Media relations and crisis communication
Posted on: May 6, 2009
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
Crisis Communication 
Leave a comment