Dam Safety Presentation

Dam Safety in the News Be Ready for your Close-Up Dam Safety ‘07 September 11, 2007

Almost everyone has preconceptions and prejudices about journalists

Strong Negative Feelings Typical
Missed the point
Got the facts wrong
Had their idea of the story and fit me into it
Focus on the negative
Out to “get” you

Impact of Negative Feelings
Can be defensive, suspicious
Feel as though preparation doesn’t matter
Focus on the journalist rather than on the audience

Change the Mindset
Old : Survive without embarrassing yourself
New : Accomplish an objective
Increase awareness
Increase understanding
Get people to take action

Change the Mindset
What would you want the headline to say?
How would you want the news anchor to lead into the story?
Write it down!

Crisis Communications Fundamentals For Dam Safety ‘07 Presented September 11, 2007

The Fundamentals
The three components of crisis communications are crisis planning, response and recovery

Crisis Planning

Fundamentals: Definition of “Crisis”
A crisis is an unexpected and uncontrolled event or series of events that disrupt normal operations for a prolonged period and cause unwanted public scrutiny

Fundamentals: Definition of “Crisis”
A crisis always has “victims,” which can be either human or animal. If nobody was vicitimized, it’s not a crisis.

Developing a Crisis Plan that Works
“ One of the first things you learn is you have to have a plan in place. It doesn’t matter whether it’s sophisticated or simple – you’ve got to have one. Frankly, the simpler the plan, the better.”
- Larry Hincker, Virginia Tech

“ Most plans I see are convoluted, unrealistic, out-of-date nightmares to interpret and never tested by a drill. Good plans point you in the right direction so you can act fast. If yours doesn’t, throw it out and start over.”
- Richard Amme

Keep it simple
Focus on functional aspects of response
Build out crisis infrastructure
Examine and mitigate vulnerabilities

Planning: Keep the Plan Simple
The process of planning involves an objective inward-assessment
Examine operations and processes
Evaluate and catalogue assets
Good plans can be hundreds of pages
Better plans are just a few pages

Planning: Functional Aspects of Response
Who is on the Response Team and who are their alternates?
At what point do you activate the Crisis Response Team?
How can they be reached 24x7?
Who is spokesperson?

Prioritizing Target Audiences
Insiders
Employees, suppliers, customers
Government
Local, state and federal regulators and lawmakers
Neighbors
Media to reach community

Prioritize from the inside out
Employees
Shareholders
Suppliers, customers
Government
Local, state and federal regulators and lawmakers
Neighbors
Media to reach community

Crisis Response

Specifics of Crisis Response
Scheduling and adequate staffing can’t be overlooked
24x7 means 158 hours per week
Be ready for a crush of calls from media, customers and others
Your infrastructure may not handle the volume, contributing to confusion and perceptions of poor response

In the Media Spotlight: The Critical 10 Minutes
Today, everyone with a nice phone can be a “journalist”
Video and photos can be posted on the Web within minutes
Speculation has a life of its own, so stating facts can quell rumors

Guiding Principles of Crisis Response
Quickly assess situation and lay out options
Your first concern should be the health and safety of anyone involved
Express concern and sympathy

If the case, emphasize that there will be a complete investigation and your organization will fully cooperate
Stick to the facts
Focus on the 5 Ws
Never guess or speculate about information you don’t know

Understand that leadership may be part of problem
Making a statement quickly can help define the story
You can’t wait for comprehensive information

Crisis Response Realities
In a crisis, confusion and inaccurate information dominate
The media deals in black and white and simplicity, but a crisis is shades of gray and complexity
Media will assess blame
Media often gets information you don’t have

Think Actions Over Words
Look for opportunities to exhibit concern and control
Resist blatant photo ops
Document your organization’s efforts, but resist the temptation to self-promote too soon

Crisis Recovery

Crisis Recovery: The Crisis Lifecycle Discovery True impact clear Personal stories On to the next story Duration Intensity

Examples of Organizations that Recovered Quickly
Southwest Airlines – Plane skids off runway
City of New York – Terrorist attacks
NASA – Columbia disaster
Johnson & Johnson – Tylenol tampering
Pepsi – Syringe hoax

What They Had In Common
Visible senior leadership
Immediate expressions of concern and sympathy
Rapid unequivocal action in the public’s interest

Organizations that Failed to Recover Quickly
Merck – Product recall
Exxon – Environmental disaster
Tobacco industry - Lawsuit
Firestone – Faulty product

What They Had In Common
Leadership was late to show
Slow to express concern or sympathy
Slow to take definitive action
Lied and/or stonewalled

Contact: Dan Keeney, APR DPK Public Relations [email_address] Dallas: 214-432-7556 Houston: 832-467-2904 www.dpkpr.com

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Dam Safety Presentation

by Dan Keeney on Sep 11, 2007

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Dam Safety Presentation — Presentation Transcript