A crisis is a non-routine event that risks damage to reputation, finances, safety, or lawsuits. To deal with a crisis, companies should get ready beforehand by planning and assigning roles. When a crisis hits, define its scope, identify stakeholders, and respond quickly, accurately, and consistently. Establish a central information service and media response policy with regular briefings. Document all actions and conduct a review afterwards to improve future crisis response.

1. Crisis Media Relations
David Makacha

2. Articles Reviewed
1. A Seven-Step Formula For Crisis Management by Bruce
Butterfield, APR, CAE , The Forbes Group
2. Crisis Management and Communications By W. Timothy
Coombs, Ph.D. Institute For Public Relations

3. What is a Crisis
A crisis is a “non-routine event that risks undesired
visibility that in turn threatens significant damage” like:
 Reputation loss
 Financial loss
 Lawsuits
 Public Safety
(Doorley and Garcia 2007: 328)

4. How to Deal With a Crisis ?
 There is no blue-print of what every company should do
in a crisis
 Each crisis might require a different approach basing on
its nature, level of crisis and context.
 However, there are basic principles generally followed

5. 1 Get ready Before the Crisis Hits
 “Prevention is better than Cure”
 stay prepared, plan ahead, put a trained crisis communication team in place,
 Pre-assign tasks to the crisis team members
 Communication plans should address online media where the crisis usually
breaks first.
 You can design scenario statements or key messages ready to be activated
(Templates)

6. 2 What To Do when Crisis Hits
 Define the scope of the crisis- Is it local, regional or international ?
 Identify affected stakeholders
 You may also research for what others have done in such situations
 The basic principles to response are: (1) be quick (2) be accurate,
and (3) be consistent.

7. Step 2: Establish Unified Response
 Appoint one person authorized to clear statements to the media and the public
(this should be done prior to crisis)
 “Develop and maintain a unified position and supporting messages”
 Develop simple, clear and consistent messages
 Adapt messages to suite various stakeholders
 Appoint one official spokesperson and one alternate
 Let everyone know who the spokespersons are and how they can be contacted.

8. 3 Create a central information service
 Set up a media headquarters. It can be near or away from the site of crisis.
 All organizational staff and volunteers should refer questions to the central
authorized source.
 “request for Stakeholders’ cooperation”
 Make sure emergency numbers e.g. police. Ambulance, safety organizations are
available
 Have all requests and queries channeled and replied through the information
central to avoid inconsistences.

9. 4 Act Promptly
 Gather your facts
 Inform the media and cooperate with reporters
 Tailor messages to the affected stakeholders and those who can effect messages
 Release a simple statement showing “awareness of the situation, action being taken
and willingness to inform media and public of details when they are known.”
 Be open and honest in everything
 Arrange for a press conference to be addressed by the spokesperson or company
executives.

10. 4 Take Action Promptly…….. continued
 Use all available channels e.g. mass media, intranets, website (specifically for the
crisis) to disseminate information.
 Spokesperson must always be available for interviews, never say no comment
 Console victims, show empathy, concern and reassure the affected, offer help
 Use facts to dispel rumors
 Keep stakeholders updated of new developments
 Spokesperson must be comfortable on camera, avoiding nervous habits that people
interpret as deception.

11. 5 Establish Media Response Policy
 Schedule regular media briefings to update the reporters & stakeholders
 Where suitable arrange for access to disaster area by reporters and other
officials
 Do not provide information about victims until families have been notified
 “Treat all media equally; no exclusives”
 Be consistent- Stick to the facts and limit statements to the immediate problem
 “Keep records of all replies (media, reporter name, date, time, respondent,
summary of response, follow up requests)”
 Set up media monitoring plan, e.g. google alerts

12. 6 Document everything
 Keep records of everything e.g.:
• victims, financial loses,
• dates and time of press conferences
• Any other data related to the crisis
Pic by ww.chinatrade.com

13. 7 Conduct a post-crisis review
 Appoint a post crisis assessment team
 Ask questions like:
 Did the crisis communicating work?
 Where did it break down?
 What should be added?
 What was unnecessary and obsolete?
 Who should be on the next crisis management team?
 Intergrade lessons learnt into organizations crisis management team

14. References
 Doorley, J. & Garcia, H.F. (2007). Reputation Management: The Key to Successful
Public Relations and Corporate Communications. New York, NY: Routledge
 Butterfield, B. (2001, November). A Seven-Step Formula For Crisis Management.
Retrieved from
http://www.asaecenter.org/Resources/whitepaperdetail.cfm?ItemNumber=12170
 Coombs, W. T. (October 30, 2007). Crisis Management and Communications.
Retrieved from http://www.instituteforpr.org/topics/crisis-management-and-
communications/