Communicating in a Crisis:

Risk Communication Guidelines for Public Officials

Table of Contents

Introduction

Communications Fundamentals

Communicating Complex, Scientific, and Technical Information

Myths, Principles, and Pitfalls

Understanding and Working with the Media

Correcting Errors and Rumor Control

Assessing Personal Strengths and Weaknesses

Presenting Information at Public Meetings

Recognizing Opportunities to Speak Out

Suggested Reading and Resources

References


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Understanding and Working with the Media

The media are a primary means for communicating with the public. Forming positive relationships with journalists is crucial to your communications success.

THE MEDIA PERSPECTIVE – FACTS

As a matter of ethics, journalists will not allow “news” to be defined for them. The advantage of this is clear: neither government, nor business, nor anyone can control the news for their own purposes. The disadvantage, however, is that there are no absolutes in what constitutes news and issues that are important to some, or many, may never be addressed by the media because they fail to meet what is, essentially, an indefinable standard for attention.

Journalists strive to answer six key questions in their stories: who, when, where, what, how, and why. All the information they gather somehow informs, explains, or elaborates on those six issues and often raises doubts or breeds confusion when the facts of a news story are juxtaposed, e.g., “Government sources said there was no immediate danger; however, local hospitals have instituted emergency measures.”

The facts of a story also become somewhat relative when, in upholding the principle of fairness, journalists balance one set of facts with other facts or opinions, e.g., “Government sources said there was no immediate danger, but one expert disagreed.” Although presented in an effort to further illuminate the subject and present the reader with perspectives that help provide a truer picture of the whole story, it poses a relativism that can lead to public confusion and mistrust.

All of these imponderables of reporting and news coverage make communicating with and through the news media an imprecise endeavor. What you say may not be what is determined to be news. How you say it may lead to confused and confusing reports and misinterpretations. Whatever you say is likely to be balanced against opinions that are different than yours.

GUIDANCE ON DEALING WITH FACTS AND INFORMATION

Be sure of your facts.

Be able to cite sources and key statistics, making sure they add meaningful support to your message (this could be three key statistics or thirty, but be careful not to overwhelm your message with statistics).

Have information available in fact sheets and other concise informational documents specifically prepared for the media’s use.

Familiarize yourself with information and opinions that are contrary to your points and positions and be able to answer the questions they raise.

SPACE AND TIME

Space and time place critical demands and limitations on a journalist’s work. First is the need just to fill space and time. A newspaper has never failed to publish or a newscast failed to air because there was no news on a given day. The news business demands that every day there be enough news to fill a certain number of pages or minutes, and that demand is always met no matter the relative importance of the news to be covered on a “slow news day.” This demand makes for a great deal of reporting on issues and individuals that may seem trivial.

This is often the case with stories that dominate the news over a period of time. The need for continuing coverage of a major story usually leads to coverage of aspects of the story that are less important but still may be of interest to the public; e.g., profiles of individuals involved in the story, different reactions to the story, etc. The more you can provide the media with substantive information that allows for substantive reporting, the less the chance that reporting will stray into less important areas.

Parallel to the media’s challenge of having to fill space, television and radio news face the problem of having too little time for available news. Competition for time with advertisers and the standard broadcast features of sports and weather means that the very longest stories will only be a few minutes in duration and the shortest as brief as 20 seconds. While newspapers don’t suffer such extreme limitations, they, too, find space a finite resource and will frequently cut stories to fit the size of the day’s “news hole” (the space left to fill in a newspaper after advertising and standard news and entertainment features are laid out).

Effective communication comes not in fighting these limitations, but in adapting to them. If the time that is given you is limited—as it most certainly will be with television or radio—make sure that your primary message gets delivered within the time allotted. If you are given more time to expound and expand on your message—as you might be in a newspaper interview—use it, but do not abuse it by over-explaining your points or straying into areas of comment that do not add to a better understanding of the topic.

GUIDANCE ON WORKING WITHIN SPACE AND TIME CONSTRAINTS

Know your communications goals and supporting messages (see Chapter III, Communications Fundamentals).

