Crisis Communications Today
People who pick up a book on crisis communications are aware of social
media. Perhaps they do not use them or use them only socially. Perhaps,
they don’t know how to use them or don’t know if they should use
them. However, they are aware that social media exist and are major
communications tools in the second decade of the 21st century.
Between the date this book goes to press and the date it is in book
stores there will undoubtedly be new networks and usages of social media.
Many experienced crisis communicators are exploring, developing, and
learning how best to use social media. Chapter 5, “Social Media and
Crisis Communications” of this textbook addresses how organizations
and companies have used Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, blogs,
and other social media to cope with crises. The chapter includes advice
on using social media and cites some crises caused by the use of social
media.
Crisis communications demands that one uses the best crafted message
delivered by the most effective method to the precise public (audience).
This has not changed. What has changed is the fact that social media
make it possible for faster communication than traditional methods and
to a very precise, often chosen, public. Whereas we used to have a
“golden hour” to disseminate crucial information about a crisis, now we
have a “golden few minutes” before publics expect information. The
message still needs to be carefully written—mistakes on social media can
live forever—but social media encourage rapid and frequent two-way
communication between an organization and its segmented publics,
without a gatekeeper. Social media can build positive relationships with
these publics.
So what the new technology has done is present new methods of communicating
faster, possibly better and possibly not. It has not eliminated
the need for traditional methods. And it has not changed the facts of
human behavior—ethical and professional standards, the basic tenets
of crisis communications.
Chapter One
What is a Crisis and What is Crisis
Communications?
A crisis is a major occurrence with a potentially negative outcome
affecting the organization, company, or industry, as well as its publics,
products, services, or good name. A crisis interrupts normal business
transactions and can sometimes threaten the existence of the organization.
A crisis can be a strike, terrorism, a fire, a boycott, product tampering,
product failure, or numerous other events (see the list in Chapter 15,
p. 308). The size of the organization is irrelevant. It can be a multinational
corporation, a one-person business, or even an individual.
Public relations (PR) professionals often say, “I have a crisis every day.”
This is an exaggeration, of course. The term crisis denotes something more
serious than a “problem.” Public relations people deal with problems—
solving them or avoiding them. By definition, however, a crisis interrupts
the normal flow of business, so a crisis cannot be a normal part of this
flow.
On the other hand, a crisis is not necessarily so catastrophic that the
life of the organization is destroyed. Exxon suffered the crisis of crises
after its oil spill in 1989. It still suffers from a bad image, but it continues
to thrive in business. (See the Exxon case in Chapter 7.)
This book advises you to plan for the worst that can happen, whether
it be a crisis or a problem, and it brings us to another expression: “Be
prepared.” This book shows you how to prepare yourself and your
organization to cope with crises that may occur. It deals with preparations
made far in advance, as well as with strategies and tactics to be used
during a crisis. It examines the experiences of public relations professionals
in crises, describing what they did, what they wished they had
done, and what hampered their progress. You can learn from their
successes and failures.
In a crisis, in contrast to a problem, emotions are on edge, brains are
not fully functioning, and events are occurring so rapidly that drafting
a plan during a crisis is unthinkable. Simply following one is difficult.
Crisis management is a process of strategic planning for a crisis or
negative turning point, a process that removes some of the risk and uncertainty
from the negative occurrence and thereby allows the organization
to be in greater control of its own destiny.
Crisis communications is the dialog between the organization and its
public(s) prior to, during, and after the negative occurrence. The dialog
details strategies and tactics designed to minimize damage to the image
of the organization.
Effective crisis management includes crisis communications that not
only can alleviate or eliminate the crisis but also can sometimes bring
the organization a more positive reputation than it had before the crisis.
2 Crisis Communications Today
Public relations deals with publics. Publics are the specific audiences
targeted by programs. People frequently use the term “general public,”
but public relations professionals are usually more specific in their
targeting. Examples of corporate publics include the following: employees;
customers; stockholders; community members; board members; unions;
and retirees.
Proactive public relations programs can be used to build relationships
with certain publics. They can prevent crises; they can also make these
publics supportive when there is a crisis. Trust is at the heart of each
type of public relations.
These programs might be the following:
• Media relations: Building a positive relationship with the news media
so they know you are reliable, professional, accurate, and ethical.
Tactics for the news media would include not only news releases but
also pitch letters, backgrounders, media advisories, media tours,
news conferences, and others.
• Community relations: Building a positive relationship with community
leaders, organizations, families, individuals. Tactics may include
advisory boards, open houses, speakers’ bureaus, public service
announcements, CSR (corporate social responsibility) activities, exhibits,
scholarships.
• Employee/internal relations: Building a bond with employees even if
there are only one or two, making employees feel a part of the
organization. These would be volunteers in nonprofit organizations.
Tactics would be the use of an intranet, newsletters, and other house
organs, closed circuit television, e-mail and other social media,
contests, awards, gifts.
• Consumer relations: Building a mutual bond between the company
and its customers. A returns policy, tours, sales advantages, brochures,
posters/flyers, open houses, educational material, and a
complaint system are possibilities.
There can also be programs for government relations, labor relations,
international relations, investor relations, and others. An organization
depends on these publics for survival because they have some stake in
the organization.
Public relations is concerned with reputation. It exists to avoid a
negative image and to create or enhance a positive reputation. It is largely
the fear of a negative image that causes organizations to develop public
relations departments, hire public relations agencies, or both. Too often,
an organization does not consider utilizing public relations until it is in
a crisis. Then it wants a speedy recovery.
Crisis Communications Today 3
Research shows that companies with ongoing two-way communications
often avoid crises or endure crises of shorter duration or of lesser
magnitude (see Chapter 2, “Crisis Communications Theory”). Research
also shows that companies with a crisis management and/or crisis communications
plan come out of a crisis with a more positive image than
companies without such a plan.
Whether an organization is a large multinational company or a small
business, a crisis communications plan is needed. A crisis communications
plan is preferably a part of a company-wide crisis management plan that
includes sections on evacuation, work sites, equipment, and so on. If a
company does not have a crisis management plan, a crisis communications
plan is still advisable—even urgent.
The media to which you have tried unsuccessfully to pitch ideas for
news stories, the media that toss “perfect” news releases in the trash, the
media that never return phone calls—those media will call on you in a
crisis. They will probably not telephone in advance. They will show up
on your premises “in your face.” The media, seeing themselves as
advocates for the people, can be the principal adversaries in a crisis.
This is a time when public relations takes front and center—in a very
crucial way. This is not to say that public relations will operate
independently—that might be a greater disaster. It is a time, however,
when the CEO (chief executive) may listen to the PR pro whose name
he can never remember.
Sometimes, even in a crisis, the head of the company or organization
does not listen because business schools often teach CEOs to make
their own decisions. There are many documented cases of disasters
during which CEOs acted independently. The Exxon crisis is an example.
Exxon’s CEO, Lawrence Rawl, did not respond as the media and environmentalists
would have preferred. He did not accept responsibility as
rapidly as critics felt he should have. He did not fly to Valdez to express
concern. All the moves the public relations experts would advise, Rawl
ignored. Rawl is not alone among corporate heads in his response, but
the number of bad responses is declining as organizations learn the
effects of public opinion.
In a crisis, when everyone else is in a state of panic, public relations
practitioners must offer a calming presence: “This is not as bad as it
seems,” or “This could be worse. We cannot turn crises into catastrophes.
This is what we do . . .”
The Five Stages of a Crisis
A crisis has five stages:
1. Detection
2. Prevention/preparation
4 Crisis Communications Today
3. Containment
4. Recovery
5. Learning.
Detection
The detection phase may begin with noting warning signs, or what
Barton (1993) referred to as prodromes or the prodromal stage. Some
crises have no noticeable prodromes, but many do.
When an organization in the same business as yours suffers a crisis, it
is a warning to your organization. The 1982 Tylenol tampering case was
a prodrome to other manufacturers of over-the-counter drugs. Most
companies heeded that warning and now use tamper-proof containers.
Imagine how many crises were avoided by noticing that what happened
to Tylenol could happen to other companies.
On the other hand, Johnson & Johnson itself had little warning before
it was hit with this crisis. No one had ever before poisoned an over-thecounter
painkiller; it was not a crisis Johnson & Johnson had anticipated.
The only warning the company had was a phone call from a journalist
from the Chicago Tribune, taken by a Johnson & Johnson public relations
staff member. The journalist asked questions about the company’s
holdings, the spelling of names, and so forth. The employee reported the
call to supervisors, who called the newspaper and found out that there
were deaths attributed to Tylenol (see Chapter 7, “Johnson & Johnson
and the Tylenol Murders”).
The Exxon Valdez oil spill was a prodrome to other companies as well
as Exxon itself. Oil companies now know better how to prevent spills,
how to clean up spills, and how to react to the public after spills.
There are other less obvious prodromes. Employee discontent over any
issue is a sign of a brewing crisis. Perhaps there is an increase in complaints
about work hours, work conditions, or unreasonable supervisors. Any one
of these and many more issues can be an early sign of a work stoppage.
The same prodromes can be early signs of workplace violence.
An organization should watch for prodromes and make attempts to
stop a crisis at this stage, before it develops into a full-blown crisis. To
detect these early signs, organizations form employee committees that
function like lighthouse keepers watching for vessels at sea, watchdogs,
or whistle-blowers. These whistle-blowers report warning signs to
organization officials who can implement plans to avoid the impending
crisis or at least have time to prepare to address the media or other
publics.
Crisis detection also refers to a system within the organization in
which key personnel are immediately notified of a crisis. An organization
has a considerable advantage if it knows about a crisis before its publics
Crisis Communications Today 5
do, especially before the news media get the tip. This gives the organization
time to draft a statement, make preparations for a news conference,
notify the crisis team, and call in spokespersons. As mentioned earlier,
the phone call from a Chicago Tribune journalist gave Johnson &
Johnson some lead time before the public knew about the Tylenol
murders.
Crisis Prevention
Ongoing public relations programs and regular two-way communications
build relationships with key publics and thereby prevent crises, lessen the
blows of crises, or limit the duration of crises.
The establishment of a corporate culture conducive to the positive and
open interaction of members also minimizes crises, as does including crisis
management in the strategic planning process (see Chapter 2, “Crisis
Communications Theory”).
There are other specific tactics and actions that an organization may
adopt to prevent crises. These tactics must be communicated to
appropriate publics. A company must not only do what is right. It also
must tell its publics that it is taking appropriate action. This may appear
to be bragging, but if the company does not reveal ethical and professional
business practices, publics will never know. Crisis prevention tactics
include the following:
1. Fostering the continued development of organizational policies that
allow for updates and changes based on variances of publics and
mission.
2. Reducing the use of hazardous material and processes.
3. Initiating safety training and providing rewards for employees with
stellar safety records.
4. Allowing the free flow of information from employees to management
with no punishment of employees who deliver bad news.
5. Following up on past crises or problems.
6. Attending community meetings.
7. Developing a community board with key outside members who are
public opinion leaders.
8. Circulating a newsletter to frequent consumers.
9. Offering scholarships to employees and their children as well as to
other children in the community.
10. Hosting community or employee picnics.
11. Sponsoring community activities, such as Little League teams and
charities.
In communications, diligence can sometimes prevent crises. A public
relations executive in the Midwest tells of a telephone call from a West
6 Crisis Communications Today
Coast journalist at 5 p.m., just as she was leaving for the weekend. She
could easily have refused the call, but she decided to take it. The reporter
was preparing to write a story for a big-city newspaper about the failure
of a product manufactured by the PR executive’s company. The story
was one that could have sparked a full-scale crisis. The PR person took
the time to locate information that proved the information to be baseless.
The reporter was satisfied and the crisis that could have been was averted.
If all members of the management staff are trained to be media savvy,
numerous crises can be prevented. Using the story above, the PR executive
could have consulted a respected expert on the issue to refute the charges
and nip them in the bud. Public relations personnel and key organizational
leaders should always be aware of who these experts are and of how to
reach them in emergencies. Prompt responses to media inquiries are also
a plus.
Crisis Preparation
Crisis preparation is necessary for dealing with crises that cannot be
prevented. Pepsi had no way of anticipating the scare in which
hypodermic syringes were found in cans of Diet Pepsi. The presence of
these syringes in the cans cried “AIDS,” and fear of the illness and death
far surpassed brand loyalty.
The crisis communications plan is the primary tool of preparedness
(see Chapter 15, “The Crisis Communications Plan”). This plan tells each
key person on the crisis team what his or her role is, whom to notify,
how to reach people, what to say, and so on. The crisis communications
plan provides a functioning collective brain for all persons involved in a
crisis, persons who may not operate at normal capacity due to the shock
or emotions of the crisis event.
Containment
Containment refers to the effort to limit the duration of the crisis or to
keep it from spreading to other areas affecting the organization.
Pepsi used an advertisement to end its crisis. After several hoaxes had
been exposed without the discovery of one documented case of a syringe
in a can after the original incident, the company decided the crisis was
over and told the world so. And it was.
Foodmaker, parent company of the Jack-in-the-Box fast-food chain,
was charged by PR critics with delaying the resolution of the E. coli crisis
that killed several children and one adult in 1993 because the company
did not take responsibility for the tainted meat soon enough. However,
as long as people, especially children, were sick and dying, there was no
way Foodmaker could curtail the crisis. It was contained to the Pacific
Crisis Communications Today 7
Northwest and did not affect all outlets of the chain, and Jack-in-theBox
communicated to consumers that other food products in the
restaurants were not contaminated.
Recovery
Recovery involves efforts to return the company to business as usual.
Organizations want to leave the crisis behind and restore normalcy as
soon as possible. Recovery may also mean restoring the confidence of
key publics, which means communicating a return to normal business.
Snapps, a fast-food restaurant in Fort Pierce, Florida, suffered from a
rumor that one of its managers had AIDS and had infected hamburgers.
To implement recovery, health department officials participated in a news
conference telling the public that all managers had been tested, that none
had the AIDS virus, and that the virus could not be transmitted through
hamburgers (see Chapter 6, “Rumors and Cybercrises”).
Exxon attempted to recover from the Valdez oil spill by making efforts
to persuade tourists that Alaska was still a beautiful place to visit. It is
particularly interesting that Exxon looked beyond its own recovery to
the way its crisis had affected the tourism industry.
Learning
The learning phase is a process of examining the crisis and determining
what was lost, what was gained, and how the organization performed
in the crisis. It is an evaluative procedure designed to make the crisis a
prodrome for the future.
One might think that this is like closing the barn door after the cows
have escaped. Any farmer will tell you that once the cows are back in the
barn, they will escape again unless you close the door this time. The fact
that a company has suffered one crisis is no indication that it will not
happen again. Johnson & Johnson, after its second tampering crisis,
learned its lesson by selling over-the-counter medications in tamper-proof
containers. Other companies followed suit. Public relations personnel set
about the task of telling the public about the new safety containers.
Another example of the learning phase is illustrated by the case of the
U.S. airlines that were plagued with hijackings during the 1960s and
1970s. The airlines set up metal detectors at airports for persons boarding
planes. The procedure was extended to cover employees after an irate
employee boarded a plane with a gun, shot a supervisor, and caused a
fatal crash. The airlines’ public relations personnel informed passengers
of the new safety procedures.
The learning phase brings about change that helps prevent future
crises.
8 Crisis Communications Today
Public Opinion
In a crisis, the public perceives truth to be whatever public opinion says.
An organization in crisis must prove to its publics, and often to the general
public, that the prevailing negative opinion is not factual. In contrast to
a U.S. court of law where a person is innocent until proven guilty, in the
court of public opinion, a person or organization is guilty until proven
innocent.
Public opinion is difficult to define, but it is based on individuals’ attitudes
toward specific issues. These attitudes are based on age, educational
level, religion, country, state, city, neighborhood, family background and
traditions, social class, and racial background. All of these help to form
each individual’s attitudes, and a predominance of similar attitudes makes
up public opinion.
On any given issue, people are in favor, against, neutral, or so disinterested
that they could not care less. Most people, unfortunately, fall
into the last category. Public relations aims to reinforce positive attitudes,
change negative attitudes, and provide information in a way that causes
the unopinionated and neutral to form the opinion most conducive to
the organization’s function.
An organization has no choice in accepting a crisis. A crisis is forced
on it, and the organization must cope with it. Organizations can ignore
a crisis and hope it will go away. Occasionally, it does. More often, it
does not. A crisis ignored is an organization failing.
The essential role of crisis communications is to affect the public
opinion process and to be instrumental in establishing and communicating
proof that the prevailing “truth” is not factual or not wholly factual.
Then explanations of how much is true must follow. If the organization
is actually at fault, owning up to it is usually the best policy. The public
is forgiving if measures are taken to prevent recurrence.
The news media are prime tools for changing public opinion. The media
can reach the masses in a short period of time because most Americans
utilize some form of the news media, primarily television. Radio is
popular during prime traffic hours. Public relations experts are trained
in knowing how to reach the media, when and how to call a news conference,
when and how to conduct one-on-one interviews, and when and
how to disseminate written material.
Crisis communications, like public relations, is not merely the
distribution of news releases. Nor is it only media relations. Frequently,
community relations, consumer relations, employee relations, investor
relations, government relations, and many other kinds of public relations
are involved.
Crisis Communications Today 9
Mini-Case: White Star Line’s Titanic Sinks
To illustrate terms, let’s examine a well-known crisis: the sinking of the
Titanic in 1912.
Titanic was one of several ships of the White Star Line, which had a
primary rival, the Cunard Line. The Cunard Line had two famously fast
ships—the Lusitania and the Mauritania. White Star decided not to
compete with Cunard on speed but to surpass it, as far as public opinion
was concerned, in size, elegance, sumptuousness, and safety.
The White Star Line planned to launch three ships—the Olympic, the
Titanic, and the Gigantic, in that order. In the area of media relations,
advance publicity praised the immensely luxurious ships. Postcards went
out claiming the Titanic was “the largest moving object in the world.”
A promotional brochure claimed the Olympic and the Titanic were
“designed to be unsinkable” (Ziakas, 1999, p. 109). The trade journal
The Shipbuilder bragged about the Titanic’s opulence—its grand staircase,
its elevators, its Turkish baths, and, of course, its “unsinkable”
construction.
Titanic personnel were chosen to appeal to a celebrated and wealthy
clientele, the targeted public. Captain E. J. Smith, called the “millionaire’s
captain,” was the highest-paid captain on the seas and a celebrity in his
own right. The musicians were the tops in their field and could play a
wide range of music. White Star felt it had thought of everything and
had attained the highest form of customer relations.
Crisis management plans and crisis communications plans were
believed to be unnecessary. After all, if the ship couldn’t sink, what could
happen? There were medical facilities on board should any passengers
suffer a heart attack or some other unforeseen illness. The ship had stateof-the-art
communications equipment; if help was needed, personnel
could radio other ships.
We’ve learned that it was always possible, though unlikely, that the
ship would sink. A long gash in the hull was the worst case scenario,
and that is exactly what happened. So, the non-planners were shortsighted.
What about fires? Certainly the ship could burn. An adequate
number of lifeboats would still be needed. In fact, a fire out of control
on a ship could have been a worse disaster.
A crisis management plan would have detailed what would be done
in the event of fire and other tragedies—how evacuation would take place,
how practice drills would be conducted for the crew and possibly for
passengers, who would lower the lifeboats, who would ensure that
passengers were guided safely to the closest lifeboats and ships, who
would contact persons ashore by radio, when crew members would save
themselves, and so on. A crisis management plan would also have
included making sure effective insurance policies were in place. In today’s
10 Crisis Communications Today
crises, one must be sure that payrolls can be met; special insurances may
be necessary to cover computers.
The crisis management plan would have included the crisis communications
plan. The crisis communications plan would have included
notification of the home office, where personnel acting as public relations
professionals would, in turn, notify the press, White Star Line executives
and employees, and passengers’ relatives. These were also key publics.
(The term public relations was not used at the time, although that
management function has always been important to the success of any
company or organization.)
The crisis communications plan would have also included details about
who would be the spokesperson once the passengers were brought to
safety. If Captain Smith had survived, he would have been the best
spokesperson. As it was, Smith went down with the ship. However, the
managing director of White Star, J. Bruce Ismay, was aboard, survived,
and was rescued from a lifeboat sent from the Carpathia. Many felt he
should have given his place on the lifeboat to a passenger. However,
because he survived, he should have been the spokesperson. Instead, he
hid in the luxurious quarters of the Carpathia‘s physician until the ship
docked in New York, hoping to avoid the other survivors who huddled
on floors and under tables.
There were two persons connected to White Star who participated in
the media communications. Harold Bride, a radio operator on the Titanic
who worked for Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company, was among the
passengers picked up by the Carpathia. He wrote a first-person account
of the tragedy that he sent to the New York Times by wire from the
rescue ship. Phillip A. S. Franklin, who had been hired to head White
Star’s New York office, called together a kind of crisis communications
team. This came after David Sarnoff, also a Marconi employee, heard
the signal from the Olympic that the Titanic had run into an iceberg and
was sinking fast; Sarnoff gave his story to the Associated Press. Franklin
attempted to stop the Associated Press from running the story, saying
that even though the ship had run into an iceberg, he had “absolute
confidence in the Titanic. . . . We are not worried about the ship but we
are sorry for the inconvenience of the passengers” (Ziakis, 1999, p. 116).
The morning before the sinking, the New York Times ran a story
announcing that the “The New Giantess Titanic” would soon arrive in
New York. The story was a PR person’s dream, a proactive story aimed
primarily at a public of potential passengers and at educating and
informing the general public, thereby assuring that when asked, “What
is the biggest, most elegant ship afloat?” anyone would say, “The
Titanic.” The Times story described the ship’s impressive size, luxury,
and illustrious passengers aboard its maiden voyage.
Crisis Communications Today 11
On April 15, White Star was in a reactive mode, as is almost always
the case in a crisis. Presented with information from the Bride and Sarnoff
stories, the New York Times ran a story with this headline:
NEW-LINER TITANIC HITS AN ICEBERG;
SINKING BY THE BOW AT MIDNIGHT;
WOMEN PUT OFF IN LIFEBOATS;
LAST WIRELESS AT 12:27 A.M. BLURRED
A later New York Times headline read as follows:
TITANIC SINKS FOUR HOURS AFTER HITTING ICEBERG
866 RESCUED BY CARPATHIA, PROBABLY 1250 PERISH
ISMAY SAFE, MRS. ASTOR MAYBE, NOTED NAMES MISSING
Other newspapers’ April 15 headlines indicated that the editors were
much less aware of accurate details of the story. The New York Sun’s
headline was “All Saved From Titanic After Collision.” The Washington
Post apparently chose to believe the spokesperson for White Star,
Franklin. The Post’s headline was the following:
TITANIC’S 1470 PASSENGERS ARE NOW BEING
TRANSFERRED IN LIFEBOATS TO CUNARD LINE
Twenty Boat Loads Have Already
Been Transferred to the Catania,
of the Cunard Line. . . . No Loss of
Life is Feared. . . . Officials Confident
Throughout Long Period of Suspense . . . Halifax
Hears That Titanic is on Her Way to That Port.
(Note that newspapers made estimates of the numbers of passengers
rescued and deceased in early coverage. Also, the Washington Post
thought the rescue ship was Catania, not Carpathia.)
