Page 186 - Crisis Communication Practical PR Strategies

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Environmental Crisis Communications 167
crisis communications, but here the three most important considera-
tions are ‘concern, concern and concern’. Communicating your orga-
nization’s genuine concern for public safety, environmental quality
and the needs of those impacted by a crisis is essential to being viewed
as a legitimate part of the solution, a true community partner, and an
organization with real value associated with its brand.
Cooperate fully with local emergency responders, law enforcement
and environmental regulators. Provide full round-the-clock assistance
and support whenever and wherever it is needed. Update the news
media on a regular basis. In fact, it’s often helpful if you establish a
regular interval for media briefings. Then stick to that schedule so that
the media can easily predict when to expect new information from you.
Disclose new information promptly as it becomes available – but a
cardinal rule is to only disclose the facts, without interpretation or
speculation. Facts have a way of revealing themselves in bits and
pieces, and what may look like the possible cause of an environmental
accident on the basis of one set of facts may easily prove false hours
later with the disclosure of additional facts. Meanwhile, you will have
lost at least some of your credibility as a source of reliable information
for the media.

If there’s bad news, make sure it comes from you

Although there are exceptions to this, the experience in most environ-
mental crises has been that if there’s bad news to tell, it’s most often
better for that news to come from your organization rather than from
another source, or worse, to withhold such information in the hope
that it won’t ever be disclosed.
You will always have greater control over the public disclosure of
bad news if it comes from you. To be placed in a reactive position with
bad news undermines your credibility and shifts the benefit of the
doubt away from you because it will appear that you are attempting to
conceal negative information. As recent examples, such as the
Merck/Vioxx case in 2004 illustrate, the ethical and responsible course
of action is to reveal to the public that which the public should know,
even if nobody asks and even if you’re not legally obliged.

Little things can kill you

Environmental crises are breeding grounds for communication prob-
lems and even the smallest and most trivial misstep can result in an
unwanted turning point in the management of news coverage of the
crisis. As in almost any crisis, it’s important to keep the number of