The
Art of Crisis Communications Management
by
Joel Leyden,
President, Leyden Communications (Israel)
Crisis
Communications PR
1.
What is Crisis Communications? Crisis communications is the art of working
with the media when an event, which could have negative, devastating impact to
a client, suddenly starts to gather hurricane strength. It is the most creative
and exhausting counseling that a PR professional would be asked to perform as
he turns a negative into a positive. 2.
Be Prepared The best way to put out a fire is to have fire engines ready.
Secure the most professional media / public relations / public affairs professionals
and tools available - and keep them on standby. It is not always easy to anticipate
a crisis (war, terror attack, act of nature, news leaks, fire, scandal, bankruptcy,
crime, etc.) but when it does occur you should have an emergency media response
team in place ready to react quickly and honestly in handling and controlling
a hungry media. Have checklists and flowcharts prepared for response measures
and human resource tracking. 3. Get the Facts Secure all
of the facts. Go over these facts with operations and or legal counsel as to what
can be released to the media and must remain confidential. Attempt to reveal as
much information as possible without jeopardizing your client's image. Coordinate
morning think tank briefings with your public relations and operations staff,
discuss the situation and listen to all ideas presented. Keep in constant communication
with all members of the crisis management team. Have back-up emergency equipment
available for internal and external communications - from mobile telephones, beepers,
VHF walkie-talkies to portable electric generators. 4.
Be Proactive You must be proactive. If you respond to crisis events you
will find yourself crushed, overwhelmed, out paced and out of control. The media
constantly feeds on written copy and image material - print and electronic - provide
an effective outlet for the dissemination of news and feature material, your news
which provides your side of the story. If you don't control the news with an immediate
and constant flow of facts, the media will find and circulate rumors. Prepare
news releases, photographs, maps and videos. Have e-mail and fax blasters prepared
to get your messages out. Request air time on TV and radio news programs, coordinate
focus groups, create posters, TV advertising and car bumper stickers. Coordinate
celebrity appearances for third party endorsement and street demonstrations by
supporters of your cause. These elements always get a positive image in the media
for your client. 5.
The Media Center The Media Center for a crisis communications exercise
is no different than that of a media center or communications information center
for a Hi-Tech or Office Supplies trade show. Set up the media center near
the event, but not close enough for long range camera lens to interfere with your
clients operational work. Have several workstations available for the media
with computers, Internet, telephones and faxes. Don't forget notebooks and pens.
Have food and coffee available. Create a comfortable working home -
a resource center for the media with your news releases, fact sheets, media kits,
spokespeople and other media material available for review sitting a few feet
away. If your dealing with an international issue take cultural and language
elements into consideration - make sure to have professional, bicultural spokespeople
who speak English, French, German and Spanish. Create an exhibit area where
the media can use visuals for their filed reports. Have
crisis communications field stations prepared at every entrance to a physical
crisis event site. Have professional spokespeople stationed at these posts with
the latest facts - avoid having police, fire and or military operational personnel
speak to the media. Use only trained media professionals to convey your message.
The media professional will also act as a soft buffer between police, fire, military
and or emergency medical operations personnel and the media, explaining to your
operational team what your job is and how they can assist. 6.
Alert the Media Gather the media's mobile telephone numbers, beeper numbers
and e-mail addresses to quickly and efficiently contact the media with breaking
news. Also get their office numbers as a back-up. On a government level this is
done by issuing temporary photo ID press cards and having this information secured
and data based. Have the media wear these press credentials at all times. 7.
Use The Internet The Internet is the fastest and easiest way to upload
information for editors and reporters to download and publish. Create an Internet
site which is being maintained 24x7 with the most relevant written material and
images. Make sure that you have the most effective Internet security firewalls
and anti-virus protection in place. Direct e-mail marketing is another potent
tool used by PR crisis communications practitioners. During a crisis, information
is critical and the management of that information and getting it disseminated
properly to the public and to the media could determine life and death in many
cases. 8.
Implement a Physical Perimeter If the crisis involves a physical conflict
or damage from a natural disaster, have the police, fire department and or military
set up marked tape and signs around the area clearly stating: crime scene, closed
military zone or simply "do not enter." When the World Trade Center
tragedy occurred, for at least three days there was no physical media perimeter
set up. No signs, no tape. This led to added confusion on the scene between
reporters, photographers, police, FBI and national guardsman. The perimeter controls
both the public and the press from tampering with evidence and or endangering
themselves. 9.
Monitor the News Set up a team whose only function is to monitor and analyze
both the electronic and print media 24x7. When a story or rumor appears whose
content is not accurate or favorable to your cause you will now have an effective
apparatus to react with quickly and be in a position to neutralize the negative
content. In some cases - try to obtain wire service copy before it is transmitted
- many an error has been stopped in it's track by assisting and working closely
with the media to help them keep their facts straight and accurate. 10.
Create Daily Briefings If the media does not come to you - you are in
trouble. If you are not controlling the flow of information the media will seek
out other sources (rumors) which may be less reliable and negative to the image
you want to portray. Daily news conferences held with experts in the area
related to the crisis will provide the media with much needed copy and footage.