Arrange them in a hierarchy of importance and develop brief (20-30 second) statements that explain each one.

Practice delivering your statements in front of a mirror.

Closely observe how others are quoted by the media, particularly in radio and television “sound bites.” Refine your statements so that your messages can be delivered via such brief quotes.

WORKING WITH REPORTERS AND AVOIDING PROBLEMS

What many people see as journalists’ antagonistic attitudes toward public officials is often simply part of the basic conflict that exists between someone who has information and someone who wants it. A reporter’s job is to gain as much pertinent information as possible to answer the six key questions entailed in every news story. It’s a job that demands skepticism and requires that few statements be taken at face value. Be patient, open, and honest in fielding questions, no matter how hostile they may seem. If you run into a conflict with the media, keep it in perspective and don’t take it personally.

Be sensitive to the full context of reporters’ questions. Are they confused by the information you’re giving them, or have they gotten it wrong? Do they seem overly skeptical, frustrated, or even angry? If so, do not shrug it off. Journalists’ emotions affect their reporting. It’s your responsibility to remain patient and work with them to overcome those negatives. (It helps to remember that most reporters are generalists who are constantly learning as they go.)

Reporters are not your enemies, but neither are they your friends. They owe you nothing and you should not expect any more from them than fairness and courtesy.

Under no circumstances allow professional disagreements to turn into personal arguments.

Don’t hold grudges.

The adage is: Never say anything today that you don’t want to see on the front page of The New York Times tomorrow. If you say to a reporter, “Well, between you and me, the guy is an idiot,” you should expect to see it in a story . . . and you won’t look good. If you call the reporter to complain, you should expect to see your complaint in a follow-up story . . . and you still won’t look good. If you get angry and stop talking to the reporter, you can expect to see that, too, reflected in a story . . . and you’ll look even worse.

GUIDANCE FOR INTERVIEW SITUATIONS

Consider yourself the reporter’s guest.

Be courteous and patient when answering (and re-answering) questions.

Adopt the attitude of assisting the reporter in doing his or her job.

If you tell a reporter you’ll get back to him or her, do it!

Never be too casual in your conversation. Remember, whatever you say could end up in a news story (even if you think it’s off the record). If you make an ill-considered comment, and it ends up in the newspaper, it is not the reporter’s fault. It’s yours.

USING THE INTERVIEW TO ITS FULLEST ADVANTAGE

LISTEN to the question being asked, THINK about your answer, and always try to deliver and re-deliver your message(s).

Discuss what you know, not what you think.

Do not express personal opinions. If you are compelled to violate this dictate, make certain that you are very clear in distinguishing opinions from official positions and policies.

Don’t speculate or try to respond to questions to which you don’t know the answer.

Don’t show off. This is not the time to display an impressive vocabulary or present the full extent of your intellect and knowledge. Talk as you might to your neighbor.

Do not worry about looking stupid. If you are confused by a question, say so. If you say something that’s wrong, or misstate a fact, don’t defend it, admit your error.

Don’t engage in off-the-record discussions.

As a matter of normal conversation, we always speculate, hypothesize, and offer opinions. But an interview is not a normal conversation. Be careful of what you say. And don’t start thinking that just because a reporter happens to be asking you questions, your opinions are worth more than the messages you’re supposed to be delivering.

RULES OF THE ROAD

Do not lie to a reporter or lead a reporter to incorrect conclusions. If there is information that you cannot share, say so.

Never embarrass a reporter.

Do not argue with a reporter.

Never take it personally.

The adage is: Never argue with someone who buys ink by the barrel and paper by the ton. Reporters get paid to report the news as they find and interpret it. They will always have the last word on a subject, always . . . always.

PLANNING AND PREPARATION

Much of the success of effective risk communications is predicated on the amount of work that goes into planning and preparing for a crisis event. What information needs to be in place, who makes decisions, who gives orders, and who follows them? What are the procedures for carrying out response initiatives? A crisis is not the time to begin thinking about these questions. In fact, it’s the worst time to do so.