The Manchester Guardian, on April 16, wrote about the miscommunications
of White Star. Newspapers love to write about corporate
mistakes; it’s the stuff of which interesting articles are made. Under the
headline “The Day’s Strange Reports in America,” the story was a
timeline of every arrogant message from White Star’s Franklin and from
other reports. One message from the Government Marine Agency in
Halifax said that the Titanic was sinking, whereas a message from
Franklin said that “all passengers are saved, and the Virginian is towing
the Titanic towards Halifax” (Ziakas, 1999, p. 117).
12 Crisis Communications Today
Franklin finally received a telegram confirming that the ship had sunk,
and he later described his reactions:
... it was such a terrible shock that it took us a few minutes to get
ourselves together. Then at once I telephoned, myself; two of our
directors, Mr. Steele and Mr. Morgan, Jr. and at the same time went
downstairs to the reporters. I got off the first line and a half where
it said: “The Titanic sank at two o’clock a.m.” and there was not a
reporter left in the room—they were so anxious to get out and
telephone the news.
(Ziakas, 1999, p. 117)
At Pier 54 in New York harbor, the surviving passengers came ashore
and were regarded as celebrities from that point on. An embarrassed and
tearful Franklin went aboard Carpathia to meet with Ismay, who was in
a state of mental and physical collapse. Ismay and Franklin drafted
White Star’s official reaction to the disaster and came ashore long after
the passengers had left. Ismay and Franklin also were present at a stressful
media availability event and later issued a formal statement (shown in
Figure 1.1).
Crisis Communications Today 13
In the presence and under the shadow of a catastrophe so overwhelming
my feelings are too deep for expression in words. I can only say that
the White Star Line, its offices and employees will do everything
humanly possible to alleviate the suffering and sorrow of the survivors
and of the relatives and friends of those who perished.
The Titanic was the last word in shipbuilding. Every regulation
prescribed by the British Board of Trade had been strictly complied
with, the master, officers, and the crew were the most experienced and
skillful in the British service.
I am informed that a committee of the United States had been
appointed to investigate the circumstances of the accident. I heartily
welcome the most complete and exhaustive inquiry, and any aid that
I or my associates or our builders or navigators can render is at the
service of the public and the governments of both the United States
and Great Britain. Under the circumstances I must respectfully defer
making any further statement at this time.
Figure 1.1 Formal statement made by J. Bruce Ismay, managing director of White Star,
following the sinking of the Titanic. Ismay was aboard the doomed ship and
issued this statement after consultation with Phillip A. S. Franklin, who
headed White Star’s New York office (Ziakas, 1999, p. 120).
The surviving passengers issued their own statement, which read in
part:
We, the undersigned surviving passengers from the steamship Titanic,
in order to forestall any sensational or exaggerated statements, deem
it our duty to give the press a statement of facts that have come to
our knowledge and that we believe to be true. . . . We feel it is our
duty to call the attention of the public to what we consider the
inadequate supply of live-saving appliances provided for on modern
passenger steamships, and recommend that immediate steps be
taken to compel passenger steamers to carry sufficient boats to
accommodate the maximum number of people carried on board.
(Ziakas, 1999, pp. 120–121)
The survivors were viewed as heroes, as was Captain Smith, who went
down with the ship. Ismay was cleared of any wrongdoing by both British
and U.S. inquiries, but his reputation never recovered. In motion pictures
about the Titanic, Ismay was portrayed as a villain. The denotation of
Titanic was “huge, colossal,” whereas its connotation was “doom.”
White Star Line became synonymous with bad management. It suffered
financial problems during the European Depression and, in the 1930s,
merged with Cunard, with Cunard holding 62% of the shares. Both flags
were flown on the ships until 1957, when the White Star flag was
withdrawn. White Star liquidated its ships, and Cunard bought the
remaining shares. By 1958, White Star no longer existed. Cunard went
on to produce the Queen Mary, the Queen Elizabeth, and the Queen
Elizabeth II. The Queen Elizabeth II still makes transatlantic crossings.
Prodromes for the Titanic tragedy were ships that had sunk previously.
White Star thought it had made, in the construction of the ship, all the
necessary adjustments in response to warning signs. The company
concentrated on the positives rather than the negatives. It did not examine
the worst case scenario: “What if this doesn’t work?” That question was
apparently never asked or heeded.
Prevention and preparation would have included making sure there
were enough lifeboats and developing crisis management and crisis
communications plans. Containment would have meant recognizing the
danger as soon as the iceberg was sighted and putting into effect the crisis
management and crisis communications plans. However, much arrogance
(“This ship is unsinkable”) existed. Although there were a limited number
of lifeboats, many went unfilled because of poor crisis management. There
was apparently time—if there had been a plan to be carried out—to save
many more passengers.
Total recovery was not likely in this crisis. The reputation of White
Star remained damaged after nearly a century had passed. If the company
14 Crisis Communications Today
had done anything right in the pre-launching, the sinking, or the postsinking,
there might have been a possibility of the recovery of their
reputation.
In some cases, a company in crisis can seem to be a victim of crises,
but this was not true in the sinking of the Titanic. The company was
guilty of its own negligence and arrogance.
Crisis Communications Today 15
Crisis Communications
Theory
Academic researchers study the methods and procedures of professional
communicators and develop theories of what is and what is not effective.
Professionals rarely study theory but many have “tried and true” methods
of practice that are, in effect, theory. Often, these practices of professionals
are the same theories that academicians have studied and named.
A theory is used to explain what will work, what decisions should be
made and how, what actions are likely to result and how, and how things
relate. It is a prediction based on what has happened before. Theorybased
practice is preferable because, in most aspects of life, we learn from
our previous experiences and the experiences of others. Theorists have
examined the actions of numerous practitioners and culled their findings
into succinct theories.
Theories exist in various fields. Crisis communicators can benefit from
many theories in the social sciences. The relatively new fields of crisis
communications and public relations are developing their own theories,
but theories applied to crisis communications are often theories in
communications (including persuasion and rhetoric), sociology, and
psychology.
Theories also tend to change, so it is necessary to regularly test them.
Variables and relationships and conditions change, and results are
sometimes vastly different in subsequent tests. Also, theories build on
previous theories. Often, in using a theory, the researcher recognizes a
missing element that does not necessarily find fault with the original
theory but is deemed worthy of a new or more multifaceted theory.
Some theories are described in this chapter. They are followed by the
predominant public relations/crisis communication theory called the
excellence theory, proposed by James E. Grunig and Todd Hunt in 1984.
Apologia Theory
When an organization has been accused of a misdeed, its reaction to its
publics is often called apologia. It is, as one would assume, an effort to
Chapter Two
defend reputation and protect image. But it is not necessarily an apology.
The organization’s effort may deny, explain, or apologize for the action
through communication discourse.
If a soft drink manufacturer, for example, is accused of using inferior
ingredients in its products, the apologia might contradict the charges by
explaining what ingredients were actually used. The aim is to counteract
a negative or damaging charge. Publics—the news media, consumers,
employees, and key opinion leaders—may express disappointment with
the company and expect some explanation, if not a full apology.
The organization may insist that the charges are false and totally deny
them. Or the organization may communicate to its public(s) that it did
not “intend” to commit the misdeed. This is called redefinition. Publics
tend to forgive if the organization’s policies are above reproach and
somehow, someway, something unforeseen happened. One individual,
whose employment may subsequently be terminated, might be blamed.
However, the public’s forgiveness is not guaranteed. If the organization
can show how it has taken steps to prevent the occurrence or the
recurrence of the misdeed, all may be forgiven.
Apologia strategy may also include informing publics that the organization
might seem to have committed a misdeed but actually has not.
This is called dissociation. Facts explaining should follow. In the example
above, if the soft drink’s color has changed slightly, the manufacturer
might explain that the ingredients have not changed but the food coloring
is different; all ingredients are still pure and perfect. The organization,
if faced with a large number of complaints, might also explain that it is
returning to the former food coloring. That would be using dissociation
and explanation.
A third strategy might be the actual apology: “We are guilty. We are
sorry. Please forgive us.” This is called conciliation.
Muslims in Turkey, Iraq, and Palestine territories wanted Pope Benedict
to make a conciliation in 2006 when he cited a medieval text that
characterized some of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad as “evil
and inhuman,” particularly “his command to spread by the word the
faith.” The pope said he was “deeply sorry,” but the complainers from
the Muslim countries felt the apology was insincere and made merely to
protect his public image. The pontiff said the comments were those he
cited from an old source, not his opinion (Associated Press, 2009).
A man in Washington State was frustrated because his wife was
missing. He called 911, and an employee of the county sheriff told him
his missing wife didn’t “meet the criteria for a search” and that he should
“check the jails and hospitals.” The man threatened to get the news media
involved and did. As the public’s concern grew, after two days a tracking
was done using cell phone technology. The woman’s car had gone over
Crisis Communications Theory 17
an embankment where no one from the street could see it in foliage; she
was trapped in the car but alive. The sheriff, representing her department,
apologized “for not doing a better job of explaining the process” to the
man. This was redefinition. The sheriff did not admit that her department
and employee had any culpability in the man’s crisis or that “the criteria”
would change. She said the process should have been explained better
(Castro, 2007).
Image Restoration Theory
This theory builds on the apologia theory. In this theory, the organization
determines what is threatening reputation or image and also determines
which publics must be addressed and persuaded in order to maintain and
restore positive image.
Organizations sometimes take the attitude “Don’t bring me bad news!”
They may refuse to read or watch negative news coverage in specific
publications or they may close their eyes to consumers or other publics.
In refusing to know what some people think of them, they cannot possibly
know how to respond. Organizations should seek to read bad news just
as much as they keep positive news clippings and read them carefully.
When it comes to publics, the organization must know which publics
have negative impressions and what the extent of their knowledge is.
Does the public know all the facts, some of the facts, half-truths, lies?
One must know where these publics stand before they can be targeted
for communication. In most public relations campaigns, the first step is
research. The same holds true for crisis communications.
On the other hand, one must determine if the publics know anything
at all that might damage reputation. Sometimes it is better to remain
silent on the issue. At other times it is best to tell your own bad news.
This is a judgment call but a crucial judgment call determined by carefully
researching one’s publics continually.
An example of image restoration took place when Wal-Mart realized
in 2009 that it was getting bad press. Apparently many people felt that
the huge company had a serious case of corporate greed, that it would
do anything to earn money.
To build its customers’ trust, executives decided the company should
have an open information policy, one in which customers would know
the origins of the products sold in the stores. The policy was part of a
sustainability agenda that also included requiring suppliers in China, the
U.S., and the United Kingdom to comply with environmental laws. It
also included having stronger audits, offering awards to energy-efficient
suppliers, and urging the suppliers to come up with quality merchandise
with no returns due to defects.
18 Crisis Communications Theory
Decision Theory
Decision theory is concerned with counseling management and other
leaders to make the most effective decision. Decision theory may be
applied to all areas of management, but it is useful in public relations
management and crisis communication. The theory is especially applicable
to issues management and the effort to prevent a crisis.
Decisions are made under various conditions. The outcome may be
certain, vague, ambiguous, or risky. The theory suggests that the decision
maker should consider the possible benefit of each alternative; this is
called maximizing. How useful is one alternative compared to others?
The best decision possible garners the greatest benefit, the greatest
utility for the organization. Often, decision theorists note that decision
makers do not opt for the greatest benefit but settle for the decision that
will satisfy minimum requirements, usually because they do not have
adequate data with which to formulate decisions. This practice is called
satisficing.
Obviously, when trying to build long-standing relationships it is better
to maximize than to satisfice. When satisficing, a public or publics may
not be happy with the decision, or the decision may be temporary, a
Band-Aid solution to a cancer in the organization.
Diffusion Theory
Also called diffusion of innovations theory, this theory examines how
new procedures, practices, and objects are adopted and accepted by
companies and individuals.
Diffusion theory has a five-step process: awareness (the body is exposed
to the idea), interest (the body develops interest in the idea), evaluation
(pros and cons are determined and considered), trial (the idea is
implemented, perhaps temporarily to determine its effectiveness), and
adoption or failure to adopt (acceptance or rejection of the idea, change,
or innovation).
Whether something is adopted or not depends on three variables:
1. The Past. What has happened previously? What are past problems
and needs? Basically, you must know where you are before you make
decisions to make changes, to go forward.
2. The Decision Makers. What are the characteristics of the decisionmaking
body that make it open to or closed to change? Are there
close-minded persons with great influence over others? How do
experience, age, education, and other socioeconomic variables impact
the decision-making process? Is the body made up of all leaders and
no followers?
Crisis Communications Theory 19
3. The Innovation/Change. Does the innovation show more obvious
advantages and few disadvantages over present practice or procedure?
Does the innovation call for drastic change or can it be easily
assimilated into current practice?
The change agents, often communicators or public relations professionals,
try to move the body forward toward adoption. They often use
the mass media during the awareness and interest stages. During
evaluation and trial, personal contacts are valuable.
An example of diffusion theory in crisis communications might be a
theater with an aging clientele suffering from poor single ticket sales
and declining subscriptions. The plays have, for years, been the classics.
Theater management wants to offer more contemporary plays to attract
a younger audience, but they also want to keep the faithful clientele.
Communicators might make announcements through the news media of
this effort showing reasons in the awareness stage. In the interest stage,
they might have focus groups of persons from Generation X and seniors.
In the evaluation stage, the focus groups are studied, and comments
are offered by members of the executive and community boards. In the
trial stage, one contemporary cutting-edge play is produced with careful
publicity, interaction, and communications with leaders of both groups
attending to help them understand. Follow-up interviews are conducted.
The same effort is made to get the younger group to understand and
appreciate a chosen classic.
The adoption stage results if most efforts succeed; during the following
season, perhaps two contemporary plays may be offered.
Excellence Theory
Most recent public relations research builds on the excellence theory
developed by J. Grunig and Hunt (1984) and later expanded by J. Grunig
and L. Grunig (1992). The excellence theory is based on types of public
relations practices called “models.” The four models defined by J. Grunig
and Hunt provide a way of classifying the types of public relations that
individuals and organizations may practice.
In a spectrum of excellence of public relations programs, Model 1
would be the least desirable. Model 4 would be the most desirable, or
could be said to be the “most excellent.” Models 2 and 3 fall between
these two extremes.
Model 1—Press Agentry/Publicity Model
In this model, public relations practitioners are interested in making their
organizations or products known. They may or may not use truthful
20 Crisis Communications Theory
statements. Falsehoods, half-truths, and incomplete facts are all permissible.
The practitioners’ abiding slogan, “All publicity is good publicity,”
indicates a one-way transfer of information from the organization to
the publics. Little or no research is required. There is no feedback.
J. Grunig and Hunt (1984) revealed that this model was used by 15%
of public relations practitioners. Later, J. Grunig and L. Grunig (1992)
found the earlier data to be inaccurate and reported that most public
relations practitioners, unfortunately, still fall into this category.
As practitioners become more knowledgeable and as the profession of
public relations grows in respect, the number of practitioners using this
model is expected to decrease.
Model 2—Public Information Model
This model is characterized by the desire to report information
journalistically. It is different from Model 1 in that truth is essential. Most
public relations practice in government agencies today falls into this
category. Companies that simply distribute news releases are examples
of this model. The practitioner is often called a flack.
This model also involves a one-way transfer of information from the
organization to the publics. Little or no research is required. There may
be some type of evaluation, such as readership surveys or the counting
of news clips. Model 2 is most common in corporations.
Model 3—Two-Way Asymmetric Model
In this model, also called the scientific persuasion model, the public
relations practitioner uses social science theory and research, such as
surveys and polls, to help persuade publics to accept the organization’s
point of view. There is some feedback, but the organization does not
change as a result of communications management. In asymmetric public
relations programs of this type, the organization rules. It always knows
best. Its attitude is that publics should adhere to the organization’s
viewpoints. An example of asymmetric action is a letter informing a public
of a new policy or a recorded telephone message with no technology
available for returning messages.
Model 4—Two-Way Symmetric Model
The public relations practitioner in this model, also called the mutual
understanding model, is an intermediary between the organization and
its publics. The practitioner tries to achieve a dialogue, not a monologue
as in the other models. Either management or the publics may make
changes in behavior as a result of the communications program.
Crisis Communications Theory 21
Research and social science theory are used not to persuade but to
communicate. Effective public relations programs based on this model
are said to be “excellent” programs.
Symmetrical public relations programs negotiate, compromise, bargain,
listen, and engage in dialogue. The organization knows what the publics
want and need; the publics, in turn, understand the organization’s needs
and desires. An example is talking to consumers by telephone or at a
public meeting in which the consumers can talk back and changes result.
In crises, organizations are frequently forced, by circumstances, to
practice symmetrical communications with adversarial publics. Although
most organizations practice Models 1 and 2, research by J. Grunig and
L. Grunig (1992) revealed that PR practitioners would prefer to practice
Model 4 if they had the expertise to do so and if their organizations were
receptive to that practice.
The preceding classifications are not precise. For example, an
organization may practice Model 2 and Model 4. If the organization
practices Model 2 more than Model 4, it is considered a Model 2 public
relations operation.
The new social media networks are a boon to the possibilities of twoway
symmetrical practice. An organization can, if it desires, listen to its
publics and make changes in its programs on the basis of those communications.
It can also use them to explain its policies to these publics.
After listeria-tainted meat had killed several people, the Canadian company
concerned—Maple Leaf Foods—responded to a consumer on the
corporate blog, explaining the precaution the company had instituted to
ensure that this would not occur again. When it responded to that one
irate blogger, other consumers read it.
If a company uses social media to count kudos from its publics and
not to carefully consider change for mutual benefit, the social media
interchange is Model 3.
Grunig and Repper on the Excellence Theory
J. Grunig and Repper (1992) identified theories on strategic management,
publics, and issues as having two primary propositions. Both are
conducive to a study of crisis communications programs:
1. Public relations is most likely to be excellent (contribute to organizational
effectiveness) when it is an integral part of an organization’s
strategic management process and when public relations is managed
strategically.
2. Public relations is managed strategically when it identifies stakeholders
(separates active publics from stakeholder categories) and
resolves issues created by the interaction of organization and publics
22 Crisis Communications Theory
through symmetrical communications programs early in the development
of issues.
These propositions mean that excellent public relations programs, as
well as excellent crisis communications programs, have the following
characteristics:
1. The public relations head is an important part of the top management
of the organization.
2. Programs are designed to build relationships with all key stakeholders
of an organization or company.
3. Public relations, through research, identifies who the organization’s
key stakeholders are and ranks them in order of importance. They
may be customers, the media, employees, competitors, unions, special
interest groups, vendors, suppliers, environmental groups, consumer
advocates, and critics, to name a few.
4. An ongoing public relations plan is developed for each key
stakeholder. This necessarily goes beyond media relations into a
Model 4 program (two-way symmetrical program). These programs
can sometimes prevent crises. At other times, they can help lessen
the severity of crises.
5. In segmentation, public relations breaks down large publics into
smaller subpublics with which it can communicate more effectively
about issues or problems. These publics are usually, but not always,
active rather than passive. Active publics seek out information
and are more likely than passive publics to act on an issue. For
example, if an organization wants to gear a program to all public
schoolchildren, it might direct its program to the National Education
Association or the American Federation of Teachers, organizations
consisting of members who are educators and who can reach all
public schoolchildren. Organizations that do not segment their
stakeholders might send a news release to metropolitan newspapers,
hoping that teachers will read the resulting article and communicate
its contents to the children in their classes.
6. Issues management is part of a two-way symmetrical program that
is best handled by the public relations department. (Although issues
management is, in many cases, handled by public affairs or corporate
communications departments, which are separate and apart from
public relations departments that handle only media relations, Grunig
and Repper’s theory does not advise this separation.) A public makes
an issue when it perceives that a problem is brewing or already exists.
In issues management, the public relations department anticipates the
issues that are potential crises and ranks them in order of possible
damage to the organization. Then strategies and tactics are developed
Crisis Communications Theory 23
and implemented to lessen the likelihood of crises. The crucial element
here is early identification of potential crises, like treating a sniffle
before it becomes the flu. The treatment might involve making allies
with potential adversaries or meeting with community activists
to explain a procedure that might be construed as damaging to
consumers. Consequently, the odds are enhanced that an issue can
benefit the organization rather than hamper it.
Marra and the Excellence Theory
Marra (1992), in an attempt to build on and validate a model of excellent
crisis public relations, suggested that organizations develop a theoretically
based crisis public relations model that would allow practitioners to
identify which variables could be adjusted to make a crisis communication
plan (CCP) work and which variables, if not adjusted, would cause it to
fail. Marra argued that this knowledge could allow public relations
practitioners to know before a crisis what will or will not work. He
identified strategies and techniques common to excellent responses to
crises with the following hypotheses:
1. An organization having strong and well-developed relationships with
its key publics prior to a crisis will suffer less financial, emotional,
or perceptual damage than an organization with weak and poorly
developed relationships with its key publics prior to a crisis. Key
publics would not only be the media but also employees, customers,
community members, and so forth.
2. Organizations with weak precrisis relationships are those with
asymmetrical practices; that is, they are Model 1, 2, or 3 organizations.
Therefore, an organization that uses two-way symmetrical
crisis communications procedures will suffer less financial, emotional,
or perceptual damage than the Model 1, 2, or 3 organization or the
organization that uses silence as a crisis response.
3. An organization that establishes and puts into effect continuing risk
communications activities and prepares crisis communications plans
prior to crises will have stronger relationships with key publics, use
two-way symmetrical crisis public relations practices, and as a result
suffer less financial, emotional, and perceptual damage than the
organization that does not.
4. An organization with communication ideologies that encourage,
support, and champion crisis management preparations, crisis communications
plans and actions, and two-way symmetrical communications
practices will suffer less financial, emotional, and perceptual
damage than the organization that does not.
24 Crisis Communications Theory
Crisis Communications Today 25
CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS VOCABULARY
Strategy—An approach on how one handles a problem.
Stakeholders—People who are linked to an organization or who have an
interest in an organization and are affected by the decisions made by that
organization. Examples of company stakeholders are employees, stockholders,
communities, and government officials.
Strategic publics—Stakeholders who are crucial to an organization. The
organization cannot function without them. Examples are boards of directors,
investors, and unions.
Strategically managed public relations—Communications programs
designed to build relationships with strategic publics, the crucial stakeholders
of an organization.
Segmentation—The division of a market, population, or a large public into
groups whose members are bound by mutual interests, concerns, and charac-
teristics.
Risk communications—An ongoing program of informing and educating
various publics (usually external publics) about issues that can affect, negatively
or positively, an organization’s success. The program builds solid relationships
between an organization and its key publics, the publics on which an organization’s
survival depends. These relationships must be established prior to a crisis. It is
too late after a crisis erupts.
Organizational ideology—An organization’s philosophy, its working climate,
its corporate culture. Each person’s experience with the organization—no matter
how small or large—puts him or her in contact with that organization’s ideology,
or corporate culture. The elements of that culture (such as norms of dress, formal
rules, informal codes of conduct, taboos, jokes, language, etc.) make up an invisible,
internalized whip that cracks and tells people what they can do, what they cannot
do, what they can say, and what they cannot say in their dealings with the
organization. It is inescapable that the culture determines to some degree how
people within the organization behave. Popular examples of organizational
ideology include “Look busy whether you are or not” and “The boss is always
right.” Johnson & Johnson relied on its organizational ideology in 1982 when,
without a crisis management or communications plan, it followed its credo after
several people died from poisoned Tylenol capsules.