It's important to coordinate the time of the news conference / briefing with the
deadlines of the press. 11.
Create Daily Soundbytes In this age of information overload, people don't
have the time to read full stories. Stories are told in two minutes on nightly
TV news programs. Get your relevant soundbytes out - control the headlines and
keep your messages simple. Have at least one person analyze the events of
the day and contingency events waiting to happen. Respond with relevant soundbytes
that are then distributed to your crisis communications PR information team. 12.
The Truth - and Only the Truth Make sure that all information which is
disseminated to the media is truthful. If one item is false it will tear down
your sacred wall of credibility. If you have damaging material - that no
one is begging for you to disperse (unless it has already made its way to a media
outlet) then keep it close to your chest. Don't wake up sleeping dogs. If the
material is released - you must react immediately with a truthful response. You
can also create diversions if the issues you are dealing with are extremely sensitive. 13.
Spokespeople You will need to coordinate a "speaker's bureau"
- trained experts who are familiar with the situation and are able to articulate
on camera. Even the best of speakers can use last minute media coaching to assure
that they are using the right buzzwords and that their body language appears confident
and smooth. Make sure that all spokespeople are informed of all of the facts in
real time and are using one singular message. Create shifts - day and night -
to adjust for different time zones and assure that your speakers don't get burned
out. 14. Speak
Slowly This is perhaps the most important element of being a professional
spokesperson. By speaking slowly you are able to organize your thoughts and control
each and every word you articulate. Speaking quickly illustrates a sign of
nervousness - by speaking slowly you transmit confidence and calm. In addition,
non-English speakers will understand you and your comments more accurately. 15.
Acknowledge When You Are Wrong If your client has said or done something
which was inaccurate or clearly wrong - admit this action to the press with an
apology. Unlike Richard Nixon, don't ever say that you "are not a thief"
when you have been caught red handed. Be honest and sincere - both the media and
the public will respect and appreciate this action. 16.
Keep Your Tape Recorders On Protect yourself and your client. You never
want to go into a news conference or an interview without having your own tape
recorders and or videotape running. When the media sees these control mechanisms
in place they are less likely to misquote you. And if you are misquoted - you
will now be prepared to avoid a "he said, she said" situation.
In addition, if inaccurate comments are not retracted or have created more damage
to your client, you are now in a position to sue for libel and or slander. 17.
Nothing is Off the Record When a journalist says: "OK, let's speak
off the record" - don't trust them. Yes - the majority of journalists are
honest and will honor your comments, but you will always have one or two which
will turn off the camera lights but keep the tape running! In a crisis situation
you cannot afford to have "leaks" coming out of the media. 18.
Crowd Control
Members of the media are among the most competitive and creative of our species.
You cannot control 1,000 journalists even with an army of professional communications
spokespeople. Create media pools and select members for this pool from the
very suggestions of the media who are covering your event. In some cases,
where police, military or guards are involved you never want to get to the stage
of having photos of your police, military and or guards shooting warning shots
at reporters. Nor do you ever want your security personnel to resort to smoke
or stun grenades to prevent a "charge" by a pack of overly aggressive
media which may have agitators dispersed alongside them. If you believe that members
of the media will disrespect a police or fire line and or a closed military zone
- set up barbed wire on the ground which will physically prevent a charge and
any negative confrontations with security personnel. Try to provide the media
with the best vantages points from where they can film and work from - an area
from which your your operations will not be jeopardized. Have members of your
crisis management communications team at these various points. 19.
Never Say "No Comment" If you are asked questions that you wish
to avoid or don't have the answers to - respond by stating: "That's a good
question, I don't have the answer, let me get back to you on that". Get the
reporter's telephone number and state that you will get back to him with a response
shortly. If you have the time, follow-up with a response to that reporter's question.
You never want to appear as if you have something to hide. You never want
rumor substituting for fact. 20.
Create Good Vibes If the crisis situation is ongoing (i.e. - hostage
taking) and the media is camped out waiting all day in a blistering sun and freezing
night temperatures for breaking news - feed them. Go to their hotels or to a perimeter
barricade - ask if they personally need anything. Hand out water bottles, fruit,
sandwiches, coffee, cake and good will. Believe it or not - the media consists
of warm blooded human beings who are under tremendous pressure to produce for
their publishers. Try to make the situation as comfortable and as safe for them
in the field as possible. In doing so, you will create a friendlier environment
to get your message out to the world. Lastly,
always express optimism and sympathy for all parties involved. Hours after
the September 11th tragedy took place, speaking from the crisis site, New York
City Mayor Rudy Giuliani stated: "Returning to normal shows we are not afraid,
shows confidence. So do things. Get out. Go to stores. Go to restaurants. Don't
feel locked in. This is a horrible thing that's happened, the full dimensions
of which we can't begin to understand. But we simply must continue to go about
our lives". Expressing
the facts with honesty and leadership during a crisis event is your first and
last responsibility.
- 30 -
Commendation
from the Israel Defense Forces For Crisis Communications Media Management |