. They break down why United CEO Scott Kirby’s memo worked on substance but raised questions on timing, and why Delta’s more political framing may have helped direct blame without fully relieving customer frustration. The second half of the episode introduces Craig’s emerging “developmental warrant” framework, a way for communications leaders to test whether a company has truly earned the right to make a claim. For CEOs, chief communications officers, and reputation leaders, this episode is a sharp lesson in executive messaging, credibility, operational readiness, and the risks of saying something before the business can prove it. Takeaways United’s memo shows that transparent executive communication works best when the numbers are clear, the tradeoffs are explicit, and employees hear it before the market does. Timing changes how a message is interpreted. A strong memo released late on a Friday can weaken the confidence the message is trying to project. The “developmental warrant” idea gives communications teams a more disciplined way to challenge leadership claims before they create long-term reputation risk. Topics Mentioned airline industry, crisis communication, fuel costs, executive messaging, employee communications, earnings guidance, stakeholder perception, Congress, TSA delays, customer frustration, timing and tone, corporate reputation, structural credibility, developmental warrant, leadership communication, operational readiness, corporate governance Companies Mentioned United, Delta, Air…","meta_description":"In this episode of Communication Breakdown, Steve Dowling and Craig Carroll examine how United and Delta communicated through a punishing week for the air…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1881,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/communication-breakdown-7019931/episodes/friendly-skies-vs-strong-headwinds/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/communication-breakdown-7019931/friendly-skies-vs-strong-headwinds.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}