Communications ideology—The organization’s philosophy and attitudes of
behavior in communicating with publics. Again, Johnson & Johnson’s public
relations program during the tampering case is an example. The company’s basic
rule in coping with the media, and thereby with the consuming public, was “open
and honest information.” It is difficult for a public relations department of a
major corporation to have a communications ideology different from the
organizational ideology. A productive public relations operation necessarily
suffers from an unproductive organizational ideology and vice versa. (This is
further examined in Chapter 7, “Exxon and the Valdez Oil Spill.”)
Figure 2.1 To comprehend crisis communication theory, certain terms must first be
understood.
Fearn-Banks and the Excellence Theory
Two additional characteristics are suggested (Fearn-Banks, 1996):
1. An organization that anticipates, through crisis inventory (see Chapter
15), the precise type of crisis will suffer less financial, emotional, and
perceptual damage than the organization that does not.
2. An organization that maintains the reputation of having an overall
“open and honest” policy with stakeholders and the news media will
suffer less financial, emotional, and perceptual damage than the
organization that does not. (This is a specific area covered broadly
in Marra’s fourth characteristic.)
Summary
Various theories suggest attributes and characteristics of programs that
are likely either to prevent crises or enable organizations to recover from
crises more swiftly than organizations without those characteristics.
Strong among all the theories is the necessity for planning ahead. Also
prominent is maintaining strong relationships with publics (including the
news media).
Persons with public relations savvy are likely to say, “This is obvious.
People who are prepared should withstand a crisis better.” Nevertheless,
the likelihood of a crisis is not seen as obvious by many organizational
heads. Most companies still do not plan for crises and take the attitude
that “it hasn’t happened, so it probably won’t happen.” However, it does
happen, more often than not. After an organization without a plan or a
program has suffered a crisis, it then sees the need for crisis planning
and proactive public relations programs.
26 Crisis Communications Theory
Communications to
Prevent Crises
Warning signs, called prodromes, are crucial because prevention is the
best cure for a crisis. Strong community relations programs that get
positive coverage in the media and endear your company to its publics
will help this effort. Actually, ongoing proactive public relations programs
of any kind are insurance policies against crises.
A strong people-centered corporate culture, rather than a profitcentered
one, is also an effective crisis prevention tool. Corporate culture
is the way an organization does business, its unwritten but firmly
established values. The corporate culture must be established in such a way
that honest, open communication is a basic value. Problems such as the
CEO not speaking to the head of public relations and ignoring complaints
from consumers are signals of an impending crisis that can be devastating.
Employees who are stressed from overburdened workloads can ignite a
crisis as well.
When on a fact-finding mission among internal publics to determine
likely prodromes, listen attentively to others. You need to listen to what
is said and to note how it is said, under what circumstances, and who
said it. Watch facial expressions; they may be indicative of a story beyond
the information you actually gather. Employees may fear reprisals from
superiors or want to avoid “ratting” or whistle-blowing. There are
numerous reasons for omissions, half-truths, and lies. A diligent researcher
will see clues and hints of a need for further investigation.
An example of this was exhibited when a specific brand of automobile
was found to be dangerously defective. It was discovered, after numerous
cars had rolled off the assembly line and been sold, that the workers on
the line knew about the defect. They were afraid to pull their supervisors’
coattails, afraid of the workplace culture of “Kill the messenger of any
news that causes a slowdown.”
The News Media
Before a crisis, or at the onset of a crisis, you must anticipate what the
news media need and want. Looking at the big picture, the media want
Chapter Three
to sell newspapers and win ratings wars. The media give the public what
it wants to know rather than what it needs to know. There is a fine line
between news and entertainment, and crises make for entertaining news.
The public is perceived to enjoy watching, reading about, uncovering,
and lambasting organizations, companies, and individuals who might
have done harm to people or, even worse, to animals.
Never say, “No comment!” to the public; refusing to comment appears
to be an admission of hiding information or even guilt. If you do not
respond, the public does not hear your side of the story and will conclude,
“Company X refused to comment and, therefore, it must have done
something terrible.” If there is some legal reason for not revealing certain
information, explain this as much as possible and promise to reveal the
information at a specific time. Do all you can to make that information
available at the time you specified.
Do not assume that the crisis story will go away. The media can do
their stories without you. They can build a case against your organization,
portrayed as “the bad guy,” by talking with disgruntled employees,
volunteers, and customers, and, even more often, by seeking out disgruntled
former employees, former volunteers, and former customers. The
media can also use computer files and call up long-forgotten problems
and mistakes and, in a few seconds, regurgitate them and place them
before the eyes and ears of the public. The people thus hear the negative
story.
In a TV interview, Carl Bernstein (1994), who with Bob Woodward
investigated the Watergate crisis for the Washington Post, said, “There
are always people, if you work hard enough, who will want to tell the
truth.” In other words, do not wage a war with an enemy who buys ink
by the barrel, paper by the ton, and controls the airwaves.
Internal Publics
Companies and organizations are wise to develop programs designed to
achieve the following objectives with internal publics, particularly with
employees:
1. Employees must learn what positive performance is and how it will
benefit the organization and the employee. Employees need job
descriptions and perhaps instructions on how their jobs should be
done. In some public relations departments, employees admit that
they write news releases on a “monkey see, monkey do” system—
they use previous news releases and make new ones fit the same
format, a kind of formula writing. This may work occasionally, but
each news release should have its own unique elements and style. If
an employee needs a formula to write a news release, it may be time
28 Communications to Prevent Crises
for writing classes. Demonstrations, practice, and special training or
a reference manual may also be helpful.
2. Employees also need to know the consequences of a job well done
and of a job poorly done, including consequences to the company
and to the individual employee. It is important for all employees
to feel as if they are part of the company. It’s a feeling of “we,” not
“they.”
3. Employees must learn what the job priorities are. Employees and
management could have various opinions of which jobs or tasks are
priorities. It is important for both employees and management to be
on the same page. Either side may adjust to the other, but it is
important that management and employees agree on priorities. This,
again, requires effective communication.
4. Positive performance must be rewarded. Employees perform well
when their work is recognized and rewarded. Conversely, they
perform poorly when their work is not rewarded. Although managers
say the paycheck is enough, they are the very managers likely to suffer
crises arising from internal conflict. Research shows that positive
reinforcement results in continued effective performance. Rewards
may include money, trophies, certificates, an afternoon off, a free
lunch, compliments, announcements on a bulletin board, a temporary
parking place of honor, and other forms of employee recognition.
Even a minor recognition in the form of a letter, memo, or e-mail
message can be effective and encouraging when it is provided on a
regular, perhaps daily, basis. Such a message might say, for example,
“You worked very hard to get that report completed on time and
I appreciate your hard work.”
5. Conversely, poor employee performance should be punished. If an
employee not doing his or her job well is never reprimanded, the
good workers become discouraged. Proper communications with
poor performers include formal or informal documents and face-toface
conversations, but they should never include public humiliation.
6. Punishment for good work must be avoided. Many times in
companies, an employee who does work well is given more work to
do. An employee who makes useful suggestions winds up having to
carry out the suggestions. An employee who comes in early or stays
late is despised by other workers. These are examples of punishing
employees for exceptional work. First, communication is necessary
to reward the good performance; second, an effort should be made
to provide the training, mentoring, and advising necessary to bring
the other employees up to the standard set by the exceptional worker.
7. Help employees cope with personal problems. Whether management
likes it or not, employees will have personal problems that may
interfere with their work. Management should learn to recognize the
Communications to Prevent Crises 29
symptoms of a personal crisis. A personal crisis may exist when an
employee does the following: spends an unusual amount of time on
the telephone, makes an unusual number of errors, is unproductive,
abuses equipment, arrives late or leaves early, stares blankly into
space, yells and is otherwise irritable, or spends excessive time in the
restroom.
Because personal crises can turn into company crises, it is imperative
to help employees cope with the issues affecting their performance.
Allowing employees time off for personal business (with or without
make-ups) is one way to handle these situations; providing on-site
psychologists and advisers is another. Some companies even have on-site
physicians and dentists available to employees to save time away from
the job.
Large companies have employee relations departments to cope with
issues surrounding employee problems and employee benefits. Many
companies provide outstanding benefits that are a real plus in earning
employee loyalty. They may also provide stock options and extensive
vacation time. J. P. Morgan grants a free lunch. Fel-Pro pays $3,000
a year to send employees’ children to college. Johnson & Johnson has a
benefit whereby employees who have worked there for at least 5 years
get an extra week’s paid vacation when they get married. Johnson &
Johnson also has a child-care center and on-site fitness center.
Customers/Consumers
Generally, a business has five primary objectives designed to build sales
and gain loyal customers. These objectives are the following:
1. Keep the old customers. Longtime contented customers bring other
customers. Programs such as the frequent-flyer programs and exclusive
discounts are examples of programs designed to reward consumers
for loyalty to a company, brand, or product. Other communications,
such as newsletters and individual letters, are also frequently used.
Assuring loyal customers of the constant effort to have quality
products and services as well as competitive prices is important.
2. Attract new customers. Good prices, excellent quality, and word-ofmouth
referrals from loyal consumers help to attract new customers.
Interpersonal contact with sales staff and other employees is also
effective in this area. Open houses and other special events bring the
company to the attention of potential customers. Publicity about the
company’s outreach programs also attracts new customers.
3. Market new services and products. Customers and consumers want
to see that a company or organization is constantly making efforts
30 Communications to Prevent Crises
to better itself in every area. They want to know what the new
products and services are, why they are better than the older ones,
and that prices are reasonable.
4. Handle complaints swiftly. A customer who complains and is
subsequently satisfied will return and bring other customers. One who
does not complain or is not satisfied after a complaint will switch
loyalty to a competitor. If four people complain, one can usually
assume that there are 24 others who were dissatisfied and did not
speak out. Complaints in some organizations are handled by a middle
person who mediates between the complainant and the company.
He or she may simply say, “We’re sorry and will make amends.”
Or a letter might be written explaining the company’s actions.
The overall message to the customer is: “We want you to be happy.
We want your business.”
5. Educate customers. Companies develop programs to educate
customers about products and services. A store with a new line of
cotton garments might inform customers—through ads, publicity,
newsletters, and web pages—of the advantages of cotton, how to
recognize well-made garments, and so on.
6. Organize outreach programs. In the area of community relations,
companies and organizations adopt outreach programs in an effort to
build loyalty among persons in the community surrounding its place
of business. This may include making donations to nonprofits,
schools, and the like. Or it may mean actually getting involved: A drug
store may offer colon cancer screening. The police department might
mentor fatherless teens. McDonald’s runs the Ronald McDonald
Houses providing temporary houses for families while their sick
children are treated at nearby hospitals. The Internal Revenue Service
includes photos of missing children on its income tax forms. In
outreach programs, it is important to publicize your efforts—if your
purpose is to build positive relationships with the community. Some
organizations feel that publicizing their good deeds is bragging. If you
do not publicize, only those people who have benefitted will know
about your actions.
The Nordstrom Consumer Policy
The Nordstrom chain is known for its “customer is first” policy, a
prototype and model for other retail stores. A Nordstrom store manager
said, “Employees are instructed to make a decision that favors the
customer before the company. They are never criticized for doing too
much for a customer, [but] they are criticized for doing too little” (Spector
& McCarthy, 2000, p. 88).
Communications to Prevent Crises 31
The company works on the principle that if it takes care of customers’
needs and concern first, the dollars will come. The corporate organizational
chart shows customers at the top of an inverted pyramid and the
co-chairs at the bottom. Perhaps the most well-known aspect of Nordstrom
customer relations is its returns policy: If a customer is dissatisfied
with a Nordstrom purchase for any reason, the store takes it back with
no questions asked. Bruce Nordstrom advised his salespeople:
If a customer were to come into the store with a pair of 5-year-old
shoes and complain that the shoes were worn out and she wants her
money back, you have the right to use your best judgment to give
my money away. As a matter of fact, I order you to give my money
away.
(Spector & McCarthy, 2000, p. 98)
Although the returns policy invites consumer abuse, Nordstrom believes
that 98% of its customers are honest and should not be punished for the
dishonesty of a few. This policy has forced other retail stores to adopt
a more liberal returns policy to compete with Nordstrom.
Employees, customers, and even other publics (boards of directors,
advisory boards) may be included in regular communications through
social media, such as Facebook groups.
32 Communications to Prevent Crises
Communications When
the Crisis Strikes
When there is a crisis, there must be communication with the news media,
social media publics, internal publics, external publics, and lawyers. All
these communications should begin as soon as possible in the “golden
hour,” the first hour following notification that a crisis has occurred.
The International Telecommunications Union and other sources
provided data for the World Internet Usage Statistics as of December 31,
2009. Their Internet Big Picture revealed 76.2% of North Americans had
Internet usage. Australia had a 60.8 percentage; Europe, 53.0; the Middle
East, 28.8; Latin America, 31.9; Asia, 20.1; and Africa, 8.7. All continents
showed considerable growth (World Internet usage statistics, n.d.).
Nevertheless, that does not mean social media and websites are more
important tools of communication than the traditional news media. As
much as Internet use has increased, we still cannot ignore that television
is in 98% of homes in the U.S. Some were lost when television went
digital in 2009, but television is basically in all U.S. homes. The percentage
is high in other countries, too (Media trend track, 2009). Another
consideration is that television viewers get crisis information without
seeking it. A family can be watching their favorite sitcom when breaking
news interrupts. If people read newspapers—and there are still millions
who do—they see news stories they were not necessarily seeking.
Conversely, with online media, you don’t get any information unless you
actively seek it yourself.
News can sometimes be circulated faster by social media than by
traditional news media (see Chapter 5, “Social Media and Crisis Communications”).
Reporters must spend time getting to a crisis site and then
transmit a story while bloggers already at the site, with little or no expertise
in reporting, can get information transmitted immediately. It may be
accurate; it may be misinformation. The trained reporter, hopefully, will
find more complete information than the blogger or the Facebook friend.
He or she will know what questions to ask and what answers to seek.
Still, without doubt, both social media and traditional media must be
targets of communications as swiftly as possible. Ideally, the two should
Chapter Four
be contacted simultaneously and immediately because if accurate data is
not disseminated, inaccurate data is. If the crisis is online, then online
communications is probably best (see Domino’s Pizza, Chapter 12, page
258). If your communications staff is too small to permit simultaneous
communication, then a decision must be made as to which is more urgent
for your business.
Communicating with the News Media
There are three possible results of a crisis: (a) The organization is put
out of business, ruined, possibly sued, and key executives are possibly
charged with crimes; (b) the organization continues to exist, but it has
lost some image and respect in its publics’ eyes, and perhaps a great deal
of financial position; (c) the organization, in a hard-fought battle, has
won a war of public opinion and is seen as favorably as before or
perhaps more favorably.
Some types of organization suffer crises, loss of reputations, and great
financial loss but never seem to go out of business no matter what they
do. Governments are usually in that category, and they often lose lead
officials after a crisis—the captain must go down but not the ship.
Hospitals are also in this category—no matter what misdeeds they do,
they usually stay in business.
Information about a crisis reaches publics through the media more than
through any other means. An organization may have to work very hard
to get the media’s attention during normal times; its public relations
personnel may struggle even to get a news release used. However, during
times of crisis, it will be the media who will be seeking out PR personnel
or other company representatives.
It is true, unfortunately, that bad news sells. This has always been true.
Even Shakespeare wrote about it in Julius Caesar: “The evil men do lives
after them. The good is oft interred with their bones.” A negative story
is deemed more newsworthy than a positive one; the media consider your
positive news “puffery.”
It is the PR practitioner’s dream that every news publication and every
electronic news outlet will run prominent stories saying, “Company A is
the greatest. Its products and services are the greatest, and it has the best
PR people imaginable.”
Plan a system in advance whereby you are notified of erupting crises.
You want to be among the first, if not the first, to know. This can be
done by instructing company telephone operators to reach you 24 hours
a day, leaving a voice-mail greeting on your personal line during nonbusiness
hours, and cultivating friendly relations with key personnel in
the media, the fire department, and the police department—people who
can notify you in the event of a crisis affecting your organization.
34 Communications When the Crisis Strikes
Stages of a Crisis in the News Media
News media coverage of a crisis usually falls into four stages. The crisis
communicators should realize these stages and be prepared to provide
correct information and make explanations at each stage.
Stage 1 is breaking news. It is the immediate shocking or dramatic
impact. Detailed information is usually not available; misinformation is
often broadcast and printed. For example, in the Fort Hood shooting
incident in November, 2009, the first news stories said the gunman had
been killed; he had not. Reporters are covering the shock of it all.
Stage 1 ends when causes and explanation are presented. News stories
then center on those explanations. This can mean one day on TV news
and newspaper pages, not to mention social media conversations, or it
can mean several days. The Exxon oil spill (see Chapter 7) stayed in Stage
1 for a long period of time because reporters were stuck in Alaska with
nothing else to cover except the dead sea life.
Natural disasters also have prolonged Stage 1 news coverage. The
January 2010 earthquake in Haiti suffered Stage 1 for a couple of weeks.
As long as survivors were being pulled out of the rubble and as long as
relief was delayed, the stories continued. Fortunately for Haitians, as
people all over the world watched and read about the disasters, they felt
inclined to make donations.
Stage 2 begins when concrete details are becoming available. In the
Haitian tragedy, an accounting of the fatalities and the funds being raised
was a sign of Stage 2. In the Columbine school shooting in Littleton,
Colorado (see Chapter 13), Stage 2 began when descriptions of the
personalities of the shooters and stories of survival became available.
Stage 3 often involves analysis of the crisis and its aftermath. How are
victims coping? What is being done to remedy the situation? More is
said about how and why. In the Columbine crisis, Stage 3 stories were
about how the gunmen planned the attacks and memorials for the victims.
Stage 4 is an evaluation and critique of the crisis. Were warning signs
heeded? In most natural disasters and frequently in other crises, stories
are done about how the company, city, or country was warned that the
crisis would occur. Katrina, the Asian tsunami, and the Haitian earthquake
had warning signs. At Columbine, the youthful gunmen displayed
signs of maladjustment. This stage also signals a return to normalcy and
a consideration of what lessons have been learned.
Stage 4 usually includes anniversary stories—at first yearly, and then
perhaps every 10 years, 20, 30, etc. The 9/11/2001 tragedy is revisited
every year in September. The attack on Pearl Harbor is still revisited each
year but to a greater degree in 10-year increments. The 2000 Alaska
Airlines crash over the Pacific Ocean was revisited in January, 2010 in
Seattle newspapers, the headquarters of the airline. The news media keep
tickler files to remind them to revisit crises.
Communications When the Crisis Strikes 35
Sometimes a crisis grows out of another crisis, and that goes through
stages also. After the 9/11 tragedy, concern erupted about what was
happening to the enormous donations made to survivors, and this became
another crisis.
What the News Media Want to Know
• What happened?
• Were there any deaths or injuries?
• What is the extent of the damage?
• Is there a danger of future injuries or damage?
• Why did it happen?
• Who or what is responsible?
• What is being done about it?
• When will it be over?
• Has it happened before?
• Were there any warning signs of the problem?
If your organization has erred, it is usually best to reveal the mistake
at once, apologize, and make amends. The story may end right away as
long as the crisis itself is not continuing. Cover-ups make a crisis persist.
Whether your company has erred or not, do all you can to get control
of the situation as much as possible and as soon as possible. When you
release your own bad news, you decrease the likelihood of rumor,
supposition, half-truths, and misinformation.
If the disaster or crisis has already resulted in injury or death, or if it
poses a threat to the safety or well-being of groups or individuals, contact
the media immediately and indicate that you are looking into the
situation, that you “just found out 5 minutes ago.” This way, the media
representative will realize both the crucial aspect of the problem and that
your company cares about people and understands the media’s needs.
This action may buy you an ally as well.
If the situation is not urgent (be certain of this), it is advisable to look
into the situation, to make attempts to fully understand what took place,
and to have answers prepared for the media’s questions.
If reporters contact you first and you are unaware of the crisis, do not
rattle on without knowing details. Ask if you can call back in a few
minutes, saying frankly, “I need to find out what’s going on.” Get the facts
and then call the reporter back at the appointed time to communicate them.
Remember that the media and the public are entitled to have the facts
about a crisis. The idea is to help the media cover the story accurately
and with minimum criticism of the organization or company. The overall
goal is to keep or get the public’s trust through the media. The media
need you for information for interesting stories. Your organization needs
36 Communications When the Crisis Strikes
the media to communicate with the public en masse. By keeping this symbiotic
relationship in mind, the public relations professional will be in a
more proactive position during a crisis and feel more in control of the
organization’s bad news.
The spirit of cooperation must be established. In a crisis, there are three
types of response to a media request:
1. We know and here’s all the information.
2. We don’t know everything at this time. Here’s what we know. We’ll
find out more and let you know.
3. We have no idea, but we’ll find out and tell you.
Give the media access to the material they need: background information,
statistics, photographs, and spokespersons.
Apology
Know the difference between an apology and an excuse. An excuse
passes blame to others; an apology does not. Do not say, “We didn’t
realize . . .” when you should have realized. An apology is a sincere
admission that you are sorry for whatever happened. When people,
especially children, were sick and dying from the E. coli that had tainted
Jack-in-the-Box hamburgers, an excuse was not what the consumer
public wanted to hear. Saying the meat-packer was responsible for the
E. coli infections was not an apology. If your company had sold such a
product, you would owe the public an apology: “We are sorry. We will
do everything we can to make amends. We take responsibility for medical
treatments” (see “Apologia Theory” in Chapter 2, “Crisis Communications
Theory” and also Chapter 14, “Individuals in Crises.”)
Spokespersons
Identify one primary spokesperson for your company. Designating one
primary spokesperson reduces the possibility of conflicting statements,
organization values, or explanations being released to the media. Speaking
with one voice is more crucial in a crisis than during normal operations.
The CEO is considered by most public relations professionals to be
the spokesperson of choice during a crisis, especially if people have been
injured, if there is danger of physical harm, or if there are millions of
dollars in damages. The CEO usually has the most credibility with publics
and the media. He or she is seen as a true representative of the company,
as a person who can make decisions, and speak for the company.
If the company has a heart, it is the CEO’s; at least, that’s the public’s
perception.
Communications When the Crisis Strikes 37
Alternative spokespersons should be selected in the event the primary
spokesperson is not available during a crisis. Supportive spokespersons,
people who can speak authoritatively on technical subjects, are frequently
of value, too. For example, if patrons of a restaurant get food poisoning,
a physician might serve as a supportive spokesperson responsible for
telling the public about symptoms and treatments.
External Experts as Spokespersons
When there is an opportunity to let impartial experts speak about your
company’s diligence, sense of responsibility, or innocence in a crisis, permit
them to be spokespersons. In the Snapps restaurant case (see Chapter 6),
medical officials spoke at news conferences telling the public that AIDS
could not be spread to food by an HIV-positive food handler
News Conferences
If a news conference is warranted and can be arranged swiftly, arrange
one. Be certain to have a prepared statement read and distributed to the
media. This assists you in setting the tone for the rest of the session.
