A few notes from the crisis media relations workshop I attended with Dr. Joseph V. Trahan, III, APR, Fellow:
The word crisis in Chinese means dangerous opportunity.
When planning or working through for a crisis, you should
- Anticipate
- Coordinate
- Cooperate
- Communicate
The three C’s of media relations
- Control
- Competence
- Concern
When it comes to preparing for questions, know the 5x5x5. Be prepared with five points you want to push out, five bad things you expect to reply to and five ugly things you hope you won’t be asked. If you prepare the answers to at least 15 questions before an interview, you’ll be better prepared.
The two most important things for the interview are continuity and consistency of the message. Other important areas of crisis communication include:
- Security-what can’t be released and why
- Accuracy-tell what you need to know, just the facts, don’t speculate
- Propriety-protect family identities, especially until the next of kin has been identified
- Policy-only disagree with policy behind closed doors, never disagree on the record
Messages need to be:
- Consistent—stick with one label for the situation
- Short
- Jargon-free
- Clear
- Honest
- Simple
- Includes key points and information
Case study: Union Carbide
Posted on: May 6, 2009
The Bhopal gas tragedy would be a nightmare of a case to handle. At the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India, toxic gases were released. More than 2,000 people died immediately. It is estimated that 8,000 died within the two weeks following in addition to the approximate 16,000 more who have died from disease related to the incident. It is said that the crisis was caused by an sabotage.
From a crisis communications standpoint, getting a good idea of the situation would have been difficult considering the distance between India and the US (Hendrix). Considering this, I think a decent job managing the crisis was done.
According to Hendrix, Union Carbide made some very important decisions early on. The company decided to accept responsibility using an attachment/forgiveness strategy and provide aid to victims. I think this strategy was very effective because it showed the public that they were not denying what had happened and gave people the feeling that Union Carbide would attempt to take care of the situation.
It also was decided to be available to and share information with the media. Union Carbide:
- Held press conferences
- Hosted press tours
- Had key people available for interviews
- Issued press releases
In the book Public Relations Cases by Hendrix, the fact sheet shown has a large amount of information and is organized effectively. Although the incident occurred more than 20 years ago, the same principles apply: short, concise writing.
Included in the fact sheet is information on the incident, the cause, who is taking responsibility, legalities, settlement information, relief efforts, medical assistance, medical effects, status of the plant in Bhopal and litigation.There also is environmental and safety information about the company’s safety record, safety and environmental goals and achievements and improvements made to training and procedures.
Union Carbide also had to keep its internal audiences informed, which was done through employee news bulletins, employee publications, video messages, newsletters, annual stockholder meetings and individual letters and phone calls.
Now, Union Carbide would have to worry about blogs, Twitter and more. From the standpoint of 20 years ago though, this case was handled probably the best it could have been considering the number of deaths and distance from the incident.
Source:
- Public Relations Cases by Jerry Hendrix (1988)
- Ohio University Case Study
- Ohio University Communication Theories
Crisis in the News: Swine flu
Posted on: April 26, 2009
Mexico warns no kissing as 81 dead in swine flu outbreak
To date, there have been about 81 deaths linked to the swine flu. It has made its way into the US, infecting several people including students in New York. Schools and universities in Mexico City have been closed and airlines are asking people to not travel to Mexico.
The World Health Organization needs to handle communication about this outbreak, but there also are many other smaller organizations that will need to be quick to communicate.
For example, hospitals need to communicate with people in the communities about what the symptoms are, but also not scare them into thinking they have the swine flu if it is something else.
Schools and universities also will need to have communication in place. What will they do if a student contracts the swine flu? What if a student dies? How will they let parents and the community know that they are handling the problem appropriately.
Doctor’s offices also need to have a plan in place. What if a person comes in feeling sick and they are diagnosed with the swine flu? How will they inform their other patients that they may have been infected?
I recall coming across a flu epidemic plan for CMU during an internet search for an interview I was doing for a class. Although it seemed a little morbid to have a plan on what they would do if many students died, I think their plan was well thought out. I imagine that CMU and other schools are probably reviewing these crisis plans in case there is a large-scale epidemic.
There was a swine flu scare in 1976 as well.
Be Proactive
Posted on: April 26, 2009
Even though a lot of crises are unexpected, it is important to be proactive. Read They Missed the Whole Story for an interesting take of a spider situation in Texas.
According to Seeger, Sellnow, & Ulmer, organizations and companies “must be open to new insights, understanding, and skills while maintaining the knowledge, skill, and wisdom that have proved successful,” (p. 36).
Organizations that evolve with their changing environment will thrive. The organization will do something to try to fix a problem. If it works, then the organization learns. If it does not work, the organization alters its approach and then learns what does not work in addition to what does work.
