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| The Jones Report |
| November 2001 |
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| Public Relations |
| When ‘Normal’ Isn’t
Anymore – Working with the Media in a Crisis |
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| By Betty A. Lovell, APR |
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| Minutes after the attacks on the
World Trade Center and the Pentagon, while many
employees were leaving the office to be with their
families, public relations and marketing professionals
nationwide were gearing up for some of the longest
and most stressful days of their professional careers.
While professionals from all industries were impacted
by the events of September 11, marketing and public
relations professionals found themselves under more
scrutiny than ever in terms of how they represent
their client and/or company to the media. |
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| It’s doubtful if top executives
of any of the companies housed at the World Trade
Center buildings foresaw the kind of catastrophe
that occurred. But when the unthinkable happened,
some companies began implementing crisis management
plans that enabled them to take care of employees
and to resume business within a matter of days,
or even hours. Trouble is – you can’t
implement a crisis management plan if you don’t
have one. |
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| A Wake-Up Call |
| Corporate America received a wake-up
call on September 11. Professionals are attempting
to redefine a ‘normal’ business routine,
although ‘normal’ is no longer. It’s
not a matter of “if” but “when”
a crisis will impact your world and your organization.
While countless professionals have participated
in some form of crisis management training, far
too many people need to dust off the crisis management
guide in order to know what steps to take next. |
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| Public relations and marketing professionals
are faced with challenges today that they never
dreamed possible. For those with a crisis plan in
place, their responsiveness to a variety of audiences
is swift and meaningful. For those without one,
the challenge is much greater and often has negative
fallout. |
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| Crisis Management Guidelines |
| While no crisis plan can fully prepare
an individual for events like the recent terrorist
attacks, using basic crisis management guidelines
can help a company navigate its way through challenging
times: |
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Bring
the situation under control, as much as possible.
People matter most. Always protect people
first and property second. While three weeks
have passed since the terrorist attacks, this
is a delicate time. People do not want to
dwell on the tragedy, but they also don’t
want management to forget about the devastation
and how it impacts everyone on a personal
level. It’s important to demonstrate
a balance of both productivity and nurturing
with your internal team to maintain the emotional
well-being of those involved. |
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Gather the facts.
Get the who, what, where, when, why, how and
what next. |
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Act quickly.
Spare no expense to distribute the information
you determine the media and others should
have. Be mindful to how you distribute information—a
message on your company’s Intranet may
serve well for disseminating the basic facts
in response to a crisis, but if someone has
suffered a personal loss, a face-to-face visit
is mandatory. |
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Communicate quickly
and accurately. Communicate regularly
with key audiences. After the initial hours
of a crisis, additional problems will most
likely emerge with employees, vendors, customers,
etc. Let those involved know what you expect
from them, and what they can expect from you.
Assertive communication focuses on the most
important aspects of the problem and moves
the entire process forward to resolution.
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Give the media as
much information as possible. The
media will get the information (perhaps inaccurately)
from other sources. Don’t hold information
that can be found on a police report or the
like. Reporters can retrieve this themselves
and your helping them in the process is not
only appreciated but works toward building
a relationship that will help get everyone
through the crisis. |
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Don’t speculate.
If you don’t know the facts, say so
and promise to get back to the media as soon
as possible. Then be sure to do so. |
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Protect the integrity
and reputation of the organization.
Do the right thing. |
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Report your own bad
news. Don’t allow another source
to inform the media first. Your first responsibility
is to the safety and well-being of the people
involved. Once safety has been restored, face
the public and face the facts. |
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Perform an act of goodwill
immediately after the crisis when appropriate and
possible. In response to the terrorist
attacks of September 11, companies who had a sense
of crisis preparedness had plans in place within
the first 48 hours after the attacks and were launching
memorials, tributes and fundraisers for the victims
and their families (as well as the firefighters)
by the weekend that followed the attacks. For a
tragedy of the magnitude of the New York and Washington,
DC, attacks, it’s helpful to join forces with
others in your industry. Whatever the chosen benevolent
involvement, make sure this is an effort that is
equal in importance to other back-to-business undertakings.
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| Working with Media in a Crisis |
| When working directly with the media,
it’s important to remember that reporters
provide few surprises in a crisis situation. They
want to get the basic information easily and quickly,
usually with some kind of human interest angle.
Print reporters usually will need and use more information
than their colleagues representing broadcast media.
Newspaper reporters are interested in basic facts
for today’s edition and background and implications
for tomorrow’s edition. Broadcast journalists,
on the other hand, will want less but will be in
more of a hurry and will seek more updates. |
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| Depending on the magnitude of the
crisis, you can often expect the media will be on
the scene immediately. In other situations you will
need to initiate contact and provide information.
As soon as the basic facts are known, you should
be in contact with the media. The initial contact
should be followed with a formal statement, including
any updated information and plans for investigating
the incident. Members of the media will expect to
receive complete information: background material;
some indication of how the organization intends
to proceed; information about the impact on your
staff and volunteers; regular updates; and after-the-crisis
follow up. |
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| A company spokesperson should be
forthright in dealing with media questions. There
are, however, some questions he or she simply cannot
and should not answer, including: money estimates
of damage; insurance coverage; speculation as to
the cause of the incident; allocation of blame,
or anything “off the record.” It’s
important that the company’s spokesperson
help facilitate the reporter’s request for
information and the like. An answer of “no
comment” is not acceptable because this answer
can imply a lack of cooperation, an attempt to hide
something or a lack of concern. Good crisis management
calls for open, honest communication with various
target audiences. |
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| Balancing Act |
| The comment heard most often during
a crisis situation: “I just want things back
to normal” or “I want things to be the
way they used to be.” Sadly, “normal”
changes completely during a crisis. In light of
the recent terrorist attacks and the threat of additional
attacks, “normal” is no longer. We must
now move to redefine “normal” and focus
on a new, different sense of normalcy. In moving
through a crisis, it’s important to strike
a healthy balance of work and remembering. The emotional
scars of those around you may not be visible, but
they are there. |
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| When getting back to business, it’s
important to balance the work with some “higher
purpose” initiatives. People ultimately want
their lives to have meaning. A crisis merely brings
this to the surface. A prompt implementation of
visible methods demonstrating a balance of “getting
back to work and remembering” positions a
company as a compassionate and caring corporate
citizen in the eyes of its employees, vendors and
customers. |
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