Page 156 - Crisis Communication Practical PR Strategies

There is No Substitute for Media Training 137
7
3
1
and other natural disasters, there is no one to blame, right? Wrong.
Why didn’t somebody give us better information sooner? Why didn’t
somebody help us? Thus the controversial part of the story is born.

Developing the crisis message

The mantra of developing a crisis message is:

anticipate – prepare – rehearse.

When it comes to a crisis, you can’t expect journalists to ask you the
‘right’ question that allows you to get your messages across – they
won’t! You have to create opportunities. But first you have to know
what you’re going to say. You have to develop, work out and learn the
message that you want to get across and, with luck, it will be what
appears on the page or screen.
The message you want to send out to the journalists has to be care-
fully planned and developed. There cannot be anything casual or
impromptu about it. It has to be thought through, so that the journal-
ists get all the information they need and all the information you want
them to have, in a positive, straightforward way. Learning how to
develop the crisis message should be an integral part of media training
involving crisis communication. Ideally, your crisis message will have:

Credibility – so that the journalist has confidence in the message
and belief in you.
Appropriate context – for the journalist and programme or publi-
cation.
Right content – that is appropriate for the viewer, listener or
reader.
Clarity – so that the message is unequivocal.
Simplicity – so that the message will not be misinterpreted and will
be reported consistently.

The easiest way to keep yourself on track is to prepare a brief, written
‘holding’ or response statement, just as soon as you can. You can read
it to reporters over the phone and deliver it in person before the
cameras. At the same time, others can be using the same written state-
ment to respond to enquiries from other reporters and to inform
other important stakeholder groups, such as employees and relevant
officials.