Spokespersons, whether the CEO, other top executives, experts, or
public relations professionals, should have major talking points. Also
called key messages and speaking points, these talking points are one-or
two-sentence summaries used to remind you of messages you want to be
sure to get across to the public. They might provide details about the
crisis or positive information about the company, such as the company’s
safety record, safety procedures, evacuation procedures, and other
information that says, “We are very concerned; we care.”
Be mindful during a crisis, however, that it is not the time to bring up
unrelated community service projects, no matter how many you have.
When lives are in jeopardy, no one wants to hear about how much money
you give annually to scholarships.
Spokespersons should rehearse their statements and talking points
enough to be comfortable with the information, to be comfortable in
front of TV cameras, and so prepared that he or she need only glance
occasionally at notes. Preferably, before a crisis, practice sessions should
be held in which employees ask the most difficult, rude, pointed questions
of the spokespersons to simulate an actual crisis news conference.
Do not prolong the crisis by calling an unnecessary news conference
or by engaging in other activities that can keep the crisis in the news.
During a crisis, you want to get off the news pages and broadcasts.
38 Communications When the Crisis Strikes
10 Do’s for Media Interviews
When dealing with the media or when being interviewed by the media,
whether in a one-on-one situation or at a news conference, note the
following 10 do’s for media interviews:
1. Do listen to the whole question before answering.
2. Do use everyday language, not the jargon of your business or
profession. Even if the reporters use the jargon, use the common
vernacular unless the interview is with a professional publication.
3. Do maintain an attitude showing you are calm, courteous, responsive,
direct, positive, truthful, concerned, and, if necessary, repentant and
apologetic.
4. Do understand the reporter’s job. Respect deadlines and return phone
calls promptly.
5. Do be accessible and pleasant.
6. Do try to treat the reporter as a partner, an ally in maintaining or
restoring the company’s good image.
7. Do tell the truth, the whole truth. Misleading or omitted facts are
also forms of lying. (Some seasoned public relations practitioners
disagree with this position and even insist that no organization in a
crisis is ever totally open and honest with the media or anyone else
from the outside. This is an arguable point in a moot debate. Even
these skeptics would agree that it is important to appear open and
honest.)
8. Do look the reporter in the eye. In your response, address each
reporter by name if possible.
9. Do use your crisis communications plan.
10. Do keep employees informed of the crisis. They may be volunteer
spokespersons.
10 Do Not’s for Media Interviews
At the same time, there are do not’s when dealing with the media:
1. Do not be a wimp! Being concerned and empathetic does not mean
that you must shake in your boots.
2. Do not guess or speculate. Either you know or you don’t.
3. Do not get overly upset about being quoted out of context. Unless
a complete transcript of your interview is printed, you are almost
always quoted out of context to a degree. If the quote is completely
wrong or libelous, that is another matter. Asking an editor for a
retraction or correction is permissible if a reporter has been undoubtedly
biased. A friendly letter delivered immediately and followed by
Communications When the Crisis Strikes 39
a phone call is generally most effective. “Demanding” a retraction
should usually be a lawyer’s job, as is a charge of libel. Proving libel
is difficult and costly.
4. Do not play favorites with the media. Always favoring one newspaper
or one television station is bad business. It can haunt you later.
5. Do not pull advertising from a newspaper because reporters are not
cooperative. The purpose of advertising is not to help the newspaper
anyway.
6. Do not consider your news release “golden.” It will be changed except
in small-staffed newspapers. If it is written well with real news, you
have done the best you can do.
7. Do not stick to a story if it has changed, just to be consistent. The
media realize that things change. Johnson & Johnson experienced
this during the Tylenol crisis (see Chapter 7). It had initially
announced there was no cyanide in its plant but later discovered that
there was. Johnson & Johnson’s public relations staff told the media
the truth. No publication made a big deal over it.
8. Do not be trapped into predicting the future.
9. Do not wear sunglasses or chew gum.
10. Do not smoke—unless you are in a place such as Winston-Salem,
North Carolina, where the economy is based on cigarette sales and
smoking is a way of life.
Truth is Essential: The Dissemination of Error
When there is no time for research, when the news media tell you the
news, or when the spokesperson must speak to the news media before
there are any real answers, what should you do? In these cases, make it
clear you have no definitive information. Do not reveal assumptions. Tell
the truths that are certain, saying repeatedly, “I just learned about this,
so I don’t have all the answers.” If you know, for example, that your
company practices safety precautions, say so: “This company is very
concerned about employee safety. There are hard and fast rules. There are
rewards for safety records. If anything happened, it was not because of a
lack of concern for safety. But we are very sorry that it happened.” An
early, earnest response can sometimes set the tone for how the public will
perceive the company in a crisis. In these days when news is disseminated
instantly, it is more important than ever to make sure the information
is accurate. This is a concern of communicators and news media.
An illustration of what happens when miscommunications are spread
is the Sago Mine tragedy in January 2006. Twelve men died in the mine
blast; another was rescued barely alive.
The tragedy was compounded because the families and friends of the
miners, after waiting and hoping that the toxic fumes detected were not
40 Communications When the Crisis Strikes
where the men were believed to be, were told that 12 men had survived
and only 1 had died. Then, 3 hours later they found that the good news
was wrong and the bad news was right, that 12 had died. Understandably,
they were devastated.
The miscommunications occurred like the children’s game of
“Telephone.” A worker in the mine communicated by two-way radio
that 12 were deceased but as the message traveled like a chain to various
points through the mine to the ground above, the details were reversed.
An official called 911 in anticipation of the rescue and asked for medical
crews. This was the phone conversation:
911 operator: What am I telling them (the medical crews)?
Mine official: 12 and bringing them out.
911 operator: And they’re alive?
Mine official: As far as I know.
“As far as I know” is not confirmation. However, people—and there
were apparently many people—on the scene were so eager to get good
news that they clung to what they wanted to hear and delivered the
good news to the people waiting at the church. It also went to the
gathered news media who assumed it came from someone in authority.
Newspapers and television news broadcasts went with the story as heard.
It was never revealed where the mistake occurred, and it was obviously
a mistake—not a lie and not a cruel trick as some people thought
immediately. Management of the mine should have had a way of being
certain before giving information. They possibly did, but the head of the
mine, interviewed on television news (CNN), seemed to have been misled
himself.
The news media know with whom to check for official word, so their
participation in informing the world is less forgivable. It is likely that
each news outlet was afraid his or her operation would be the only one
not carrying the great story of survival. Heads would roll! Without
doubt, some reporters worried about whether it was fact, but the story
had wings and was traveling all over the world.
Hopefully, news outlets saw their error and will have set up systems
whereby this will not happen again. Considering social media, cell phones,
Blackberries, and various other technologies, the dissemination of errors
can be swift and disastrous.
Trick Questions
Although news reporters must make sure their information is accurate,
communications professionals representing companies in crisis must be
careful of their response to reporters. A media critic once said, “Being
Communications When the Crisis Strikes 41
interviewed is like playing Russian roulette. You never know which
question will kill you.” Sometimes reporters stray from the typical “who,
what, where, when, and why” questions. Metzler (1994) identified several
types of questions that reporters have been known to ask. Metzler’s
questions as well as a few others follow.
Speculative questions begin with “if.” These can be embarrassing and
dangerous. For example, a reporter may ask, “If the earthquake had
happened during business hours, how many people would have been
killed or injured?”
Leading questions imply that the reporter already has the answer; you
are merely to verify it. For example, “You do agree that the company
could have avoided this tragedy, right?”
Loaded questions are designed to elicit an emotional response. Some
television reporters thrive on these because responses to them make for
more exciting videos. A sample might be, “Isn’t it true that you knew
there was asbestos in the ceiling and failed to do anything about it?” In
the case of a loaded question, rephrase it and answer your own question.
You could say, “Do you mean, ‘Were we aware there was asbestos?’ No,
we were not.”
Naïve questions indicate that the reporter has not done any homework
and does not know what to ask. “Tell me, what does your company
do?” is an example. Reporters who ask such questions are dangerous
because they desperately need a story. Make sure they get the story you
want them to have. Give them media materials such as press kits,
“backgrounders,” biographies, and news releases.
False questions intentionally contain inaccurate details. If the question
is “You fired half of your over-50 staff, right?” the public relations
professional, knowing the statistic is wrong, could counter with, “No,
only 40%,” not realizing the reporter was aiming for that information
all along.
Know-it-all questions begin with “We have the story. I just need a few
wrap-up facts.” The reporter may want you merely to confirm an already
formed viewpoint. He or she may not have a story at all but wants you
to release only “the dirt.”
Silence, or an absence of questioning, is used by reporters who want
you to spill your guts, to talk on and on. Many people tend to babble
because there is silence. Remember, silence is the reporter’s problem, not
yours. Use this opportunity to reinforce positive statements or continue
to be silent.
Accusatory questions are designed to force you to blame others. Never
fall for this. Maintain your innocence if that is true, but do not cast blame
on others. The court of public opinion does not react kindly to this.
Multiple-part questions can be confusing to you as well as to the public.
Ask which part you should answer first. Then answer each part as a
42 Communications When the Crisis Strikes
separate question. Also, you can say, “I’ll take the first part first.” Then
restate it yourself the way you want to answer it. Do the same for each
subsequent part.
Jargonistic questions are those in which technical words or professional
jargon are used. In response, use everyday language. Jargon builds a
barrier between you and your publics and erodes their trust.
Chummy questions are those in which the reporter, pretending to be
your buddy, may ask, “Say, pal, off the record, what do you think . . .?”
The PR practitioner should remember that nothing is off the record and
should be careful about supposed friendships.
Labeling questions aim to make issues negative or simplistic by seeming
to ask for clarity, as in “Would you call the company’s work schedule
‘stressful’?” You should not accept the reporter’s labels unless they are
fair and accurate.
Good-bye questions are posed at the end of an interview and may even
come after the camera or tape recorder is turned off. The reporter shakes
hands and says, “By the way . . .” Watch out for what follows. The interview
is not necessarily over. Remember—in all media questioning—to
be positive, concerned, empathetic, and apologetic, if necessary.
Reporters
The preceding discussion of trick questions may seem to be a warning
that reporters are sinister creatures whose life goal is to harass public
relations practitioners. This is usually not the case.
There are jerks in every profession, including the news media. If you
stay in public relations long enough, you will come in contact with them.
Know who the jerks and enemies are. Sometimes you can work around
them by dealing with other reporters. Other times, you can follow the
advice of former President John F. Kennedy: “Forgive your enemies, but
never forget their names.”
There are also those journalists who apparently make themselves feel
better by labeling public relations people “flacks.” There is no reason to
take this to heart. Reporters do not hate you or your profession. In fact,
many of them will seek public relations jobs.
Newspaper and broadcast journalists, in record numbers, are becoming
public relations practitioners. Newspapers are failing. Most on-the-air
personnel in television cannot expect to have jobs in their middle age.
Everyone is downsizing. Public relations is the fastest growing communications
profession, largely because of crises and the forecast of
crises to come.
Reporters are frequently not knowledgeable about, or interested in,
the issues they cover. A story may have been assigned to them. Their
task is to bring back an interesting story, a story that will get them a
Communications When the Crisis Strikes 43
promotion, a raise, an extended contract, an Emmy, or a Peabody. They
want their stories prominently displayed in the newspaper or at the top
of the broadcast. They want to get this award-winning story back before
the deadline. All would rather that you assist them than be an obstacle
to them. Obstacles make awards and raises difficult to obtain.
After reporters have filed stories, they are frequently finished with them.
They do not write the newspaper headlines that you hate—that’s the job
of editors you rarely, if ever, see. Sometimes, if the story continues, other
reporters will be assigned.
If you are breaking the news of a crisis or a development in a crisis
and you know of reporters who are known to be fair and accurate, you
can sometimes give them your story. This does not mean that if you dislike
the reporter assigned, you can call another. This works only when no
other reporters are involved, and you cannot be charged with playing
favorites.
Choosing the news outlet for bad news is not an unheard-of or new
tactic. When death was imminent, physicians attending to King George
V injected lethal doses of drugs into his veins to hasten his death. They
wanted him to die in time to make the deadlines of The Times, a morning
newspaper in London, considered more responsible than what were, in
1936, considered the “inferior news organs of the afternoon.”
In dealing with reporters, one must consider the pressures they are
going through, especially when covering an emotional story.
Communicating with Lawyers
Lawyers frequently advise clients in crisis to: (a) be silent, say nothing,
circle the wagons; (b) say as little as possible but reveal what information
you have as quickly as possible; (c) deny blame and guilt; (d) shift blame
to others or share it with others; and (e) remember that anything you
say can be used against you in a court of law.
A public relations counsel suggests that a client be open and honest.
“No comment” is perceived by the public as an admission of guilt.
Anything you do not say can be used against you in the court of public
opinion.
Both professions must be heard and considered. There are times when
lawyers are right; spokespersons can speak too much. There are times
when speaking up pays dividends in both courts of law and the court of
public opinion.
Courts of law proclaim that a person is innocent until proven guilty,
whereas the court of public opinion often declares a person guilty until
proven innocent. When your company loses in the court of public opinion,
it also loses its reputation, good name, and positive image—the very
qualities that make for its success.
44 Communications When the Crisis Strikes
The public believes that an innocent person can answer a police officer’s
questions without having a lawyer present. After all, what does the
person have to hide? The public also believes that this innocent person
can go on the stand and plead his or her innocence, showing emotion in
the process. However, lawyers frequently advise clients to refrain from
all these actions and reactions. Some lawyers think public relations is
publicity, getting somebody’s name in the newspaper. Others know what
public relations really is, but they choose to ignore it.
Sometimes lawyers may be cautious at a time when public relations
professionals feel that open communication with publics is crucial to the
positive conclusion of a crisis. The lawyer’s job, after all, is to protect
the company, organization, or individual. Sometimes public relations
counsels may not anticipate threats to their own clients.
Lawyers know that any persons with knowledge of the organization
in trouble can be called into court for depositions against the client.
Sometimes communication with publics can put the organization in a
perilous situation.
A case of law versus public relations occurred in 1985, when a Delta
Airlines plane crashed. After the crash, high-ranking Delta employees
showed great concern for survivors and families of victims. They sent
flowers. They visited. They attended funerals. The company’s public
relations effort was so impressive that many lawsuits were avoided as
a result. Nevertheless, some lawsuits were filed. In court, the lawyers
for Delta were said to be vicious. They accused one plaintiff of being a
cocaine addict and of having a child who was not her husband’s.
They implied that another victim, a homosexual, might have died soon
of AIDS. Irate news stories resulted in the company being called a
“monster.” At least one newspaper wrote prominently of the airline’s
“Jekyll–Hyde” behavior.
Delta was upset over the negative publicity, but its lawyers insisted
that they had to introduce relevant information, acquired legitimately,
to fight money-hungry personal injury lawyers (Thompson & Hess,
1986). A solution to such a dilemma is a bond of mutual understanding,
a marriage of the two fields, a careful balance.
The legal profession is much older than the recognized field of public
relations (although, in effect, public relations has been practiced for
centuries). As a profession, public relations is moving toward a day when
professionals will have to pass a kind of “bar exam.” The Accreditation
in Public Relations (APR) credentialing offered by the Public Relations
Society of America is a step toward this certification.
Lawyers are becoming more adept at public relations. The American
Bar Association provides media training for its primary officers. It realizes
that a defendant can win a battle in a court of law and lose it in the
court of public opinion. In recent crises, lawyers have apparently learned
Communications When the Crisis Strikes 45
the value of communicating. Rarely does a corporate spokesperson in a
crisis refuse to address the news media. Usually, the company in crisis
goes further and even puts information about the crisis on its website
and in blogs and other social media.
In 1991, for instance, a crisis team consisting of public relations and
legal representation for Snapps restaurant in Florida made a decision not
to prosecute or sue a teenager who had helped spread a rumor that caused
a drastic loss of business (see Chapter 6). The members of the team
decided that although they might win a victory in court, it would be a
case of winning the battle and losing the war. The teenager had apologized
publicly and admitted she was truly sorry that her actions had caused
the crisis; she had simply been trying to warn her friends whom she
believed might be in danger. The public might have boycotted the
restaurant had further action been taken against her. It would have been
a matter of the powerful restaurant ruining the life of a well-meaning
child who made a mistake in judgment.
Conversely, a defendant can lose in court and win in the battle of public
opinion. Sometimes the latter offers a brighter future. This was the case
when Mayor Marion Barry of Washington, DC, was convicted of a drug
charge, served time in prison, and then returned to the nation’s capital
to resume his political career. Although few voters doubted that Barry
was a drug user, there was resounding public resentment of the way he
was supposedly “setup” for the arrest. Anger at those believed to be
responsible for the “setup” translated into support in the court of public
opinion for Barry, who was reelected as mayor in 1994.
More and more, lawyers are influencing public opinion outside the
courtroom. We have seen the results of this when a lawyer representing
a prisoner convicted of a serious crime persuades 60 Minutes or 20/20
to tell a story of the innocence of the client. The lawyer may have
exhausted all legal channels or the client may have been unable to afford
the legal battle. An effective letter to the television news magazine may
change everything.
The public is often not aware of how the news magazine series got the
story; true public relations professionals (or lawyers performing public
relations acts) are more concerned with their client’s needs than with
promoting their own visibility. Thus, a televised account of a “poor,
innocent” man imprisoned for years for a crime he did not commit is a
public relations tool that appeals to the court of public opinion. In many
cases, on the basis of the convincing television profile, viewers appeal to
courts for new trials, or judges grant new trials in anticipation of public
reaction. Sometimes the prisoner is subsequently freed.
The necessity of merging law and public relations leads to an even
greater need for precrisis planning by representatives in both fields.
Effective precrisis planning sets up scenarios for each type of crisis likely
46 Communications When the Crisis Strikes
to affect the organization. Different strategies and tactics are outlined for
each kind of crisis. Examples are reflected in such statements as these:
“If there is a loss of life, we will . . .”; “If there is no loss of life, we will
. . .”; “If the media is unaware of the story, we will . . .”; “If the media
is pressing, we will . . .”
A balance between public relations and law should, as much as possible,
be determined before the crisis. A balance often cannot be accomplished
effectively after the manufacturing plant has exploded. The PR
professional should communicate with the organization’s lawyer before
communicating with external publics, even if it’s not a matter of getting
permission.
Lawyers who have not adapted to public relations procedures should
be advised that some key stakeholders can be dealt with personally,
whereas some key stakeholders will get negative impressions from the
news media and social media.
Refusing to talk to reporters will not make the story go away. Reporters
will get a story—and it may not be the story the company wants told.
The board of directors of the United Way of America was not aware of
this when, in 1991, its CEO, William Aramony, was accused of excessive
spending. No one on the board would talk to the media. The story started
as a brief section in a long, basically flattering article about Aramony in
one newspaper. Editors of other newspapers read the article, focused only
on the negative aspects, and soon public perceptions of misuse were
nationwide.
The news media is a conduit to the public. The public rarely has any
real evidence, at least not as much as juries in courtrooms do. Even though
the public is well aware that reporters err, people still tend to believe
what they see and read in the media. They make decisions based on sound
bites and articles selected and written by reporters.
The court of law and the court of public opinion will remain crucial
in deciding the fate of individuals, groups, organizations, and corporations.
Both the public relations professional and the lawyer must learn
to put clients in the best light in both courts to gain the best possible
outcome to a crisis.
Communicating with Internal Publics
Internal publics include all classifications of employees—labor, management,
hourly workers, interns—as well as retirees and stockholders. In
a non-profit organization, volunteers are also an internal public. Internal
publics are crucial in a crisis because they are the most believable
spokespersons. Because internal publics may not be hired or paid to speak
for the company, the news media seek them out for comment.
Communications When the Crisis Strikes 47
In many businesses, such as retail stores, employees are a link between
the company and the consumer public. They are the principal representatives
of the company and have the power to make a potential customer
a loyal customer or to make a loyal customer a former customer.
Communication with internal publics before, during, and after a crisis
is vital. For each internal public, you must choose the correct message
and the correct medium.
Once a crisis has occurred, employees and other internal publics must
be advised of what has happened early in the notification process.
Whenever possible, internal publics should not learn of the crisis from
the news media and they should know about it before external publics
do. If the crisis occurs after office hours, all managers notified are aware
of others they should inform. Those notified by those managers have
others to contact, and so on. The telephone tree must be in place before
a crisis. As a crisis develops, the employee public, called a functional
public, should be kept apprised of what is occurring at every step.
Common methods for keeping employees informed include meetings,
closed-circuit television programs, e-mail, the public address system, and
bulletin boards.
Many companies can utilize their intranet, internal networks designed
to improve productivity and the circulation of proprietary information.
The intranet is better than the Internet in the case of crises because it
allows the company or organization to communicate only with its own
people, whereas anyone can access the Internet.
Crisis communications researcher W. Timothy Coombs (1999) advises
that “the beauty of the intranet is the speed of accessing information”
(p. 85). The crisis team can access information directly with keystrokes
on a computer instead of going through telephone calls or through other
means. Information may be stored on the intranet, updated regularly,
and any employee can access it. Coombs also warns that all information
cannot be collected by using the intranet. Some interpersonal communications
may be necessary, but the relevant data can be stored there
after it is gathered.
During a crisis, internal publics generally want to know what they can
or should do. During the Snapps restaurant rumor crisis (see Chapter 6),
managers volunteered to take AIDS tests to prove that no manager could
have spread the AIDS virus through food products. If it is important for
employees to make some effort to continue the business, convey that to
employees and tell them why. If there are crisis tasks employees need to
take on, they should be preadvised and pretrained. If the nature of the
crisis eliminates jobs—either temporarily or permanently—employees
need to be carefully told what options are available and what the future
is likely to hold.
48 Communications When the Crisis Strikes
As in normal operating mode, it is crucial that employees feel a sense
of “we-ness” during a crisis, that they are part of the battle. Many companies
order employees to remain silent about company issues relating
to the crisis; they are especially told not to talk to the news media. They
are told to let the appointed spokesperson do all the speaking. Often this
is an advisable move; too many people can make for a confusing story.
However, some companies and organizations do not fear the situation
will get out of hand and encourage their employees to talk to the media,
confident that employees like their jobs and their company.
Communicating with External Publics
External publics include consumers/customers, community members,
government officials, labor unions, dealers, suppliers, trade associations,
competitors, and other outside people related in some way to an organization.
As in all types of communications, it is important to strategically
plan the correct message and the appropriate medium for communicating
with each external public, both before and during a crisis.
Organizations tend to form alliances with key external groups that will
make members of these groups feel like they are part of the company.
The airlines have been very successful with the frequent-flyer programs,
so much so that other businesses are trying “frequent” programs too.
Boards of directors and community advisory boards are also popular
efforts at bridging the gaps between companies and organizations and
the business world and the community, respectively.
Organizations should communicate with loyal consumers more directly
than through the news media to inform them of the crisis and progress
toward normalcy. Various methods must be evaluated—social media
networks are popular methods, also letters, newsletters, notices on websites,
telephone calls, and so on. You want customers to remain loyal
throughout the crisis and continue to patronize the organization. So tell
them all the five Ws of the crisis—who, what, when, where, and why.
