Page 183 - Crisis Communication Practical PR Strategies

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1 164 Crisis Communication
feeds, filed stories on their websites and local television will be cutting
into regular programming to report breaking news. With that kind of
speed, it’s imperative to be able to begin communicating early so that
you are an integral part of the story and the best source of news and
information for the media, emergency responders, local government,
neighbours and the community, employees and others. The last thing
you want is for all these primary target audiences to be getting their
information from other sources. The only way to control rumour, fear,
panic or the spread of inaccurate or misleading information is for you
to be the declarative source of news and to firmly establish yourself in
that role as soon as possible.
Once you are in a position to begin public communication, don’t
hesitate or delay. Begin the flow of accurate and timely information.
Make sure that you are part of the solution to the crisis and that your
communication reflects that commitment.
A very human tendency is to engage in denial. A crisis is often some-
thing that we’re not prepared for and, when it strikes, it can be too
overwhelming to accept. Hence, we engage in denial or disbelief.
Accept only the facts as you know them, for what they are, and present
them in a business-like and professional manner.
At the same time, however, it’s important to put a human face and
human emotion into public communication. A corporation is an imper-
sonal thing and people are, by nature, mistrustful of the motives and
priorities of businesses, particularly when an environmental crisis is
involved. Regrettably, businesses today are still paying a heavy price for
the legacy left them by the environmental crises of the 1970s and 1980s
in terms of the level of distrust and scepticism in the media and society.
Those affected want to be reassured that there are people on the front
lines of the crisis who care about them, who understand their fears and
concerns, and who will safeguard their interests with great care.

Apologies and the role of senior leadership

The human response should sometimes include an apology – which is
where the tension with attorneys usually begins. Legal counsel will
often argue, and rightly so, that public pronouncements during a crisis
are subject to discovery in litigation and could be very damaging evi-
dence before a jury. Specifically, the concern is that an apology from an
executive could be interpreted as an admission of guilt or responsi-
bility. But this isn’t necessarily so.
A reasonable person could conclude that when the Exxon Valdez ran
aground in Alaska’s Prince William Sound, some kind of apology
would have been appropriate. After all, here was a 1,000-foot super-