Source:
Seeger, M. W. , Sellnow, T.L., & Ulmer, R. R. (2003). Communication and Organizational Crisis.
Theory: Chaos Theory
Posted on: April 15, 2009
Communication and Organizational Crisis by Seeger, Sellnow, & Ulmer describes Chaos Theory as “loosely related principles regarding the behavior of complex and dynamic systems,” (p. 28).
According to CT, an organizations have a predictability with general trends and patterns. They also have sensitive dependence on initial conditions, meaning something very minor can impact an organization in a major way. The changes are described as bifurcation, “the flashpoint of disruption and change at which a system’s direction, character, and/or structure is fundamentally altered,” (p. 30). Any organization can have bifurcation occur at any time.
Following bifurcation is self-organization. Basically, order is attempted to be brought back to the organzation.
Source:
Seeger, M. W. , Sellnow, T.L., & Ulmer, R. R. (2003). Communication and Organizational Crisis.
Crisis Classification
Posted on: April 14, 2009
When handling a crisis, it is important to classify what kind of crisis it is. This can help you determine your course of action and manage the crisis.
Here are several different systems of classification from p. 47 of Communication and Organizational Crisis by Seeger, Sellnow, & Ulmer :
Meyers & Holusha, 1986
- Public perception
- Sudden market shift
- Product failure
- Top management succession
- Cash crises
- Industrial relations
- Hostile takeover
- Adverse international events
- Regulation/deregulation
Coombs, 1999
- Natural disasters
- Malevolence
- Technical breakdowns
- Human breakdowns
- Challenges
- Megadamage
- Organizational misdeeds
- Workplace violence
- Rumors
Miroff & Anagnos, 2001
- Economic
- Informational
- Physical – Loss of key plants and facilities
- Human resource
- Reputation
- Psychopathic acts
- Natural disasters
Source:
Seeger, M. W. , Sellnow, T.L., & Ulmer, R. R. (2003). Communication and Organizational Crisis.
Theory: Sensemaking
Posted on: April 14, 2009
The first theory I read about in Communication and Organizational Crisis by Seeger, Sellnow, & Ulmer was about sensemaking. According to the book, “This process is inherently retrospective as members look back on events and construct their meanings,” (p. 22). Essentially, people involved in organizations will try to reduce uncertainty through sharing their interpretations and ideas of what happened, why it happened and what they can do to solve the problem.
The book says, “Weick (1979) identified specific phases or stages to organizing, including enactment, selection, and retention.”
Enactment
This is the first action taken. For example, Facebook listened to the complaints of the users. The company had to at least recognize and respond to the complaints.
Selection
An organization goes to the next step, selection, in an effort to solve the problem. In crisis situations, “organizations are usually forced to offer explanations of cause, blame, and responsibility…that will cause the least legal and economical liability,” (p. 23).
Retention
Previously used methods that prove successful become part of the organization and are reused when another incident occurs.
Sensemaking can help organizations “see the cause of crisis, to avoid them, and to reduce their intensity,” (p. 28).
Source:
Seeger, M. W. , Sellnow, T.L., & Ulmer, R. R. (2003). Communication and Organizational Crisis.
Looking at the news today, one crisis situation sticks out the most to me: Murder-suicide at college.
My first thought is that all colleges are affected by situations like this one. As a college student, my immediate thought is “this could happen here too.” I can’t imagine how a parent might feel.
A student was shot at Henry Ford Community College last Friday. The shooter then shot himself.
The school quickly used its emergency cell phone and e-mail system to alert students. Classes later in the day were cancelled.
Having worked for a university’s public relations department, I know how important student safety is. Central Michigan University has an emergency alert system that students can sign up for to receive e-mail, text or a phone call in the case of an emergency. At the beginning of the fall semester, we had computers in the university center and encouraged students and their parents to sign up.
The front page of the HFCC Web site. The first two paragraphs conscisely explain what happened. Below it is the “important information” section about classes resuming, grief counseling, the closing of the building that the shooting took place in, and information about contributions to the funeral. This is followed by a two-paragraph message from the president.
At the 2008 PRSSA National Conference, I sat through a session with Jeffrey Douglas, who handled the Virginia Tech shootings and have written a blog post about it.
Although this is a much smaller event, I recall Douglas’ discussion about the school’s Web site. It was one of the most important places to have information available for the students. I think this school has done a great job with it.
I haven’t been able to find much additional information about the crisis yet. It seemed to have been handled efficiently at HFCC. But, I think other schools are going to be doing their own crisis communication to reassure students and parents that their campuses are safe and that there are systems in place in case of emergency.
Crisis Communication 