Like consumers, community members will want to know what happened,
what the cause was, what is being done, when the crisis will be
over, and so forth. Community members can be reached through key
community leaders on advisory boards. Flyers can be circulated in
communities and posters can be put up in public places and on bulletin
boards.
Labor representatives and government officials should be among the
first notified. Key messages should be conveyed to them because these
people, depending on the nature of the crisis, may be called on by the
news media to comment.
Communications When the Crisis Strikes 49
Communicating Directly with the Masses
With new communications technology, it is possible to get information
out to the masses. The Internet makes it possible to communicate with
vast numbers of people through Twitter, Facebook, e-mail, blogs, websites,
and any new methods that have been developed since this edition
was written. This is mind-boggling when people living today recall when
the manual typewriter was the most modern writing tool. There was a
job title called typist. Newspaper printing meant setting each letter in
type on brass dies individually on a Linotype machine. Newspaper boys
delivered and persuaded people to buy the newspapers. Radio was the
best broadcasting tool, not television, not satellites. When computers were
born, they were giant machines that occupied a huge room. Now, in a
flash, one person can send a message read by thousands, even millions
of people.
This is progress, but few people have considered how this swift
dissemination of information should mean new policies of accuracy.
Historically, research tells us that people believe the written word more
than the spoken word. This is because the articles in newspapers go
through layers of editors before they are published. Most books (except
self-published books) go through fact checkers before they are published.
So people are inclined to think of data on the Internet as factual when
it’s not necessarily so. Some information has gone through editors but
other information has come straight from the writer, who may be biased
or wrong. Readers and researchers must discern what is true and credible.
Because information on the Internet remains primarily textual, some
people may be inclined to think of it as factual. However, research
findings from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School’s
Center for the Digital Future suggest that experienced information-seekers
rank media and government sites as more reliable than those published
by individuals.
The growing demand for news has made the Internet a valuable source
of supplemental information. The traditional news media are still the
primary sources of news for the unwired American, but as many as twothirds
of Internet users have accessed some of their news online and
about one-third do so three or more times a week. In addition, the
tragedies of September 11, 2001 made it clear that news-seekers want
more immediacy than newspapers, commercial television, cable television,
and radio can offer.
On the morning of September 11, 2001, the 24-hour news services
reported to more than 100 million people. According to Nielsen Media
Research, nearly 50% of all television households watched CNN’s
coverage. The commercial stations also had high ratings that day.
However, according to researchers Paul N. Rappoport and James Alleman
50 Communications When the Crisis Strikes
(2003), the demand for more coverage and instantaneous updates led
large numbers of people to the Internet. They say there is anecdotal
evidence that the Internet, that day, became overwhelmed and left users
without access or reasonable connections, but when it did catch up, it
was an effective means of supplementary news.
Between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. Eastern time, MSNBC.com experienced
a 50% increase in traffic; CNN.com, a 450% increase. The sites were
ill prepared for such surges as more than 30 million people sought online
news. Many sites urged people to go to television and some had a written
statement saying, “Many online services are not available, because of
high demand.” Internet sources have and probably will become more
capable of handling the task.
Nevertheless, researchers conclude that the public has accepted online
news sites as sources of credible news, although most Americans obtain
their news from television—local, network, and cable.
Among the values of Internet news sources, according to Rappoport
and Alleman, are the following: (a) information sources may be tailored
to meet the specific objectives of the user; (b) the user may get the news
at any time, no more “News at 11”; (c) news may be linked to other
sources; (d) in-depth analyses may be available, even more in-depth than
newspapers because the medium is not restricted by column inches or
minutes of airtime.
Organizational and corporate websites provide background information
and, in a crisis, what the organization believes is the truth. This gives
the information-seeker the organization’s side of the story. A website is
normally a one-way means of communications, but the Internet can easily
link one to other points of view.
Blogs
Blogs, or weblogs, are a type of website that consists of commentary from
the author (or authors) with comments from various readers. The writing
style is usually more casual and often more personal than traditional
organizational or corporate communication. Blogs are one form of
personal publishing and have several distinctive characteristics:
• Reverse chronological journaling (format).
• Regular, date-stamped entries (timeliness).
• Links to related news articles, documents, blog entries with each entry
(attribution).
• Archived entries (old content remains accessible).
• Links to related blogs (blogrolling).
• RSS or XML feed (ease of syndication).
• Passion (voice).
Communications When the Crisis Strikes 51
A website is rather standard as an organizational communications tool,
and blogging is growing in usefulness and importance. Because blogs can
easily facilitate dialog between information-giver and information-seeker,
they may be more believable than a traditional website. Blogs are good
for public relations purposes, to provide accurate information for persons
seeking information about your organization.
Blogs are akin to buzz. Whatever subjects or issues are occupying the
minds of the public can be brought to the attention of many on a blog.
Political blogs are popular, but all kinds of blogs are developing—from
commercial business to education to basic gossip. In addition, the person
wishing to post his or her opinion about an issue will find the blog more
accessible than other forms of electronic expression.
Companies and organizations are being urged to develop blogs to
garner web-based commentary about their products or services from
consumers. The numbers of blogs are growing constantly and they can
be accessed by search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, Technorati.com,
or GlobeofBlogs.com. Technorati is one of the oldest blog search engines
whereas GlobeofBlogs classifies blogs by subject. Information published
in blogspace is disseminated faster than more traditional forms
of communications through a technology called RSS (Real Simple
Syndication). Textual blogs have given birth to video blogs and audio
blogs, often known as podcasts.
In some cases, companies may need to have a blog format to show
their publics that they are savvy about current technology. Companies
and organizations may also find a blog to be the preferred publishing
medium when an issue is constantly changing and it is urgent to get the
latest information out as soon as possible.
Blog expert Kathy Gill asks, “What does the audience expect when
they visit the website?” If the public is technically savvy, it will expect
information in a blog format. Gill also notes that the voice of a blog is
“personal” and cautions that “personal” is difficult for some organizations
that require various levels of approval and sign-off. They tend to
distrust having an unmoderated voice speak for them. In blogspace and
in a crisis, there is often no time for multilayered decisions.
Blogging software makes the process of creating and updating a
professional-looking web page relatively easy and less expensive when
compared to a webmaster setting up a site. Some companies offer free
hosting for blogging services. These blogs can be linked to other data on
the Internet, other blogs, a corporate website, news articles, photo images,
and audio files. The blogosphere is the word for the blog network with
blogs interconnected to other blogs on the Internet.
52 Communications When the Crisis Strikes
There are five basic types of blogs:
1. The corporate/organizational blog provides commentary about a
specific company or organization. Key executives usually are the
bloggers, and their goal is to tell their own story, to correct misinformation
of others. It is considered unethical for a corporate
executive or employee to respond to a blog without revealing who
he or she is and the connection to the organization. Will PR professionals
ghost-write blogs? Probably. However, if the information
seems like puffery, the readers will soon distrust it.
2. Subject blogs are comments relating to various subjects or issues
written by experts on these subjects. Smudde (2005) says these blogs
are like white papers or keynote addresses “as if to impart sage
wisdom.”
3. Industry blogs are centered on the status quo of a particular industry
or field and otherwise are similar to subject blogs.
4. Publication blogs come from media sources such as newspapers,
magazines, and other publications. Editors and reporters are the
bloggers and sometimes readers. They are usually a way of keeping
up to date on a continuing news story.
5. Personal blogs express opinions of individuals on any matter they
choose to discuss, often politics, issues in the news, or products,
especially high-technology ones. Smudde says personal blogs are the
most potent type because subjects covered can be beneficial and
helpful or hurtful to an organization’s reputation.
The Harvard Business School’s online tool “Working Knowledge”
suggests the following reasons (in italics) for a company having its own
blogs:
1. You can influence the public conversation about your company.
Journalists can locate accurate information, the information you
want them to have. You can correct misinformation and provide new
information.
2. You can enhance brand visibility and credibility. This can give the
company a human voice. Debbie Weil of BlogWrite for CEOs advises
that companies not let their PR departments write blogs. This is true
if the blogs are puffery, but not true if the PR writers can present
the facts. Some PR firms are already offering expertise in “blog
relations.”
3. You can achieve customer intimacy because customers can speak
directly to you, whether positive or negative comments. This is a kind
of electronic, immediate, suggestion box.
Communications When the Crisis Strikes 53
Newspapers have begun to have blogs to supplement their publications.
Different from an online edition of the paper, the blogs are updates on
specific issues, continuing stories that may change several times before
the next issue of the newspaper. Years ago, metropolitan daily newspapers
used to do many editions throughout the day to always have the latest
news; however, shrinking budgets and shrinking readership have ended
that level of production.
Crisis communications researcher Amiso George (2005) at Texas
Christian University writes of a newspaper’s blog:
The Nevada Appeal, Carson City, Nevada, newspaper developed its
first web log before breaking news on its website www.Nevada
Appeal.com to keep the public updated on the Waterfall Fires of
2004. From the onset of the fires on July 14 until containment on
July 20, the newspaper provided frequently updated information
on the fires. The paper’s editor, Barry Smith, said that the initial
coverage of the story followed traditional news coverage format, until
he realized quickly that merely updating the news was no longer
enough ... The paper updated the web log 50–60 times a day for
the duration of the fire. Smith noted that the web log generated
“terrific response” from people outside the Carson City and Reno,
Nevada areas as people were interested in getting details of the fire
and checking up on loved ones.
The Times-Picayune in New Orleans set up a blog for its readers.
During the Katrina disaster in September, 2005, the presses did not run
for a few days. Instead, reporters and editors published only online and
used blogging software to “report” the news. As in New York after
September 11, 2001, local bloggers provided their own news of what
was happening to New Orleans. Survivors told very poignant, graphic
stories without having a reporter as an intermediary. It was a kind of
participatory journalism; everyone can be a reporter in the blogosphere.
(See also “Hurricane Katrina and New Orleans,” in Chapter 10.)
54 Communications When the Crisis Strikes
Rumors and Cybercrises
As we make progress in technology, we also advance the possibilities of
rumor. The Internet is a great source of information and news, but it is
an even greater source of misinformation and rumor. Opinion, guesses,
assumptions as well as rumor present tragic consequences to people
who are victimized because Internet users often believe everything they
read is true. This was not the case with print media and it is even further
from the truth on the Internet. Internet data just looks like factual
information.
What Internet blogs, sites, and social media have done is provide
faster, easier ways to circulate rumors and thereby cause crises for
organizations and individuals.
A premature fact rumor (see “Types of Rumor,” page 72) circulated
on theater blogs in late 2009 written by anonymous “insiders” who
posted claims that producers of the Broadway musical “Ragtime” had
told the cast to prepare for closing the show. The show was not doing
well at the box office, but producers had not given the actors notice. In
fact, producer Kevin McCollum said, “The advertising was continuing,
the investors had not pulled out or indicated they would.”
McCollum did not suspect a conspiracy, a “malicious rumor.” He
expected it was a real estate move. When a show is not hot, speculation
erupts about which theater will be available for the next show. However,
when the speculation goes online, it also encourages possible patrons to
forget about trying to see the show. Who wants tickets they cannot use
even if they can get refunds?
Considering the increasing number of theatergoers who look to the
blogs for reviews and information, this was a blow. “Compounding this
is the fact that the methods of sharing and delivering hearsay have never
been so frictionless,” said McCollom. “There are far more outlets for
rumors today and it’s much easier to write a story about bad news than
good news.”
The show closed in early 2010. How much damage was done by the
rumors is not known.
Chapter Six
Of course, the new technology can also be used to fight rumor. This
happened in 2007, when rumors circulated by word of mouth that tourist
spots in California were closing due to wildfires. The California Travel
and Tourism Commission (CTTC), helped by Edelman Public Relations,
in addition to news conferences, monitored and participated in social
media conversations to dispel the rumors. They also posted video footage
of the recovery of burned tourist sites on its website.
Word-of-Mouth Rumors, E-mail Rumors, Rogue
Websites, and Blogs
An unfounded rumor can be the most damaging attack an organization
or company can experience. A rumor can put a company out of business;
it can greatly affect the bottom line. In a mild form, it can be a nuisance
that requires time and thought to determine whether to fight it and how
to fight it. And because time is money, this too affects the bottom line.
There are three unique problems when coping with rumor:
1. You usually have no idea how the rumor started—was it an irate
customer, a competitor, a person with nothing better to do or someone’s
conversation that was merely misunderstood?
2. You usually have no idea how widespread the rumor is or how long
it has been circulating.
3. You have to determine carefully whether it is best to ignore the rumor
or fight it—will fighting the rumor spread it more than leaving it alone?
Communications research often seeks to determine where people get
their information, what sources are most trusted. Generally, more people
get their news from television than from newspapers. Newspaper articles
are more believable than advertising, but most people do not read
newspapers. In recent years, we have discovered that the source
of information most trusted by the American public is “other people.”
The New York Times can print a fact. PBS Newshour may broadcast
the same fact. However, “Bubba, my cousin’s next-door neighbor,” can
say something contrary and Bubba will be more believed. Internet sources
are a combination of Bubbas and The New York Times, and to many
people, they look the same. This attitude fuels rumor and makes rumor
all the more dangerous.
The Nature of Rumors
Crises can, and often do, begin with rumors. In fact, a crisis can actually
be a negative rumor. “Deep-sixing” rumors is an important task in crisis
control and crisis communications.
64 Rumors and Cybercrises
A rumor is information passed by word of mouth and electronic
communications with no verification of fact and no credible source.
Rumors can be positive or negative. They can be absolutely false or partly
false, or they can be undeniably true or premature facts. “There’s a ring
of truth in every rumor”—because people know and believe that
expression, they tend to believe there is truth in rumors that are patently
false and even ridiculous.
A rumor can begin as in the children’s game “Gossip” (or “Telephone”),
in which Child 1 whispers something to Child 2, who repeats
it to Child 3, and so on. By the time the message reaches Child 10, it is
usually unrelated to the original message. This is rumor spread innocently,
but rumor can also be spread maliciously and intentionally.
The victim of malicious rumor rarely knows how the rumor started
or who has heard it. This makes it difficult to curtail its spreading, which
happens quickly and often with disastrous consequences.
How Rumors Start
One of the difficulties in establishing the source of a rumor is the
realization that each person who passes it on may change it and thus be
a contributing part of its source. The sources usually cited for rumors
are rarely the actual sources. The rumors themselves may cite a specific
person or institution that sounds credible, but the source is not readily
available for verification. For example, the teller of a rumor might say,
“I read it in last week’s paper!” “What paper?” we ask. Not many people
will go back and look for an article in last week’s newspaper, especially
considering that “last week” is also a vague term. Or the rumor teller
may insist, “My aunt in Chicago was there when it happened!” This
sounds convincing. But who will call the aunt and get specific details? Is
there really an aunt at all?
Rumors are often started innocently. This was the case when talk show
host Johnny Carson on his late-night show told a joke about a shortage
of bathroom tissue. People heard about the shortage but not that it was
a joke. There was a run on bathroom tissue in grocery stores. Soon the
shelves were empty; the stock was depleted. This rumor was merely
annoying to grocery stores and customers who remained tissueless.
However, some rumors started innocently can cause real damage. For
instance, consider the Cable News Network (CNN) story about the
Individual Retirement Account (IRA) that cited McDonald’s as an
example of corporations contributing to employee IRAs. In Great Britain,
that story circulated as a rumor that said that McDonald’s supported the
Irish Republican Army—also called the IRA. Members of Parliament
received numerous letters attacking McDonald’s for financing attacks on
British soldiers and civilians.
Rumors and Cybercrises 65
The following sections discuss two case studies of how companies
coped with word-of-mouth rumors.
Mini-Case: Procter & Gamble and the Satanism
Rumor
Procter & Gamble’s original logo dates back to 1850; it depicted the
man in the moon and 13 stars (representing the 13 original colonies)
around the moon. The logo identified Crest toothpaste, Tide detergent,
Pampers diapers—all the P&G products. Then in 1979, there was a rumor
that the company had been purchased by the Unification Church headed
by the Rev. Sun Moon (followers of the church are called “Moonies”).
At first, calls came in to the Consumer Services Department’s toll-free
number. The company denied the rumor to consumers on the phone and
also called news organizations in certain areas. Soon, the rumor changed
to claim that P&G was involved in devil-worshipping, that the design of
the man in the moon and 13 stars representing the original American
colonies was a symbol of Satanism.
The Moonie rumor faded away and the Satanism rumor grew. A P&G
executive, according to the rumor, went on a TV show and admitted a
pact with the devil to gain success for the company. (The same rumor
circulated about McDonald’s and other companies.) Also, fliers were
circulated, usually misspelling the company’s name, claiming that 10%
of the company’s earnings went to the Church of Satan and advocating
a boycott of P&G. Some church heads believed the rumors and advised
their congregations to stop buying products from P&G.
The rumor went further and suggested that there was a 666 sign, the
sign of the beast from the Book of Revelation in the Bible. Some saw 6’s
in the curls of the man in the moon when held up to a mirror. P&G was
afraid to fight the rumor publicly because it would tell more people about
it than already had heard about it. P&G sought the cooperation of
religious leaders Jerry Falwell and Billy Graham who spoke up for the
company and sent out letters to 48,000 churches.
Rumors subsided but sometimes recur. Some people were prosecuted,
and that helped the public realize the rumors were false. Usually, charges
were dropped after apologies.
The company started to phase out the logo in the mid-1980s, except
on company letterheads and publications. It wasn’t worth the trouble,
and it had already cost $100,000 to fight the rumors associated with it.
Case: Snapps Restaurant and the AIDS Rumor
Rarely does a company call a news conference to fight a rumor. There
are several reasons for this. Companies would ideally prefer to reach only
66 Rumors and Cybercrises
the people who have heard the rumor—and not one person more. This
is a difficult-to-impossible task. Nevertheless, many times, the rumor is
limited to a specific location. With a news conference, however, the media
wind up spreading the rumor to people who have never heard it. Also,
some companies reason that if the rumor is not spread by the media, it
is not likely to reach the crucial public by the media either. The people
who spread and believe the rumor may not read newspapers or watch
television news.
The Snapps fast-food chain departed from both of these tenets in 1991,
when it held a history-making news conference to fight a rumor about
one of its restaurants. In Fort Pierce, Florida, Snapps confronted a rumor
that one of its managers had AIDS and had contaminated hamburger
meat. The Ohio-based chain had opened its first Florida restaurant in
Fort Pierce in 1990. About an hour’s drive north of Palm Beach, Fort
Pierce is a middle-class city of 40,000 residents.
The location of Fort Pierce was important: Nearby Jensen Beach,
Florida, was where Kimberly Bergalis allegedly contracted the AIDS virus
from her dentist. Because Bergalis was the first person known to have
contracted AIDS from a health-care professional, the incident was widely
publicized. Furthermore, because of their proximity to the case, the
people of Fort Pierce were probably more concerned with this case than
many other people. The incident also aroused other questions about how
the virus might be spread.
The rumor spread by way of a crudely handwritten flyer (see Figure
6.1). The flyer was circulated primarily among students in two public
high schools, thereby targeting a large chunk of Snapps’s clientele. The
Fort Pierce Snapps restaurant saw its business drop by 50%. The Snapps
corporate office in Columbus, Ohio, sent Regional Vice President Donald
G. Gilbert to remedy the crisis.
Gilbert formed a damage-control task force that included a lawyer, a
private investigator, and Richard M. Gruenwald, a public relations
consultant for Dick Gruenwald Associates of nearby Palm Beach Gardens.
The team worked closely with Rod Cardiff, a physician and director of
the St. Lucie County Health Unit. Gilbert, the Snapps home office, and
Fort Pierce Snapps owners Jack and Jeff Roschman monitored and
approved actions of the task force.
The team’s first task was to find the source of the rumor. The private
investigator felt certain that a student in one of the schools had written
the flyer. Police procedure called for a complaint to be filed before the
police could enter the case. The investigator and the lawyer were able to
collect enough information to file the complaint.
The next step was to have the restaurant’s managers tested for AIDS.
This decision had legal implications. By law, the managers would have
to volunteer to be tested; the company could not force them to do so.
Rumors and Cybercrises 67
All seven managers volunteered, including one who had recently been
transferred from the Fort Pierce restaurant to one in another city. The
law also required that the test results be sent to the people who took the
tests, not to the employer. The procedure took a week. The results
indicated that all seven managers, as expected, tested negative for the
AIDS virus.
68 Rumors and Cybercrises
Figure 6.1 The handwritten flyer circulated at Fort Pierce high schools that helped
spread the rumor that a manager at a popular restaurant was infected
with the AIDS virus and that persons who dined at the restaurant might
become contaminated. All managers were voluntarily tested and none
tested positive for the virus. The health department cooperated with
the restaurant’s public relations efforts and, during a news conference, explained
that the disease could not be spread in that manner. Reprinted by
permission of Snapps Restaurant.
Meanwhile, the Fort Pierce restaurant continued to lose business.
Layoffs were threatened if business did not improve. “This was a doubleedged
sword,” said Gilbert. “We had to be sure of our facts, have
everything in place for the complaint filing and act quickly, as business
was continuing to go downhill.” Gruenwald, the public relations counsel,
and his associate, John Futch, suggested a press conference. “We all
agreed that a press conference would bring everything out in the open,”
said Gruenwald. “The problem was there. Why hide it?”
Snapps made public relations history when it became the first fast-food
chain to address an AIDS rumor by going on the offensive and holding
a news conference (see Figure 6.2). “We were most impressed with the
way that management accepted our recommendations,” said Gruenwald.
To add credibility to the occasion, the press conference was held in the
St. Lucie Health Unit’s office, and the unit’s director spoke on behalf of
the franchise. At the conference, an announcement was made that the
chain was offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to the arrest
of the person or persons who started the rumor. The news conference
was attended by company executives as well as the county health director,
who announced that all Snapps managers had tested negative for the
virus. He further stated that AIDS could not be transmitted through food
and that it was safe to eat at Snapps.
Two West Palm Beach television stations led their 6 p.m. newscasts
with the Snapps news conference story, including interviews with customers.
Employees talked about how their jobs were affected. Associated
Press and Knight-Ridder News Service picked up the story and it was
used in newspapers all over Florida as well as in many newspapers out
of state.
“The press was most cooperative and news coverage was excellent,”
Gilbert said. Gruenwald, looking back, said his philosophy was that
“if you cooperate with the media, they—for the most part—will cooperate
with you.”
Other newspapers picked up the Miami Herald story; its lead
emphasized the unusual public relations tactic: “In a highly unusual
move, an Ohio-based fast-food restaurant went public yesterday to confront
a rumor that one of its managers had AIDS and had contaminated
hamburger meat.” The article went on to comment on the restaurant’s
denial, the offered reward, and the fact that AIDS could not be transmitted
through food. It also pointed out that other fast-food restaurants
had been plagued by AIDS rumors, but Snapps was the first to fight the
rumor through a news conference (see Figure 6.2).
