Navigating the Media for Times of Crisis

It’s important to establish one’s approach towards the media when faced with disaster. Just as an example of what’s happening abroad, a mixture of bad handling and misuse of the media to hide facts, or even making mountains out of mole hills has caused widespread distrust against organized entities.

It’s clear that aside from the need to establish media relations, there needs to be a proper strategy which can serve to maintain the trust of the public, and that of the stakeholders, to ensure the reputational interests of an organization.

Pre-Crisis Preparations

An established strategic approach is key to ensuring that if something were to occur, a clear action-plan can be acted upon swiftly to ensure that things don’t get derailed to the point of irreparable disaster.

Building Rapport with Media

Even before a crisis hits, establish good rapport with media establishments and individuals. Build up trust and maintain regular communications, both on and off record. Provide exclusive case studies which they can cover to highlight the organization’s field of expertise.

Spokesperson Designation and Training

It’s just as important to assign someone to be prepared in the case a crisis does occur. Ideally, a CEO-level individual should be appointed and annually trained with scenario-driven media training, including mock interviews.

Response Kits

Responding as things occur helps mitigate the impact of speculations and misinformation, if done right. Go out unprepared, and you may find yourself stirring the pot even further. That’s why it’s essential to establish action plans and crisis response kits for when something does occur—what to say, what to do, steps to take after.

Different situations require different approaches and solutions, it’s key to cover known risks, but one mustn’t forget the role of the unexpected. Always be active in preventing what is known, but being prepared for the unexpected gives you a few steps ahead of the curve. The crux for kits intended for unexpected crises should be based on how the crisis can impact the organization.

Real-Time Media Engagement

As mentioned before, responding fast helps mitigate negative impacts. However, additional actions need to be taken to ensure that trust is kept. When a vacuum of information occurs, it’s more likely for rumors and speculation to fill in the void.

Early Statement

Within an hour of a crisis breaking out: assess the situation, determine the course of action, and execute the ready-made response kits. It’s still better to say something than nothing, as the latter may cause unwanted assumptions.

For situations where an obvious issue is brought forth, jumping to finding an actionable solution can be seen as swift, decisive action.

No Comment?

During times of early fog, it may be the case that not enough information is known. It may be hard to resist the pull of “no comment” when there isn’t enough information. Though it may be permissible under specific situations, know that it invites false information to fill in the holes of the story.

Messaging

Acknowledge the impact of the problem. Make clear and transparent statements, whilst stating procedures and what is currently being done to get to the bottom of the situation. This is to ensure that the public doesn’t think that there’s something to be hidden. But it also tells the public what’s being done to rectify things.

Live Updates

While it may seem like a chore, it’s better to provide updates on the hourly rather than letting others fill the void of information. Visual dashboards or livestreams of the situation can also be used when applicable to the crisis.

Media Engagement Tactics

When it comes to approaching the media, there are several things to take note of. Particularly when going through different channels and the method of framing.

Multi-Channel, Tailored Messaging

When making response statements, it should be noted where it’s being delivered to. Different channels require different forms of messaging. Such as using formal speech and language when delivering statements in traditional media outlets; radio or TV. When delivering in social media outlets however, people tend to look for clear, concise messaging that are easily shareable.

Frame Your Position with Strategy

Another thing to note is the level of the crisis. Evaluating the crisis type alongside the history and relationship the organization has to said type of crisis helps in finding the right kind of response. The Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT) by Coombs states that there are three types of crises:

- Victim scenarios, such as natural disasters, damaging rumours, workplace violence, and product tampering.
- Accidents, such as technical errors or process challenges.
- Preventable, such as human error or organizational misdeeds.

For each type of crisis, in addition to the history and relationship of the organization with the crisis, there are specific types of responses ranging from being informative, diminutive, or showing mortification coupled with corrective action.

Reframe with Storytelling

While there may be a time to deliver facts as it is, some crises require something that can touch the hearts of the public. That’s where the role of storytelling comes in. By telling it from the perspective of an affected customer or employee, this allows the public to better connect emotionally through empathy.

Post-Crisis Media Strategy

Once the skies have cleared, then it’s time to get back up and do some more PR. After the storm, it’s recommended to take several additional steps to provide proof that will allow trust to be built.

Publicizing Corrective Actions

After corrective action, make a follow-up with the press. Provide a showcasing of the steps taken to deal with the crisis. Being open with what actions were taken lets people know the level of responsibility being taken to deal with the crisis.

Event Refresher

Once you’ve entered the stage of recovery, host a media briefing with the purpose of refreshing the events that happened. Be clear, concise, provide a timeline of events that occurred to have led to the resolution. This gives the public something definitive at the end to refer to, and clears the air as best as possible.

Long-Term Reputation Repair

Partner with journalists to feature post-crisis lessons or community initiatives. Turn challenge into narrative strength, building trust with the public and stakeholders that the organization can be trusted to deal and persevere despite the challenges.

In Conclusion

When we’re talking about Crisis Communications, the media can be a tool to ensure the mitigation of crisis impact. Ideally, it’s better to enact preventative measures. However, if and when something does slip through the cracks, it pays to be ready to deal with whatever comes your way.

Take note of what pulls on the heart-strings of the public and stakeholders, it’s important that you serve them the right kind of information delivered in the right way. Be sure to always fill in gaps of information and ensure that false narratives take over.

Lastly, ensure that even after a crisis is resolved, relations with the media is properly maintained and reinforced. Much like any relationship, proactive communication is key. Issuing a single statement, and leaving it at that, is like asking someone to trust you and never seeing a follow-up after.