Crisis Communications: UF's "Don't Tase Me Bro'" Incident
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1) An incident at the University of Florida involving a student being tasered during a speech was captured on video and quickly spread globally through new technologies and the internet. 2) The university activated its crisis plan and communication channels to respond to the intense media and public scrutiny, taking an open and transparent approach through multiple messages and updates. 3) The document discusses lessons learned about the need for advanced crisis planning, open communication, and understanding new media in order to effectively manage intense scrutiny of such high-profile incidents in today's rapidly changing media landscape.
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Crisis Communications: UF's "Don't Tase Me Bro'" Incident
- 1. This is a story about how an incident captured on video goes global in a matter of hours thanks to new technology and the Internet
- 2. And how we used that technology and a little bit of planning to deal with the situation
- 5. And I wasn’t even there!
- 6. “ Say Hice, isn’t that your Gators on CNN?”
- 7. Flagstaff to San Francisco
- 25. You can’t hide, but you can plan…
- 33. And buying
- 34. But how do you know when it’s really over? How about this, a story on the nation’s most popular television show, CSI
- 36. Questions?
Editor's Notes
- And when you thought crises couldn’t get worse… now with Web 2.0, they can become even bigger and scarier. Thanks to the advent of web 2.0 technologies, everybody with a blog, an email account, a cell phone camera and a YouTube account, has become a potential journalist. If a big crisis hits your institution, Video and photos could end up on the Web within minutes. And with Social networking websites, things can spread even more easily via electronic word of mouth. Whether you like or not, this is the age of invasive and pervasive transparency and nobody can’t hide.
- Well, you can’t hide, but you can and Should plan
- In the networked world, we live, planning is definitely not an elective News travels at light speed – even faster then it’s bad… so identify potential problems and issues before they become ones. And, the good news is – Web 2.0 technologies can help you with this. As we advised you in our presentation this morning, you should put Technorati and Google News Alert to good use. By setting Technorati watches or Google news alert for specific keywords such as the name of your institution or your president’s name, you will know if and when the blogosphere is about to feed on or even create a crisis situation. Former University of Colorado President Elizabeth Hoffman said she wished she would have assigned one of her staffers to read political blogs every day. Hoffman resigned in March 2005 in the wake of two major scandals caused by the institution's football recruiting practices and Professor Ward Churchill's essay comparing some victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks to "Little Eichmanns," referencing a known Nazi official. Influential bloggers played a major role in exposing (and fueling?) these scandals. Hoffman saif that "one of the first mentions of Churchill's essay appeared on a blog called 'little green footballs' after the professor was invited to speak at Hamilton College (N.Y.)." Within 10 minutes of the posting, people were asking Gov. Bill Owens to tell her to fire Churchill. Policies and procedures must be in place – so you and everybody on your team knows how To deal with traditional media To deal with “new media” Advanced planning enables better decision making during a crisis and reduces confusion
- So, what should be in the plan? Trigger points for activation Response team members and alternates as well as 24/7 contact information – obviously, crises are not on a 9-5 schedule – and with Murphy’s law helping will happen most of the time in the evening or on weekends. Templates for news releases, fact sheets, bios – those will make you save time when you don’t have any. Consider having a hidden crisis response Web site or Web pages ready – if certain types of crises are part of your campus culture – such as hurricanes and big storms at the University of Florida – you can definitely create a page or a website including all the necessary evergreen information. So, when the crisis breaks – you’ll just have to fill in the blanks. List of trained spokespeople – you need to know who will go in front of the mikes and the cameras – but also to find and train team members to handle the blogosphere. Bloggers are not journalists, but they can do a lot of damage – and the rules of engagement are different. Off-the-record doesn’t belong to most bloggers’ vocabulary. As a result, anything emailed to a blogger can – and most of the time will – be published verbatim or creatively quoted. But, time taken to really answer questions raised in blog posts or via email from bloggers will be well spent – as the blogosphere really appreciates the courtesy. Ignoring them – however – could end up in an even bigger mess. Required resources – you should also address those in your plan. Response facility and back up location Multiple communication methods – cell phones, blackberries, land lines, web site, extra batteries Materials available in hard copy as well as electronically (various mediums & locations)
- Quickly assess situation and outline options Express concern and sympathy If appropriate to the situation, stress that there will be a complete investigation with the organization’s complete cooperation Never speculate Don’t address hypotheticals