The private investigator discovered that a 16-year-old female high
school student had written and distributed the flyer, apparently after
a class discussion on AIDS. “The girl admitted to writing the flyer,”
said Gilbert, “but we determined that the student’s action came after the
Rumors and Cybercrises 69
70 Rumors and Cybercrises
STORE’S BUSINESS CUT 50 PERCENT
BY AIDS RUMOR
By PHIL LONG
HERALD STAFF WRITER
Figure 6.2 An excerpt of a news story about the Snapps crisis appearing in the
Miami Herald, May 9, 1991. Note the reporter recognized that the news
conference was not a common method of fighting such rumors. Reprinted
by permission of the Miami Herald.
PORT PIERCE—In a highly unusual
move, an Ohio-based fast food restaurant
went public Wednesday to confront
a rumor that one of its managers
had AIDS and had contaminated hamburger
meat.
“The rumor is totally false,” said
Don Gilbert, regional vice president at
Snapps, a company with 44 stores,
mostly in Ohio.
“All of our managers have been
tested and none has AIDS,” he said.
But in a little over a month since the
rumor started, business in Florida’s
only Snapps store has dropped almost
50 percent, Gilbert said. Five of the
store’s 40 positions remain unfilled,
and employee hours have been cut.
Layoffs are possible, he said.
The firm is promising a $5,000
reward for information leading to the
arrest of the person who photocopied
or circulated a crude, hand-drawn flier
that accuses the manager of having
AIDS and contaminating hamburger
meat with his blood.
In what may have been the first
press conference of its kind involving
a national food chain, Gilbert met
reporters in the lobby of the health
department. He was flanked by the
county’s health director, Snapps employees,
a company attorney and a
police detective.
Snapps managers have been tested
and they don’t have any trace of the
virus, said Dr. Rod Cardiff, director of
the St. Lucie Public Health Unit.
‘There is nothing unsafe about
Snapps,” he said. “AIDS is not transmitted
through food. There is no danger
with going to Snapps and eating
there.”
Fort Pierce police Lt Irving
Hamrick, who suspects that a teenager
is responsible because the fliers have
been circulated at the county’s two
public high schools, said his department
is investigating.
Prosecutor Linda Craft said the
person responsible for the flier could
face up to a year in jail on the misdemeanor
charge of criminal defamation,
it is illegal to publish anything
that causes “hatred, contempt, ridicule
or obloquy,” to an individual, Craft
said.
“They are not only affecting my
job, but the jobs of many other people
employed by Snapps,” said Anita
Farley, a Snapps worker who has
been with the restaurant since it opened
in July.
AIDS rumors are not new.
McDonald’s and Burger King have
faced them before. Neither have gone
quite so public . . .
n
AIDS rumor had been circulating in the community and she didn’t start
the rumor.”
“The student, through her parents and attorney, agreed to issue an
apology,” said Gilbert. “We used the apology in a press release and a
full-page ad in the local newspaper.”
The minor, who said she wrote the flyer because she was concerned
about her friends and wanted to do them a favor, wrote the following
apology:
I apologize to the community in helping to spread a rumor about
Snapps, a local fast food restaurant. As a young person who has taken
a course concerning AIDS and having great concern for the people
in the community, I took it upon myself to prepare a flyer concerning
Snapps without knowing whether the information I received as
a rumor was true. I now realize that I was wrong and I apologize
to Snapps, its managers and employees. It was not my intent to harm
their business and I am sorry that Snapps’ business has suffered as
a result of the rumor. I have since returned to eat at Snapps and I
encourage others to do so as well.
Sincerely,
C. J., a minor
Because the student was a minor, her identity was never made public.
State Attorney Bruce Colton said a rumor could violate state laws that
made libel a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail. Prosecutor
Linda Craft said the person responsible for the flyer could face up to a
year in jail on the misdemeanor charge of criminal defamation (KnightRidder,
1991).
Gruenwald advised the company not to press charges against the girl.
“It was never felt that the girl acted maliciously,” he said. “Also, she did
not start the rumor. It had been circulating before she wrote the flyer. If
we had filed charges, we could win the battle, but not the war of public
opinion. The public apology would bring her sympathy and perhaps a
boycott to the restaurant. Then, the case might drag out, thus hurting
the chances for a return to normalcy.”
The media carried the story of the apology with headlines as follows:
Palm Beach Post—“Student Apologizes for Restaurant Rumor”
(Reeder, 1991).
Stuart News (Stuart, Florida)—“Student Apologizes for AIDS Rumor
About Eatery” (Cheek, 1991).
Miami Herald—“Student Apologizes for Spreading Rumor About
Restaurant” (Long, 1991b).
Rumors and Cybercrises 71
As in most crises cases, recovery stories are not featured as prominently,
nor are they as long, as the original stories.
Snapps management continued an aggressive effort to win back
customers. Its advertising agency, Haunty & Welter of Columbus, Ohio,
launched a strong radio and newspaper, and later, television campaign
with a free hamburger weekend on June 1 and 2, 1991. “This was a
tremendous success,” said Gruenwald. “The girl who wrote the flyer,
who we called ‘C.J.,’ attended the event.” More than 15,000 free
hamburgers were served. The event was promoted in a news release and
resulting stories using C.J.’s apology (see Figures 6.3 and 6.4).
“If we had to do it all over, we would have followed the same crisis
management and damage control program. In retrospect, this was an
excellent example of crisis teamwork, everyone working together for the
common good,” concluded Gruenwald.
Gruenwald said the source of the rumor was never found. The
restaurant changed names and managed to stay in business, although it
never fully recovered its popularity.
Types of Rumor
There are six various types of rumor. The intentional rumor is started
to achieve a purpose. The financial community thrives on intentional
rumor. There are rumors to make stocks rise and rumors to make them
decline. People might start rumors to help their own businesses. For
example, a young, aggressive manager of a new restaurant getting off to
a slow start in a campus community started a rumor at the college that
a famous rock star was related to the owner and that the rock star might
drop in that night. Needless to say, business boomed that evening, with
patrons hoping to see the celebrity who never showed up. When patrons
asked if the rock star would show up, the manager responded, “You
never know.” He offered each patron who asked a free drink. No one
left angry. The manager said the ploy was a marketing technique to get
people into the restaurant for the first time. He felt the food, the ambiance,
and the service would get them back in the future.
The premature-fact rumor is an early version of what will eventually
become the truth. In the workplace, for example, employees might hear
and pass on rumors about layoffs that eventually turn out to be fact.
Denying this type of rumor can be more damaging than being silent.
The malicious rumor is often started to damage competitors’ businesses.
For example, someone says, “The stew in the restaurant across the street
is made up of last week’s leftovers.” This rumor may or may not be true.
It may be true of half of the restaurants in town. Yet when told to the
right people at the right time, the rumor spreads and causes a decline in
patronage.
72 Rumors and Cybercrises
The outrageous rumor is so unbelievable that people react by saying,
“It has to be true! Who would create such a story?” The Snapple Beverage
Company was the target in 1993 of an outrageous rumor that claimed
the “k” on its product labels, which stood for “kosher,” actually stood
for Ku Klux Klan.
Rumors and Cybercrises 73
Figure 6.3 One of several news releases distributed by the public relations firm hired
by an Ohio-based restaurant to manage the crisis in Fort Pierce. Reprinted
by permission of Snapps Restaurant.
The nearly true rumor is so named because it is partly true. People
hear it, attach credibility to a part of the story, and then draw a conclusion
that the entire rumor must be true. This could have been the case when
in the early 1990s a rumor circulated nationally that Reebok, during
apartheid, was manufacturing and selling its products in South Africa.
This was a crisis for Reebok because the company featured African
American athletes in its commercials and marketed to African American
consumers. It was true that Reebok once had manufacturing plants in
South Africa, but the plants had been closed in 1986.
The birthday rumor is one that continues to emerge over and over
again. It is as regular as birthdays.
The six primary categories of rumors can overlap. The outrageous
rumor may also be malicious. The premature-fact rumor may be
intentional, and so forth. One rumor that fits both the nearly true and
the birthday categories is the ancient rumor that Chinese restaurants cook
dogs. It is true that in China dogs are a delicacy, but that does not mean
that owners of Chinese restaurants in the United States are out hunting
your pets. This rumor can be traced to the 1850s in the United States
and even earlier in Great Britain. The same rumor has now been told of
Vietnamese cuisine in Texas, Mexican cuisine in Southern California, and
Native American cuisine in Wisconsin.
74 Rumors and Cybercrises
EATERY PLAGUED BY RUMOR FIGHTS BACK
STUART NEWS
FORT PIERCE—A Fort Pierce eatery gave away 15,000 hamburgers
last weekend, battling recent rumors that an employee at Snapps
restaurant tainted food with the AIDS virus.
Among the many people eating at the restaurant at 25th Street and
Orange Avenue was a teenager known only as “C.J.” The Fort Pierce
Westwood High School student apologized recently for distributing a
flier warning fellow students not to eat at Snapps.
Snapps Regional Vice President Donald Gilbert said the weekend
promotion was a dramatic turnaround for the eatery, which saw
business plummet because of the untrue rumor.
County health officials said food cannot be tainted by the AIDS
virus. All the Snapps managers tested negative for the fatal virus.
Figure 6.4 A news story in the nearby Stuart News, June 5 1991, about the restaurant’s
crisis recovery process. Copyright ©1991 Stuart News. Reprinted by
permission.
How Rumors Spread
Rumors can spread throughout the United States, turn stomachs,
perpetuate negative images, and cost millions of dollars in lost revenue.
Corporations have to fight in the press, in the courts, and, in the case of
Procter & Gamble, in the churches to stop the rumors.
A rumor spreads because people believe it is news and because the
“news” has some emotional relationship to their lives. The rumor
somehow seems plausible. Often the rumor refers to something causing
distress or fear, and the rumor tellers who spread it are hoping to relieve
their fear or distress by giving a reasonable explanation or denial.
Dr. Allan J. Kimmel (2004), of Fitchburg State College, in Massachusetts,
studied 229 college students. The students passed on rumors
about AIDS because they were personally relevant and upsetting.
“The more frightened people were by a rumor, the more likely they
were to repeat it,” Kimmel said. “In repeating something that makes
you nervous, you may learn some contrary fact that will calm you.
On the other hand, it can escalate your fears if the person you tell believes
it” (p. 51).
Rumors are also spread because people distrust the “establishment”—
organizations, governments, and big corporations—or because the rumor
tellers want to be thought of as people “in the know.” Information is
power. Telling rumors may give people who feel they lack power a sense
that they are powerful. Therefore, people who have trouble making a
success of their lives and careers are most likely to believe and spread
rumors.
Detecting a Rumor and Preventing its Spread
Step-by-step instructions on what to do in the case of rumors are difficult,
if not impossible, to provide. Variables such as potential damage,
geographic location, type of organization affected, the nature of the
rumor, and what crucial publics are affected require each organization’s
response to be tailored to the situation.
However, some general suggestions can be given for avoiding a crisis
brought on by rumors as well as for fighting rumors that are already
circulating. Be mindful, nevertheless, that this is not an exact science.
Some of the suggestions are conflicting because there are various schools
of thought on how to handle the problem.
The following suggestions are general steps organizations may take to
minimize the chances of a crisis caused by rumor:
1. Because the victim of a rumor is often the last to hear it, establish a
rumor center or rumor hotline to report any rumors circulating.
Employees and customers/consumers would report a negative rumor
Rumors and Cybercrises 75
as soon as it is heard. Periodic focus groups of 10 to 12 people—
employees, consumers, retailers, distributors, other related publics
—might be held. Historically, hotlines have been special telephones.
Telephones, though still often useful and immediate, are joined in
their usefulness by social media, blogging, e-mail, text messaging,
and the use of Blackberries. If necessary, a system of anonymous
reporting might make a person more inclined to make a report.
2. Periodically train representatives of the organization or company in
rumor control. These should be the people who would process and
initiate the investigation of rumors; in a large company they might
be hired for this purpose, or rumor control might be part of the job
description for carefully chosen employees or organizational
volunteers. These persons should be rumor-sensitive and well aware
of the company’s position with all publics. They should keep records
of details of rumors and inform and advise management of tactics
and responses to make. Communications here might be secret until
communications action plans are made.
3. Conduct rumor workshops prior to the circulation of rumors to
advise personnel on what actions should be taken in the event of a
damaging rumor. Develop a rumor communications plan not unlike
a crisis communications plan. Consider what rumors might be most
damaging to your organization or company. Study rumors that have
caused problems for companies similar to your own. Important to
the plan is anticipating the role of the news media and online media.
Is this the type of story that will be appealing? Will TV news use it
in a sensational way? Anticipate trick questions such as “Isn’t it true
where there’s smoke there’s fire?” Many people might believe that
a rumor is so unbelievable that it must be true. What would be the
response? Can you prove the rumor is not true? If so, how?
4. Make sure the company or organization has such strong positive
relationships with its key publics that the publics will at least doubt
a negative rumor, if not totally disbelieve it.
5. Keep employees informed; remember that all employees and internal
members are spokespersons. Employees left in the dark are fertile
ground for the growth of rumors commonly spread by “the grapevine.”
Even if events that are bad news, such as layoffs, are a possibility
in the near future, give employees real information and promise
to keep them up to date. This is more advantageous than letting
rumors circulate, because the rumors take on imagined and more
negative characteristics than the truth. Informed employees can be a
company’s strongest supporters and loudest defenders. McDonald’s
followed this advice when a rumor circulated that there were worms
in its hamburgers. It was a well-known rumor that had plagued
Wendy’s earlier. McDonald’s personnel, on a one-to-one basis with
76 Rumors and Cybercrises
patrons who asked, denied the presence of worms. In addition, the
employees recorded the names and phone numbers of those patrons.
The strategy was intended to make customers knowledgeable about
the company and, therefore, less likely to spread the rumor.
6. Evaluate the extent of a rumor. How damaging can it possibly become?
Think negatively, imagining the worst case scenario. Determine
the best action, if any.
Fighting the Rumor
The following suggestions are general steps organizations may take to
fight a negative rumor that is already circulating:
1. When a rumor seems to be developing or circulating, disseminate to
publics complete, accurate information that is contradictory to the
message of the rumor. Do not mention the rumor itself. You do not
want to advance its circulation. Your information should imply
strongly that the rumor is untrue. This may reduce exposure to the
rumor. Be advised, however, that fewer people are likely to see the
positive news than the negative news.
2. After a rumor has circulated, analyze it. What is its probable origin?
Why was it started? What is its possible impact? What are people
saying? Are the rumor-mongers fired employees, irate customers,
competitors or what? How many varieties of the same rumor are
circulating? How does it circulate—word-of-mouth, e-mail, or Internet?
Have the news media carried the rumor? Are people blogging
about it? Does the rumor pose a threat to the success or existence of
the organization? Those that do not pose a threat may be handled
in a low-key manner without publicity. What are the geographical
limitations of the rumor? Will it go away, either temporarily or
permanently? Will it mushroom?
3. Do nothing. Sometimes denial draws more attention than silence.
Some rumors do go away. When choosing this strategy, be careful
that, if the rumor persists, it will not be damaging.
Gerber Products chose to hang tough and be silent in 1986 when
a grocery store charged that a customer had found a fragment of
glass in a baby food jar. Gerber’s test lab found no traces of glass
in the jar, and the store had lost the fragment supposedly found in
it. The FDA tested 40,000 unopened jars of Gerber baby food and
concluded that no glass existed. Gerber relied on its state-of-the-art
equipment designed to filter out any foreign objects larger than fourthousandths
of an inch. It also X-rayed for possible breakage in the
production line. There was no proof that there was glass in the jar.
Rumors and Cybercrises 77
Gerber felt it had proved the rumor false. Although the rumor
continued to spread all over the United States, Gerber stood tough
on refusing a recall. The rumor eventually died, and Gerber recovered
sales, something the company felt it could not have done had there
been a recall.
4. Deny the rumor publicly and vehemently, and prove it has no basis
in truth. Once the rumor is shown to be unsubstantiated, a person
who passes it on might be challenged with “That is absolutely untrue.
I know because . . .” However, if the rumor is already widespread
and potentially serious, a news conference is in order. The purpose
is to show how erroneous the rumor is. In this news conference, do
not repeat the rumor itself unnecessarily.
Effective public relations is less expensive and the resulting articles
usually more believable than advertisements. However, Allan J.
Kimmel (2004), in his guide to understanding and combating rumor,
Rumors and Rumor Control, warned against easy use of urging the
news media to fight the battle, when saying that once the news media
have the story, the organization loses control of the message and it
may not be delivered to the publics in the intended way. Crucial data
may be omitted or not stressed.
Remember that a simple denial is not as interesting or as juicy as
the original rumor. Just “saying” it’s not so is boring. Rumormongers
expect you to deny it. Why would you admit something so
negative? Your denial must be persuasive and convincing.
5. To be convincing, get an outside expert on the subject to discredit
the rumor. The expert should be a person with strong credentials
who speaks with authority—a university professor, a leading physician,
or some other professional.
6. Place ads in high-circulation publications. This is a powerful tool for
reaching great numbers of people—if your message is convincing. If
the message is not convincing, the ad may promote the rumor. Before
placing an ad, be sure the rumor is totally untrue, not premature. In
the latter case, ads can cause more harm than good.
Social Media Rumors
Where word-of-mouth rumors have put companies in crises for years,
electronic rumors have given rumors wings. Social media and e-mail
rumors can spread to thousands of people in seconds and, just like
spoken rumor, they can change elements of the story with each
transmission. The culture of cyberspace includes many individuals who
apparently believe what they read on the Internet even when just the
opposite seems to be the case. Although rules and laws will eventually
be put into effect, at the beginning of the 21st century anybody can write
78 Rumors and Cybercrises
about almost anything on the Internet and to an even greater degree via
e-mail. Some people, such as competitors, use social media and e-mail
rumor with vicious intent; others use it merely to warn their friends. The
transmission of e-mail rumors can be extremely damaging to businesses,
organizations, and people in public life.
An e-mail rumor circulated in the late 1990s claiming that a customer
ate chocolate-chip cookies from a café in a Neiman Marcus store, asked
the waitress for the cookie recipe, and was told it would cost “two-fifty.”
Thinking that meant $2.50, the customer agreed, but found later that
$250 had been charged to her credit card. According to the rumor,
she said the store would not correct the discrepancy because she could
have copied the recipe, so she was stuck with the charge. In revenge,
she decided to tell everyone she could about the recipe and thereby circulated
it by e-mail to people she knew and asked them to circulate it to
everyone they knew. In a short time, the recipe and story were everywhere.
However, the story is false. The Neiman Marcus store mentioned does
not even have a café. Yet the e-mail rumor was widely transmitted and
believed.
Another widely circulated e-mail rumor asserts that Kentucky Fried
Chicken changed its name to KFC because it could not use the word
“chicken” since what it sells is not chicken but “genetically manipulated
organisms.” The rumor further asserts that “the so-called chickens are
kept alive by tubes inserted in their bodies to pump blood and nutrients
throughout their structure. They have no beaks, no feathers, no feet.”
As in most e-mail rumors, the writer of the KFC e-mail cited a believable
source but got the facts wrong: “Listen to their commercials,
I guarantee you will not see or hear the word ‘chicken.’ I find this
disturbing.” Actually the word “chicken” is used repeatedly in the commercials.
The company changed its name to KFC to eliminate the word
“fried” because some of their products are not fried and the company
wants to appeal to a more health-conscious consumer public.
KFC officials released the following statement to the news media: “The
hoax is intended to destroy the trust that you have placed in KFC to
provide high-quality chicken meals at all of our restaurants. Although
we hope that readers of the hoax will recognize it as obviously false, we
take this or any other attack on the quality of KFC’s product seriously”
(Noack, 2000).
Battling Online Rumors
In 1999, the Public Affairs Office at the University of Texas Medical
Branch (UTMB) at Galveston set up a web page to fight rumors. Faced
with a fiscal problem and a projected deficit, several hundred jobs had
already been eliminated and other jobs would be eliminated in the future.
Rumors and Cybercrises 79
The campus rumor mill was abuzz with gossip about which programs
would be cut. The Public Affairs Office realized the rumors were sapping
morale and threatening productivity. “Our biweekly employee newsletter,
with its slower response time, didn’t seem like the proper vehicle,”
said Chris Comer, UTMB’s director of communications (Lucey, 1999,
p. 6).
The university webmaster and art director worked together to create
a website called “Rumors and Trumors.” Accessed through a flying
saucer button on the university’s homepage, the site permitted employees
to ask about the rumors they heard. The Public Affairs Office then
tracked down and posted the answers. The site became a trusted and
effective source for employees. Hundreds of rumors were explained or
zapped, and morale was improved.
Fighting back with a proactive website is one tactic. If the company has
a website and does not address a circulated rumor on it, it may make the
company appear guilty. This happened in July 1996 when TWA Flight
800 went down off the coast of Long Island. The TWA website did not
address the rumor circulating widely that the plane was shot down by a
missile during a nearby U.S. military exercise. Alaska Airlines, on the other
hand, put details of its 2000 crash online within an hour of the accident.
Janal (1998) advised three tactics for fighting all cybercrises, including
e-mail rumors: pay attention, read the rumor and think about it, and put
up a fight. Companies and organizations should be ever vigilant, watching
for e-mail rumors. Encourage employees to notify the public relations
department, or another designated department, when they notice e-mail
or word-of-mouth rumors. If the complaint is legitimate, an appropriate
solution to the complaint, and perhaps publicity about the correction,
should be posted on the company’s website, through the news media, or
through some more appropriate outlet. If the rumor is unfounded and
the source of the rumor is known, respond to the rumor. If the source
is not known, respond to the listserv or Internet service provider (ISP)
associated with the e-mail message that distributed the rumor. Fight in
the news media and on websites. But do not wait for the rumor to go
away. “To many people,” said Janal, “silence equals assent.”
At times, a decision must be made between fighting a rumor with public
relations and fighting a rumor with lawyers. Public relations is the first
step. If that does not work or is not feasible, call the lawyers.
Many companies establish a policy forbidding employees from making
statements about the company while they are employed or after they
depart. Employee comments on an attack site violate that agreement and
expose the employees to punitive measures. This may work well in some
environments, but it seems difficult to enforce, particularly with fired or
other former employees who are frequently the culprits behind e-mail
rumors.
80 Rumors and Cybercrises
Another tactic is to ignore the problem. Most Internet experts do not
embrace this as a tactic and say it would be like a duck sitting in the
water hoping the hunter’s shot will miss. However, companies have been
successful with it—watching and waiting and riding the problem out. If
this tactic is taken, ongoing monitoring of the situation is crucial.
Kotcher (1999) advised the following:
1. Your company must respond to the e-mail rumor. If you remain
silent, the only side of the story revealed is your enemy’s.
2. Think strategically. Devise the best plan for the problem.
3. Speak with one voice. A clear, consistent message is mandatory.
4. Communicate your concern. Even if you are not guilty of the charges,
be concerned.
5. Adopt an appropriate tone. Choose formal or informal language
depending on the nature of the crisis.
6. Seize the opportunity. This is a chance not only to diffuse the crisis
but also to build new alliances and reach goals.
Mini-Case: Microsoft Fights Fake E-Mailed News
Release
The fake e-mailed news release began like this:
MICROSOFT BIDS TO ACQUIRE CATHOLIC CHURCH
VATICAN CITY (AP)—In a joint press conference in St. Peter’s
Square this morning, Microsoft Corporation and the Vatican
announced that the Redmond software giant will acquire the Roman
Catholic Church in exchange for an unspecified number of shares of
Microsoft common stock. If the deal goes through, it will be the first
time a computer software company has acquired a major world
religion.
(Janal, 1998, pp. 270–273)
The fake news release went on to say that Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer
would be invested in the College of Cardinals, and Gates was quoted as
saying, “The combined resources of Microsoft and the Catholic Church
will allow us to make religion easier and more fun for a broader range
of people.” The release also claimed that there would be a new software
application called “Microsoft Church,” that the deal would give
Microsoft online rights to the Bible, and that comedian Don Novello,
playing his Saturday Night Live character, Father Guido Sarducci,
hosted the announcement that was broadcast by satellite to 700 sites
worldwide.
Rumors and Cybercrises 81
If anything remotely like this were true, which is ludicrous, it would
have been a front-page, top of the newscast story. So how could anyone
believe it on an e-mail transmission? So many people believed it, or, at
least, thought it might be true, that they contacted Microsoft for confirmation.
The fake news release also made the news. The company had
to issue a news release denying the rumor.
Mini-Case: The Killer Banana Rumor
A rumor circulated both on the Internet and via e-mail claimed that
bananas from Costa Rica were infected with “necrotizing fasciitis,” or
flesh-eating bacteria, and that the entire Costa Rica monkey population
had been wiped out because of the bananas. It warned the public to stop
eating bananas and to seek medical attention if they had eaten a banana
and had come down with a fever. The bacteria, it said, could “eat” 2 to 3
centimeters of flesh per hour, making amputation likely and death possible.
The message, like most e-mail rumors involving food, said the message
could be confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC). Rumors tend to carry an expert’s name to make the outrageous
rumor seem believable. When contacted, a spokesperson for the CDC
said, “This is a false report.”
APBNews.com reported on the incident, saying a trade group was
trying to squelch the rumor. Tim Debus of the International Banana
Association (IBA), an organization directly affected by the rumor, called
it “Just another case of Internet terrorism like the recent hacker attacks
on popular websites.” The National Necrotizing Foundation, which
researches such diseases and offers support and education services, said
it was not possible for the disease to spread in the way the hoax claimed
(Noack, 2000).
Debus indicated that the IBA, concerned that the prank could disrupt
the economy, made efforts to get the word out that the allegations were
false.
Rogue Websites
Rogue websites are normally created by disgruntled individuals with
the intention of bringing attention to an issue or several issues concerning
a corporation or organization. The company attacked in the rogue
site must consider whether to respond and if it responds, how. Sometimes
no response seems appropriate because the site appears to be simply
vicious, but the company must determine, as best it can, whether readers
will actually believe the claims made. Are Internet users sophisticated
enough to realize that information on any website, especially a rogue
website, is not necessarily factual?
82 Rumors and Cybercrises
Dr. Louis K. Falk, in his research on rogue websites, classifies such
sites into five categories. The five categories are the following:
1. Sites in which consumers are unhappy with the performance of the
company. Examples include a rogue website that targeted Wal-Mart;
it featured complaints and comments from customers and employees
and claimed that “a considerable amount of content on this site is
from other sites around the world.”
2. Sites in which consumers are unhappy with the policies of the company.
Examples include a rogue site aimed at Pepsi that featured
complaints that the company supported animal cruelty because it
placed ads at bullfights.
3 Sites in which consumers or former employees have negative feelings
toward the company. Examples include a disgruntled former employee
of Burger King who set up a website to complain about
creatures in the salad, low wages, and office politics. The information
was so rambling that the discerning reader got the impression
“Somebody got fired and has a vendetta against Burger King.” Burger
King would probably be advised to ignore the site. Another rogue
site complained that McDonald’s was not environmentally concerned
because it killed animals, damaged the planet, harmed the health of
consumers, and paid employees low salaries. Few customers of
McDonald’s likely cared, as anyone concerned about killing animals
for food doesn’t order Big Macs.
4. Sites in which consumers create humor pages, also called “spoof
sites.” Examples include a site aimed at making fun of Taco Bell that
clearly states its intentions. The webmaster says, at the top of the
homepage, “I am not Taco Bell. I’m just a freak that likes to eat their
food. If you want to write to Taco Bell, please go to tacobell.com.
This page is meant to be a fun page.” The site’s criticism is so
minimal, the reader may wonder if Taco Bell might have masterminded
the site itself. In one central spot, the hot sauce is criticized
for not being hot and the quality of the meat in Taco Bell Lunchables
is questioned. But the webmaster admits that the humor comes
from his or her marijuana use as well as his or her relationship with
Taco Bell.
5. Sites in which an index is created for complaints of multiple businesses.
An example is www.sprawl-busters.com, which battles
large-scale retail stores and megastores such as Wal-Mart, K-Mart, and
Target.
Another type of Internet crisis can develop when a company’s own
website is invaded. This occurred when a medical products company in
Michigan discovered that hackers had posted on its own website a false
Rumors and Cybercrises 83
news release saying the company was merging with a pharmaceutical firm.
Stocks for both companies rose on the NASDAQ index after the fake
posting. The medical products company indicated it would pursue the
hackers and reassess its security.
The rogue sites that seem designed to destroy a company are often
called attack sites or antisites. Many times, the web address is made up
of the company name followed by the word sucks—as in yourcompany
sucks.com.
How Do Companies Prevent Rogue Websites?
Cyberexperts advise companies to purchase several domain names,
including buying up the “sucks sites.” This is only a temporary remedy
because the clever webmaster can merely set up a rogue site using “stinks”
instead of “sucks,” making Xcompanystinks.com. Then there are numerous
other synonyms that can be used. The irate webmaster can also
purchase Xcompanyreallysucks.com and Xcompanystillsucks.com.
Site suffixes have been a problem, too. For example, “whitehouse.gov”
is the website address of the real White House in Washington, DC, but
a spoof site, “whitehouse.org,” was set up, and also a pornography site
at “whitehouse.com.” It would seem that government Internet and web
experts could have prevented these occurrences by anticipating the need
to control both sites.
Another Internet address problem occurred when Sno-Isle Regional
Library in Snohomish County, Washington, set up a website for bibliophiles
to reserve books. There is a hyphen in the address. If the hyphen
was not typed in the address, the computer user would get a pornography
site. The address of the pornography site is not sexy and seems to have
no relevance to its site. The library suspected that the pornography site
webmaster wanted the library to purchase the address or merely wanted
to play a trick on the library. So the library’s legal representative entered
the picture.
In November 1999, the Federal Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection
Act was signed into law. It allows the holder of a copyright or
trademark to sue cybersquatters who have registered copyrighted domain
names, and it forces them to relinquish those Internet addresses.
The most important prevention method is acquiring a federal trademark
registration for the company name. The first company or the first
person to register the name holds the rights. It is also advisable to register
the company trademark and product name under all possible domain
name variations (.com, .org, .net, etc.). Companies are advised to register
their names with and without hyphens. For example, 1-800-dentists.com
and 1800dentists.com are two websites owned by two different companies.
Confusion is apparent.
84 Rumors and Cybercrises
If your company has a federal registration for its name, and if another
company or webmaster has taken the name as its domain name, write
to the domain name holder and tell him or her that he or she is infringing
on your trademark. If he or she fails to transfer the domain name, go
to Network Solutions, Inc. (NSI), the organization responsible for the
administration of domain names in the United States and Canada. Present
NSI with a certified copy of the federal registration and ask to place the
domain on hold. Neither party will be able to conduct business at that
website until the dispute is settled. If the problem continues, a suit in
federal court is the next step.
Use a monitoring service. These services help companies track online
problems and manage their reputations through online resources and
interactions. A Phoenix-based division of WavePhore, called “eWatch,”
prowls websites and assists companies with damage control when
criticism hits the Internet.
What to Do After an Attack Site Is Up
If a company is the victim of an attack site, Falk suggests the following
tactics:
1. Do not overreact; the problem may not be as bad as it seems.
2. Assess the problem. Consider whether the information is true or false,
whether many key stakeholders have seen the site, and whether the
persons making the claim are credible.
3. Analyze the attack site.
(a) Do not pretend you are a consumer; webmasters of rogue sites
recognize misleading communications.
(b) Get a picture of how damaging the site is. How are you affected?
Learn all you can about the attitudes of your publics and the
issues most important to them.
(c) Contact the webmaster of the attack site by telephone, face to
face, or through e-mail. This gives you someone to hold accountable
and helps develop a relationship with him or her if that
is helpful. It also tends to force people to observe a higher
standard.
(d) If the issue is big enough, contact your key stakeholders. This
allows you to build a personal relationship with them and educate
them about the attack site.
4. Drive the discussion by allowing your employees to be interviewed
on your website. Make your company the expert on information
about your company. Even if there is a negative aspect, admit to it
and tell what your company is doing about it.
Rumors and Cybercrises 85
If there is no doubt that the site is an attempt to damage the company’s
reputation, Kim Bayne (as cited in Janal, 1998, p. 240) suggests the
following steps:
1. Make a complete mirror of the attacking websites for reference
purposes.
2. Find out the webmaster’s point of view. Is the webmaster a disgruntled
customer, an ex-employee, a competitor, or a prankster?
3. Create rebuttal pages at the company’s website to address all
accusations and implications. However, don’t post the rebuttal pages
at the company’s site until you have gauged the public’s reaction, or
you may unwittingly stimulate interest in the attack site.
4. Prepare written statements for your crisis communications team, and
make sure all team members agree on how to route inquiries about
this particular website, should it become an issue.
5. Telephone the webmaster and explain your concerns about the
misinformation. Do not be accusatory, angry, or threatening. Ask
him or her to remove the site. Explain that you would like the
opportunity to present your company’s view in an unbiased manner
at the attack site. Use your communications skills first to try to resolve
the problem.
6. If for any reason you are unable to communicate with the webmaster,
it’s time for your company to draft a nice letter spelling out the
situation and asking for resolution by a specific date.
7. Still not getting results? I’d apply the “three strikes” rule here. If after
the third attempt to “play nice,” you still don’t get results, then it’s
time to get your company lawyer involved (Janal, 1998, p. 240).
The mini-cases discussed in the following sections involve rogue
websites.
Mini-Case: Alaska Airlines and the Good and
Bad News Websites
After the 2000 crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261, Alaska Airlines was
one of the first major companies to put its bad news on its own website
within an hour of it happening. The story was placed on the employee
site because several persons on the flight were nonrevenue passengers,
primarily employees. However, Alaska had to battle fraudulent sites
also.
Two fraudulent websites were created to solicit donations for the
families of the passengers and crew. The webmaster of the first rogue site
used the Alaska Airlines logo to masquerade his or her site as an official
Alaska Airlines page. Visitors who downloaded the fake contribution form
86 Rumors and Cybercrises
unleashed a computer virus that allowed outsiders access to information
on their computers.
Company executives were tipped off about the rogue site by an e-mail
message. Needless to say, the company, still in shock over the tragedy,
was doubly shocked. Company spokesperson Brian Petro said, “We just
couldn’t understand. It was unimaginable someone would do something
like that” (Stiffler, 2000, p. A10). Alaska Airlines contacted the rogue
site’s Internet provider and asked that the site be removed. The ISP, Costa
Rica-based Freehomepages.com, complied.
A second rogue site asked for Social Security numbers of Alaska
Airlines employees under the guise of donating to coworkers. The site
was also purged. It is not known how many Internet users fell prey to
the fraud. Alaska Airlines also issued two news releases about the
fraudulent sites. The releases warned the public that the sites were
fraudulent and vicious and revealed information about the official site,
www.alaskaair.com, and fund-raising efforts.
Mini-Case: Dunkin’ Donuts Adopts a Rogue Website
The webmaster of a rogue site aimed at Dunkin’ Donuts said he or she
had “way too much time on [his] hands” and posted some thoughts about
Dunkin’ Donuts on a personal website. Within a few weeks, the site had
“an unusual [but welcome] influx of visitors.” The webmaster learned
through the referrer log at Yahoo! that all of these visitors went through
Yahoo! to access the site. The webmaster also learned that Dunkin’
Donuts did not have its own website, so Yahoo! indexed the rogue site
as a “consumer opinion” website about Dunkin’ Donuts.
The site started getting “500 hits and a dozen e-mails a week,” it said.
Then the webmaster requested and was granted the use of the domain
name “dunkindonuts.org” and moved the content previously posted on
his personal website to the new official website. The site made news (Segal
& Mayer, 1999, p. A01).
It must be said here that 500 hits are not necessarily 500 complaints.
People stumble onto sites. Curiosity leads them to sites. Also, one person
may “hit” a site more than once, so it doesn’t even mean that 500 people
visited the site. And the webmaster himself admits on the page that some
of the hits come from people who “are from Dunkin’ Donuts headquarters
doing ‘damage control,’ ‘lurking,’ or eavesdropping.”
Dunkin’ Donuts started to respond to the comments on the rogue site.
Jennifer Rosenberg, a Dunkin’ Donuts spokesperson, was quoted on the
top line of the rogue site as saying, “If this was where customers were going
to post their comments, we thought it was important for us to go ahead
and address them.” Soon after, Dunkin’ Donuts made arrangements to
acquire the site for its own use.
Rumors and Cybercrises 87
Mini-Case: America Online and a “Sucks” Site
This “sucks” site charged America Online (AOL) with being “the MTV
of the Internet . . . competitive on prices, but disastrously poor in service.”
The site contained several pages of detailed and focused text. James M.
Egelhof was identified as the rogue site’s webmaster.
An AOL webmaster wrote a letter to Cloud 9, the ISP of Egelhof’s
site, saying the site violated the ISP’s rules: “Both as an Internet user and
as an AOL employee, I find his web page to be offensive and disturbing.
Because Mr. Egelhof has chosen to use a noninteractive medium to
express his opinions, he is not providing an avenue for an AOL response
to these allegations, and thus his communication can be considered
harassment [a violation of the ISP’s rules].”
Another violation was of the ISP’s rule that users may not use the
system to distribute and/or store illegal copies of commercial software.
The AOL webmaster’s letter to Cloud 9 continued: “The use of AOL
online art in this site is extensive. Please remove the graphics on these
pages to avoid possible legal action. I am currently contacting our legal
department to determine if they (sic) would consider Mr. Egelhof’s
opinions to be libelous and to discover precedents for legal action in this
medium.”
Egelhof maintained that AOL’s threats were groundless and that he
had broken no law. He said he checked with his attorney about the
harassment and libel threats and was told they were “garbage.” He said
he was also advised “that when a large corporation uses lawsuits (or the
threat of them) to try to silence critics, that there are grounds for a
harassment suit against the corporation.”
At this point, there was much talk about the incident in several
newsgroups, and the number of visits to the rogue site increased, Egelhof
said, from 20 to 360 daily. As the talk continued, AOL Vice President
Lyn Chitow posted an apology and mailed it to those who complained
about the company. The main points of the apology were the following:
1. “We are not in the business of censorship and believe strongly in
individual freedom of speech.”
2. “We know we are not perfect and welcome feedback about how to
make it better.”
3. “The author of the [rogue] web pages was expressing his view of
America Online, and I personally found it insightful and helpful as
we strive to make it the best service it can be.”
Interestingly, the AOL webmaster who took Egelhof to task offered
him a job, saying “We are looking for folks who know (the) web.”
88 Rumors and Cybercrises
Blogs
Blogs can be positive or negative. Blogs used to be personal online diaries
but they have grown to become expressions of opinion on any subject.
Beginning with the September 11 attacks of 2001, and continuing with
all great disasters, including the Asian tsunami in late 2004 and Hurricane
Katrina in 2005, bloggers (persons who write blogs) brought to the
Internet numerous revealing personal stories that helped us get the big,
broader picture of the tragedies. However, the basic nature of blogging
can be dangerous.
Why is it dangerous?
1. A 2005 study by the Carnegie Corporation revealed that 44% of 18to
34-year-olds get their news from online sources, including an
increasing number of sites in the blogosphere. By early 2005,
32 million Internet users had accessed blogs.
2. Even though most bloggers and most Internet users who read blogs
are well educated, it is difficult to differentiate a blog site set up by
a news medium and one set up by an irate person or organization.
3. A blogger is not necessarily employed by a news medium or trained
or experienced in the basic tenets of journalism—balanced and
objective coverage. A blog is closer to a letter to the editor than a
news story. Yet there is no editor to assure checks and balances as
in traditional newspapers, television, and radio news. Bloggers can
and do write whatever they wish, and their writing may be full of
errors, flaws, and innuendo.
This means that organizations and companies must monitor blog sites
in order to know what publics are saying about them, just as they
monitor phone calls, letters, rumors, and complaints.
One blog crisis occurred when a Google employee posted a complaint
about his salary on his Google blog. He was subsequently fired for
divulging proprietary information to a vast external public. This caused
companies to develop rules governing what can and cannot be said on
a blog site.
Conclusion
As the Internet’s many possibilities emerge, there will be more and more
opportunities for attacks. Hopefully, laws will be established to protect
while still providing freedom of speech and expression. The basic lesson
to be learned in all forms of communication—from word-of-mouth to
word-of-electronics—is “Watch, Listen, Learn.”
Rumors and Cybercrises 89
The Crisis Communications
Plan
Crisis Inventory
Before an organization can develop a crisis management plan or a crisis
communications plan, it must determine which crisis or crises the organization
is most likely to face. A crisis communications plan’s usefulness
is directly associated with how specific it is to a particular type of crisis.
The workbook for this text takes the user through a step-by-step
process of developing the crisis communications plan. Although there are
several items in the plan that are mutual to all types of crises, varying
information is needed for each type of crisis for maximum effectiveness.
For example, a restaurant chain may decide that food poisoning and fire
are its most probable crises. If a food poisoning crisis occurs, the media
will want, and the public relations department should have, the following
items readily available and in its crisis communications plan: recipes, a
list of ingredients stocked, a list of vendors used, kitchen precautions and
procedures, names and contact numbers of chefs and all other personnel
handling food, and a list of medical experts for consultation and as
spokespersons.
If a fire occurs, the public relations department should have, in a specific
crisis communications plan, information about its evacuation procedures,
its policy on using nonflammable decor items (such as window coverings
and tablecloths), the floor plan of the structure, and fire experts for
spokespersons.
The following list enumerates common types of crises. There are, of
course, numerous others. Companies and organizations are advised
to consider the list carefully and add types of crises specific to their
operations.
Common Types of Crises
acquisition bankruptcy
age discrimination boycott
alcohol abuse bribery
Chapter Fifteen
Some crises will involve more than one of the types listed, such as workplace
violence and fatality, or boycott and sexual discrimination.
Perhaps the involvement of the entire company or of representatives
from each department can help determine the crises the company is likely
to face. Then each unit’s selections could be compared and compiled into
a company-wide list. When done properly, this can be an effective
proactive employee relations program, a way of creating “we-ness,” a
way of including all of the employees in the company’s decision making.
Janitors, executive assistants, blue-collar and white-collar workers,
midlevel executives, as well as top executives can have a say. After all,
each employee stands to suffer if the company should go under after the
most serious of crises. Furthermore, employees in each position
classification have unique perspectives on things that can go wrong.
Janitors are more aware of heating and cooling equipment, possible gas
leaks, and so on. Workers on an automobile assembly line know more
about the quality of cars than managers in carpeted offices.
However, if a company-wide crisis identification program is not
feasible, a meeting of key employees familiar with all facets of the
operation can determine the crises the company is likely to face. Such a
meeting should certainly include more than public relations staff members.
You do not want the company blaming the public relations staff for the
failure to recognize a possible crisis.
302 The Crisis Communications Plan
chemical spill or leak
computer failure
computer hacking
contamination
data loss/theft
drug abuse
drug trafficking
earthquake
embezzlement
explosion
fatality
fire
flood
hacking
hurricane
kickbacks
kidnapping
lawsuits
layoffs
merger
murder
negative legislation
plant closing
product failure
protest demonstrations
racial issues
robbery
sexual discrimination
sexual harassment
strikes
suicide
takeover
tax problems
terrorism
tornado
toxic waste
transportation accident
transportation failure
workplace violence
Frequently, ascertaining probable crises can point out problems that
prevent crises from occurring. This is the primary reason for companywide
involvement. The second best reason is being able to manage a crisis
once it occurs.
Every company and organization can experience many types of crises.
Two questions must be answered: (a) How likely is this crisis? and (b)
how devastating can the crisis be? Crisis communications plans should
be developed for all crises believed to be both most probable and most
devastating. To do this, the public relations department, with its key
executives, must take an inventory. Each possible crisis must be ranked
as follows:
0—Impossible; that is, the crisis has basically no chance of occurring.
1—Nearly impossible.
2—Remotely possible.
3—Possible.
4—Somewhat probable; has happened to similar companies.
5—Highly probable; may or may not have previously occurred in the
company, but warning signs are evident.
Each crisis also should be ranked according to its potential damage to
the company. The rankings in this category are as follows:
0—No damage, not a serious consequence.
1—Little damage, can be handled without much difficulty, not serious
enough for the media’s concern.
2—Some damage, a slight chance that the media will be involved.
3—Considerable damage, but still will not be a major media issue.
4—Considerable damage, would definitely be a major media issue.
5—Devastating, front-page news, could put company out of business.
For added security, when in doubt, rank a crisis in the next highest
category. For instance, Company Z determines that there are five crises
it could face: workplace violence, fire, protest demonstrations, negative
legislation, and tax problems. Each of these crises might be ranked as
shown in Figure 15.1.
Keep in mind that a crisis you determine to be unlikely simply because
it has never happened before can happen tomorrow. Both human nature
and mother nature are very unpredictable, so natural disasters (e.g.,
earthquakes, floods, and hurricanes) and human failures should be
expected to some degree.
After rankings for probability and damage are made, bar graphs should
be made to clearly see and consider each crisis and compare it to others.
(Bar graphing can be done on various computer programs or by hand.)
The Crisis Communications Plan 303
At the base of each graph, write the name of each type of crisis. Plot the
height of each bar according to numbers attributed to each crisis in the
probability and damage rankings. Choose different colors or shadings
for probability bars and damage bars.
When Company Z plots its data on a bar graph, it resembles Figure
15.1. Considering Company Z’s graph, we see that the probability and
Workplace
violence
= Damage
0
1
2
3
4
5
Protest
demonstrations
Negative
legislation
Fire Tax
problems
Company Z’s Crisis Inventory
= Probability
Figure 15.1 A sample bar graph showing how an organization might assess the
probability of, and degrees of damage resulting from, various types of crises.
304 The Crisis Communications Plan
seriousness of a crisis relating to tax problems is not as crucial as in the
other crises. This does not mean that a crisis plan is not important for
tax problems; it’s just not as important as for other issues, and not a
priority.
According to the graph, the possibility of Company Z’s suffering a
crisis resulting from negative legislation is likely, though not particularly
critical. On the other hand, protest demonstrations are critical,
although not very likely. Workplace violence and fire seem both likely
and critical.
Most organizations plan for crises ranked high in both probability and
damage. In this case, Company Z would probably develop crisis management
and communications plans for workplace violence first, then for
the other crises in descending order of importance: fire, protest demonstrations,
negative legislation, and tax problems.
Sometimes organizations make crisis plans for the most devastating
crises no matter how probable or improbable they may be. In this case,
Company Z would develop plans for workplace violence first, followed
by protest demonstrations, then fire. Naturally, a version of Murphy’s
Law can be expected: That crisis for which you have no plan will likely
happen. However, you will find that any plan, and the process of
developing that plan, will make you more prepared for crises generally.
Some organizations, having several crises classified with similar
rankings in all categories, make general crisis communications plans
with detailed information for all types of crises, although sometimes the
detailed information is omitted.
Many companies, fearing all possibilities of crises equally, merely
adopt a policy of “open and honest response” with the media and all
publics, and plan to be in a total reactive mode during a crisis.
The importance of the crisis inventory is to force organizations to think
about the possibilities. Sometimes the most ridiculous crisis occurs,
something no one in the company could predict. Pepsi probably never
dreamed that it would have a crisis about hypodermic syringes in its cans.
On the other hand, Foodmaker and Jack-in-the-Box could certainly have
anticipated children dying from eating hamburgers, and Exxon could have
anticipated a devastating oil spill.
The ranking procedure may introduce ideas for prevention programs.
You also may realize that your organization is more vulnerable than you
anticipated.
Considering that the toll of stress and emotion during a crisis necessarily
affects one’s thought processes, a carefully developed crisis communications
plan is the best substitute for a fully functioning brain. Even if you
remain cool and calm under pressure, others in the company may not.
The crisis communications plan alleviates this problem, too.
The Crisis Communications Plan 305
Developing the Crisis Communications Plan
Once likely crises have been identified, the crisis communications plan
can be written. A crisis communications plan can be part of a larger crisis
management plan (CMP) or it may be a stand-alone document to help
public relations practitioners handle crises more effectively.
The CMP includes information such as evacuation procedures,
emergency staffing of various departments of a company, and places to
purchase or rent emergency equipment, tools, or vehicles—all the things
a company may need in a crisis.
Public relations during a crisis focuses on communications with the
company’s publics during the crisis—for the most part, the same publics
to which normal PR activities are directed.
The CMP is sometimes a large volume of instructions, whereas a crisis
communications plan should be a more manageable, easier-to-read
document. After a crisis has erupted, employees are likely to look at a
large volume and say, “We don’t have time to read this now,” and then
proceed to handle the crisis by “winging” it. The crisis communications
plan should be organized in such a way that the practitioners can quickly
turn to each section. Some professionals use tabs in a notebook; others
use a table of contents. Keeping the crisis communications plan on a
computer can be dangerous because many crises prevent access to offices
(fire, earthquakes, explosives, etc.).
Many companies (such as Johnson & Johnson after the Tylenol crisis)
urge employees to keep copies of the plan in various key spots—the office,
at home, near the night stand, or in the car. That way, the odds are good
that at least one copy will be readily available should a crisis or disaster
occur.
If a crisis inventory determines, for example, that there are three likely
crises, the organization should draft a crisis communications plan for
each type. A plan for an earthquake must be different from a plan for a
product failure. The publics may be different; the media may be different;
the message must be different.
The crisis communications plan states purposes, policies, and goals,
then assigns employees to various duties. It generally makes communication
with publics faster and more effective and should help end the crisis
more swiftly than without a plan.
When a crisis communications plan is ineffective, it is usually because
the type of crisis was not anticipated or because variables arose that were
not anticipated. For example, spokespersons or supplies may not be
available. The crisis communications plan sometimes fails because it is
outdated. Such plans should be updated regularly.
Even if unanticipated variables do arise, the crisis communications
plan should be more effective than having no plan at all. Still, it must be
306 The Crisis Communications Plan
remembered that a crisis communications plan is not a manual guaranteeing
success, with everything done “by the book,” but rather a guide
that must be flexible.
An effective crisis communications plan should have the following
components, arranged in an order that best suits the organization and
the particular crisis or disaster:
• cover page
• introduction
• acknowledgments
• rehearsal dates
• purpose and objectives
• list of key publics
• notifying publics
• identifying the crisis communications team
• crisis directory
• identifying the media spokesperson
• list of emergency personnel and local officials
• list of key media
• spokespersons for related organizations
• crisis communications control center
• equipment and supplies
• pregathered information
• key messages
• website
• blogs and social media
• trick questions
• list of prodromes
• list of related Internet URLs
• evaluation form.
Cover Page
The cover page of a crisis communications plan is similar to the cover
page of a term paper. There are as many ways of doing one as there are
ways of doing crisis communications plans. It should include at least the
date when the plan was written as well as revision dates.
Introduction
The head of the company or organization usually writes the introduction
(or the PR practitioner ghostwrites it for the CEO with his or her
approval). The purpose of this component is to persuade employees to
take the crisis communications plan seriously. It stresses the necessity and
The Crisis Communications Plan 307
importance of the plan and it emphasizes the dire results possible when
a plan is not followed.
Acknowledgments
This crisis communications plan component takes the form of an affidavit
signed by all crisis personnel as well as by key executives, indicating that
they have read the plan and are prepared to put it into effect. The signatures
assure management that its personnel have read the plan.
Rehearsal Dates
Dates of rehearsals for all crises are recorded here. The most damaging
and most likely crises should be practiced at least annually if not every
6 months. Rehearsal for any type of crisis is helpful even if an eventual
crisis turns out to be somewhat different.
Purpose and Objectives
The purpose statement details the organization’s policies toward its
publics. It might say, for example, “In a crisis, an open and honest
disclosure with the media shall be stressed.” The purpose is an expressed
hope for a recovery and return to normalcy, to get out of the media. The
objectives are responses to the question, “What do you hope to achieve
with this plan?” Objectives should not be overly ambitious in difficulty
or number. For example, a company may adopt the following goals:
1. To be seen in the media as a company that cares about its customers
and employees.
2. To make certain that all communications are accurate.
List of Key Publics
The key publics list should include all publics, both external and internal,
with which the organization must communicate during the crisis. The
list varies with organizations, but may include the following as well as
others:
• board members
• shareholders
• financial partners
• investors
• community leaders
• customers
308 The Crisis Communications Plan
• clients
• suppliers
• vendors
• neighbors of physical plant(s)
• competitors
• key management
• employees
• legal representation
• media
• union officials
• retirees
• government officials (city, state, county, federal).
Although all publics need not be notified in every crisis, the list of key
publics should be comprehensive. It is easier to eliminate unneeded
publics at the time of crisis than it is to think of all the crucial publics
during the stress of a crisis.
Publics fall into the following categories:
• Enabling publics—those people with the power and authority to make
decisions: the board of directors, shareholders, investors, and key
executives. Notifying enabling publics is a priority.
• Functional publics—the people who actually make the organization
work: employees, unions, suppliers, vendors, consumers, and volunteers
in the case of nonprofit organizations.
• Normative publics—those people who share values with the organization
in crises: trade associations, professional organizations, and
competitors.
• Diffused publics—those people linked indirectly to the organization
in crisis: the media, community groups, and neighbors of the physical
plant.
Notifying Publics
To notify publics, a system must be devised for contacting each public,
and that system should be described in the crisis communications plan.
Social media networks such as Facebook groups can be used if people
use computers constantly. For internal publics, many companies use a
chain procedure, such as a telephone tree, in which each person is
specifically designated to call others. The person who learns about the
crisis first notifies the CEO, the head of public relations, and the head
of the department that may be involved. The chain should be clear and
error-free, even in the event that certain individuals are not reached.
The Crisis Communications Plan 309
An appropriate means of notification must be decided on for each
public. A news release, for example, is appropriate primarily for the news
media, not for other publics.
Board members are often reached by telephone or fax. E-mail or other
computerized communications are also used. The media can be notified
by way of telephone, wire service, fax, press conference, e-mail, or news
release. Other methods used for notifying publics include telegrams,
personal visits, letters, advertisements, bulletin boards, and meetings (see
Figure 15.2).
Identifying the Crisis Communications Team
The crisis communications team members, along with back-ups, should
be preselected. The team manager is usually, but not always, the head
of public relations. He or she has specific responsibilities: communicating
with top management, making decisions, drafting or approving major
statements, and notifying the rest of the crisis communications team.
310 The Crisis Communications Plan
COMMUNITY
LEADERS
*Karen N. *Karen N.
SHARE
HOLDERS
*Ann C. *Ann C.
WEEKLY
NEWSPAPERS
*Gina A. *Damien L.
DAILY
NEWSPAPERS
*Gina A. *Gina A.
ELECTRONIC
MEDIA
*K. Stone *K. Sone *Gina A.
BOARD OF
DIRECTORS
*Nelson J. *Damien L. *Gina A.
CUSTOMERS *Damien L.
EXECUTIVES *Nelson J. *Nelson J. *Nelson J.
M.Yerima
*Nelson J.
EMPLOYEES * J. Naas *J. Naas *J. Naas
TELEPHONE EMAIL FAX LETTER BY
MESSENGER
LETTER
BY MAIL
NEWSLETTER BULLETIN
BOARD
PERSONAL
VISIT
NEWS
RELEASE
MEETINGS
MESSAGE: There has been an explosion in the plant. There are injured employees. We do not know, at this time,
the cause of the explosion or the extent of the injuries of the employees. An investigation is underway.
*Staff member
responsible for
communications
and followup
YOUR
COMPANY Methods of Communication
P
U
B
L
I
C
S
Figure 15.2 A sample chart showing how an organization might plan to communicate
with key publics during a crisis. It includes key talking points and ways of
communicating. The lists of publics and types of communication can be
longer, shorter, or otherwise different depending on the organization’s
needs.
The assistant crisis manager assumes responsibility when the manager
is unavailable (a second back-up may be beneficial, if possible). The control
room coordinator sets up the room with necessary furniture, equipment,
supplies, and tools. An efficient executive assistant can be appointed for
this position.
Other PR personnel have the responsibilities of preparing news releases
and statements, contacting the media, and reporting all actions to the
crisis communications manager. These people may notify employees or
volunteers through letters or by writing telegrams to the mayor and
governor, by telephoning union officials and others, and so forth.
Crisis Directory
The company should prepare a crisis directory, listing all members of the
crisis team, key managers in the company, and key publics or organizations,
along with titles, business and home telephone numbers, cellular
phone numbers, fax and e-mail addresses, as well as business, home, and
vacation addresses. It is also helpful to list the phone numbers of friends,
neighbors, and relatives who are frequently in contact with persons
crucial to the crisis recovery.
The crisis team should be large enough to get the job done, but no
larger. Having too many people involved makes it difficult to get tasks
completed and decisions made. There is no time in a crisis for egos;
each person must be a team player. It is also preferable that crisis team
members be generally healthy and capable of working under stress. They
should be reliable professionals, whether gofers, interns, or assistants.
Identifying the Media Spokesperson
The media spokesperson must be selected carefully. To the public, this
person is the company or organization.
Actually, sometimes several persons are spokespersons. This is an arguable
point in the public relations profession. Some argue for one spokesperson
per crisis, usually the CEO. Others argue for several spokespersons,
depending on area of expertise. Clearly, the decision is a matter of what
suits the company and type of crisis best.
Even if the CEO is an effective spokesperson, he or she may not be
particularly knowledgeable about a technical aspect of the crisis. For
example, during an oil spill, the company CEO is not the only important
spokesperson; also needed is a person qualified to talk about what
will be necessary for the clean-up. Frequently, university professors are
called on for their specific knowledge about technical aspects of a crisis
and for their credibility.
The Crisis Communications Plan 311
Another school of thought is that CEOs have no credibility because
they have too much to lose. However, if lives are lost or in danger—
including the lives of animals—most professionals agree that the company
head must be the chief spokesperson.
In all cases, at least one, and preferably two or three, back-up spokespersons
should be preselected in case the preferred person is unavailable
at the time of the crisis. Crises can occur when people are on vacation,
on business trips, or sick with the flu. When the 1989 San Francisco
earthquake struck, for example, the first two designated spokespersons
for the Pacific Gas and Electric Company were at the World Series game
at Candlestick Park. The third spokesperson on the list was called and
pressed into service.
An effective crisis spokesperson must have some position in the
company. It is usually not the PR head, even if the PR person is normally
the company’s spokesperson. The spokesperson must also be articulate,
powerful enough to make decisions, accessible throughout the crisis, able
to talk clearly in concise sound bites, and pleasant to the eye of a camera.
Moreover, the spokesperson in a crisis must appear rational, concerned,
and empathetic. He or she should be pretrained, rehearsed well in advance
of the crisis, and briefed prior to the crisis response. The organization’s
legal adviser should be consulted before statements are made.
If the public relations department is a small or one-person operation,
it may be beneficial to have capable, trustworthy volunteers to perform
some tasks. Outside public relations firms that specialize in crisis planning
and handling might be used. A nonprofit organization can often get PR
firms to help pro bono (done or donated without charge). Many nonprofit
organizations have PR practitioners on their boards of directors,
anticipating the need for their assistance during a crisis.
At times, one person may be required to perform all communications
roles. On the other hand, in large companies several people may perform
each role.
List of Emergency Personnel and Local Officials
If the crisis is a disaster or emergency, various emergency personnel need
to be contacted. A list should be made of contact numbers for police,
fire officials, hospitals, the health department, utilities, and paramedics.
If the crisis affects large numbers of people or is a threat to the safety
of people, government officials must be contacted. This list should include
contact information for the mayor, governor, city council members,
county officials, state legislators, and U.S. senators and representatives.
Sometimes union officials must be notified, and they should therefore
be listed, as well as key citizens groups and community organizations.
312 The Crisis Communications Plan
List of Key Media
After key executives are called, the media are the next most important
public to notify about the crisis. A list of media contacts—newspapers,
television, radio, wire services—should be completed and listed in order
of importance. If particular editors or reporters are important to telling
the story to the organization’s benefit, a list of their home numbers and
emergency numbers will be advantageous.
The media list should contain contact information for morning and
afternoon metropolitan dailies, certain weeklies, all TV news stations,
the Associated Press, United Press International, Reuters, all radio news
stations, and trade publications.
Spokespersons for Related Organizations
If an organization suffers a severe crisis, there may be spokespersons
outside the organization who may be questioned. It may be effective to
make a list of who these people might be and how to contact them at
any time of day. It also might be effective to meet with them so that they
are familiar with your company, with how you will handle a crisis, if it
occurs, and with how to reach you.
Sometimes other spokespersons have information you don’t have. This
information may help you communicate more effectively. So you need
to be able to reach them. Because most people have cell phones, this could
be a simple task.
In the Metro Transit case in Chapter 13, involving a bus accident
and shooting, the news media interviewed the public information officers
for the bus company, the police department, the fire department, the
hospitals, and spokespersons for county and city officials. The bus
company spokesman learned from the news media that a gun was found
on one of the victims, and had to scramble to get to the police to find
the information. In this case, the spokespersons got together at the site
of the accident and determined that they would refer the media’s questions
to one particular spokesperson. If, instead, the spokespersons had
exchanged cell phone numbers, e-mail addresses, or home phone numbers
prior to the crisis, they would have been aware of what procedure to
follow regarding the media spokesperson.
Crisis Communications Control Center
The location of the crisis communications control center must be
determined in case regular office space is unavailable. After disasters and
emergencies, offices are often damaged, without power, or inaccessible.
Several possible sites should be listed in the crisis communications plan,
as well as the persons instrumental in gaining access to these locations.
The Crisis Communications Plan 313
Suppose, for example, a local church has offered its conference room.
Who gave permission to use the room? Who can unlock the doors of the
church and conference room? Does the permission include use of electrical
outlets and furniture? Does the site have adequate space for the media
to work?
Equipment and Supplies
Determine and list all of the equipment and supplies needed by the crisis
team, media, and visiting publics. The list could include, but is not
limited to, the following:
• chairs and desks
• bulletin boards
• flip charts and chalkboards
• computers or typewriters (perhaps manual typewriters in case power
is a problem)
• computer printers
• telephones and cellular phones
• battery-powered televisions and radios
• maps of the plant or crisis area
• battery-powered flashlights and lamps
• police radios
• walkie-talkies
• company letterhead, pens, and pencils
• telephone directories
• contact lists and media directories
• press kits
• CMPs and crisis communications plans
• street and highway maps
• food and beverages
• copying machine(s)
• first-aid kits
• cameras and film
• extension cords and generator power packs.
Pregathered Information
Prepare and gather various documents that may possibly be needed
during a crisis. Keep identical sets of documents in various locales to ensure
availability. The types of documents that can be gathered in advance
include safety records and procedures, annual reports, photos, company
backgrounders, executive biographies, company maps, branch office
locations, quality control procedures, product manufacturing procedures,
314 The Crisis Communications Plan
and company fact sheets (including such data as numbers of employees,
products manufactured, and markets served).
Skeletal news releases can be prepared as long as the PR practitioner
anticipates the type of crisis and can make a statement on behalf of the
company. As shown in Figure 15.3, a news release can be written in
advance with blank spaces left for data to be filled in (such as the
magnitude of the crisis and relevant dates and names).
The Crisis Communications Plan 315
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Date _______________________
Contact: ________________________________________________
(name/phone number)
_____________________________________ (name of celebrity) DIES
(SEATTLE) ________ (full name and title) ______________________ died
today of _____________________ (cause of death) at __________ (time
of death) ________________ at Swedish Hospital Medical Center in Seattle.
He/She was ______ (age).
Further details will be released by ________________ (name of person to
make announcement—family member or professional contact) at a news
conference scheduled for _____________________ (time of news
conference), at Swedish Hospital, Glaser Auditorium, 747 Summit Ave.
# # #
Figure 15.3 A sample fill-in-the-blanks news release
Key Messages
Under the stress of a crisis, it is easy to forget, or at least fail to state
properly, the main points you want to convey to publics or to a specific
public. Even when there is no crisis, experienced spokespersons prepare
in advance the primary information they want emphasized in what are
called key messages or speaking points.
The act of preparing key messages will help you organize your thoughts
and will provide consistent information to publics. Each message must
be accurate, brief, easy to use in a quote, and memorable. The spokesperson
must be easily able to work the key message into responses to
questions. Such messages also help reporters— who are looking for great
quotes—to do their jobs.
Effective key messages help avoid misquoting, enable the spokesperson
to tell his or her side of the story, and give the spokesperson a way to
answer trick questions comfortably. Most of all, they establish credibility
for the organization in crisis.
Website
Placing news on the organization’s website and pre-appointing webmasters
to keep updated information on the site will reduce both the
number of phone calls from publics and the amount of time put into
crisis recovery. The news put on the site should be brief or detailed
depending on the nature of the crisis. In the event of an airplane crash,
for example, the airline’s website would, at first, merely acknowledge
the crash. After families of victims are notified, the names of victims
would be listed. Regular notices of progress in the investigation would
also be posted.
The concern of the company should be expressed and prominently
displayed. A statement from the highest executive in the company is
expected by the public. The website is an ideal venue for keeping safety
rules, security precautions, and health policies posted. Restaurants might
keep information posted on training new employees about cooking
burgers at the proper temperature, using gloves when handling food, and
policies that discourage employees with colds and other infectious diseases
from working with food products.
The website is also a bulletin board for informing publics of the
organization’s community relations projects and other activities that
give back to the public. The website can afford your organization the
opportunity to be a Model 4, two-way symmetric company (see Chapter
2). It can encourage feedback, comments, and questions from publics
and provide publics with responses and explanations. Finally, the website
can reveal how the company is making changes as a result of public
comment.
316 The Crisis Communications Plan
Blogs and Social Media
Monitoring blogs and social media channels is crucial. Sometimes the
monitoring can be a prodrome (warning sign) and help prevent a crisis.
The crisis communications plan should have a list of all blogs and social
media networks relevant to the business and relevant to the types of crises.
This can be an excellent way of achieving Model 4, two-way symmetrical
communications with publics (see Excellence Theory in Chapter 2, “Crisis
Communication Theory,” pages 20–24).
It is advisable, if social media are used proactively in marketing and
public relations campaigning, that they would also be used in the crisis
communications plan. Facebook friends and other contacts with whom
the organization has built a relationship will spread the news to a wider
group of people. For Twitter, prepare key messages in advance when
communicators have time to work with the 140 characters. Make this
list of key messages separate from the key messages going to the
traditional news media but with the same sentiment.
Do not drop traditional news media in order to spend time with social
media unless the crisis relates only to online issues and online publics.
Crises originating on social media should indeed be battled on social
media and sometimes on traditional media. Similarly, crises not related
to social media networks might also be fought through social media as
well as traditional media.
For example, in 1993, the Pepsi Cola company experienced a crisis
brought on by consumers who placed hypodermic syringes in cans and
charged they found them there when they purchased them. The fear
supposedly was that the syringes would cause HIV/AIDS, but actually
the greedy consumers were hoping to get payoffs from Pepsi. Pepsi ended
the crisis when it showed on television newscasts the following: (1)
surveillance camera b-roll of a grocery store patron placing a syringe in
a can; and (2) the canning process that showed how virtually impossible
it would be for the syringes to have been placed in the cans at the plant.
Today, in addition to television news, the visual pictures could have been
shown via YouTube.
An e-blast might be sent to publics who subscribe to the organization’s
e-mail list. However, e-blasts are being used less than in previous years
as communicators employ other methods.
Trick Questions
When a crisis occurs, what questions can you predict the news media
will ask a spokesperson? Check Chapter 4 for types of trick questions.
Reporters may not ask certain questions intentionally to trick the
spokesperson, but the end result—if a question is not answered carefully—
can make the spokesperson and his or her organization look bad.
The Crisis Communications Plan 317
A spokesperson for a restaurant, for example, might be asked the
following trick questions:
1. Off the record, didn’t you know this might happen?
2. If the fire happened during the lunch hour, how many people might
have been killed?
3. Don’t you buy your ground beef from the meatpacker who sold bad
meat to the other restaurant?
4. As at most popular restaurants, the work here is very fast-paced and
stressful, right?
List of Prodromes
Prodromes are the warning signs that a crisis may occur. List these in
the crisis communications plan. If any of the prodromes have actually
happened, log into the plan what the company did in response and when.
This helps the spokesperson answer the media question, “Did you have
any warning that this might happen?”
As an example of a prodrome, consider the normally good employee
who is unusually tardy and seems stressed out and irritable. Management
notices the problem and gets help for the employee. Or take another
example, several near-accidents in the organization’s parking lot. Management
takes notice, determines that the parking lot has confusing
directional signs, and has the signs redone.
Heeding prodromes carefully can often prevent a crisis and help show
that the organization is concerned with resolving problems. The
prodromes section of the crisis communications plan should be regularly
updated.
List of Related Internet URLs
List the URLs of organizations and companies that may have information
you need during a crisis. Also include brief descriptions of the data
available at the URLs. For example, a restaurant might list the URLs for
the National Center for Infectious Diseases, the state department of
health, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Center for Disease
Control.
Evaluation Form
Evaluation is a crucial step in preparing an effective crisis communications
plan. As assessment, it is helpful in determining what did and did not
work. It also helps plan for, prevent, and cope with future crises by
pointing out what needs to be revised in the crisis communications plan.
318 The Crisis Communications Plan
An evaluation form should be developed and placed at the end of the
crisis communications plan for later distribution to internal publics
for input. An environment where suggestions are made freely will add
to the effectiveness of the evaluation and the crisis communications
plan.
The Crisis Communications Plan 319