Risk communication efforts should receive the same preparation as any other possible emergency. Lists of contacts with addresses and phone numbers should be drawn up (and updated regularly) and fact sheets and background materials should be prepared. The tools and information needed to communicate fully and effectively when a crisis erupts have to be readily accessible. And, most importantly, an agreed-to protocol for action must be in place.

GUIDANCE FOR PLANNING AND PREPARATION

Form a risk communications team.

Designate a team leader and assign responsibilities to team members.

Develop a risk communications protocol.
– Who decides when a crisis exists, what are each team member’s responsibilities?
– Who speaks to the media/public on what subjects and at whose direction?

Develop and maintain lists.
– Primary contacts/experts for key offices and issue areas.
– Secondary contacts/experts for key offices and issue areas.
– Media lists. (A media list is a list of print, broadcast, and electronic media that will allow your communications team to identify every possible national, regional, and local outlet and analyze its potential value for reaching your target audiences.)

Consider logistics.
– Where would a press briefing be held? Is it easily accessible? Is the room large enough? Will it accommodate media needs for sound quality and sufficient power? Will speakers need chairs, tables, or podiums?

Identify information needs and develop appropriate fact sheets and background materials.

Hundreds of questions—some good, some trivial, some odd—emerge when a news story is breaking. The more questions that can be anticipated and answered ahead of time in a fact sheet the better. This is especially true for information regarding high visibility public health issues such as might occur in a bioterrorist event. Readily available information on these issues will help keep misinformation to a minimum.

BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER AN INTERVIEW: DO’S AND DON’TS
(Donovan and Covello, 1989)

BEFORE
Do

Ask who will be conducting the interview.

Ask which subjects they want to cover.

Caution the interviewer on the limits of your knowledge.

Inquire about the format and duration.

Ask who else will be interviewed.

Suggest other interviewees.

Prepare and practice.

Don’t

allow yourself to be interviewed on a topic outside of your expertise.

tell the news organization which reporter you prefer. (You don’t run the newspaper and you don’t get to dictate who gets assigned what stories.)

request that specific questions be asked.

declare certain subjects out of bounds for discussion. (By declaring that you won’t discuss certain things you only invite interest in those things and appear to have something to hide, which makes the subject even more interesting.)

ask that your remarks not be edited or that you be allowed to review an article before it is published. (It is an insult to the ability and integrity of the reporter and the editor; again, you don’t run the newspaper.)

try to dictate who should and should not be interviewed.

be overconfident or become overly familiar or comfortable with your interviewer.

DURING
Do

Be honest and accurate.

Deliver and re-deliver your key message(s).

State your conclusions first, then provide supporting data.

Be forthcoming to the extent you decide beforehand.

Offer to get information you don’t have.

Stress the facts.

Give a reason if you can’t discuss a subject.

Correct mistakes by stating you would like an opportunity to clarify.

Assume that microphones and recording equipment are turned on.

Don’t

lie or try to cloud the truth.

improvise or dwell on negative allegations.

raise issues you don’t want to see in the story.

answer questions off the top of your head.

speculate, guess, assume or hypothesize.

speak for others.

say “no comment.”

be led into other areas of discussion.

demand that an answer you have given not be used. If you say it, you have to live with it. You can ask that it not be used and explain why you would prefer that it not be used, but you can’t demand anything . . . and if the reporter chooses to use it, there’s little you can do.

AFTER
Do

Remember you are still on the record.

Be helpful. Volunteer to get information. Be available.

Respect deadlines and deliver whatever additional information you said you would deliver.

Follow-up to see if any additional questions have emerged.

Watch for and read the resulting report.

Ignore minor reporting errors that don’t affect the point of the story.

Call the reporter to politely point out if there are inaccuracies that do effect the point of the story.

Don’t

assume an interview is over or that recording equipment is turned off.

refuse to talk further.

ask, “How did I do?”

ask to review the story before publication or broadcast.

complain to the reporter’s boss first.

AND IN A CRISIS . . .
Do

Plan now.

Respond quickly—the first 24 hours are critical.

Respond straightforwardly.

Be accurate.

Strive to reassure as well as alert and inform your audience.

Don’t

assume “it will never happen here.”

allow your issues to be defined by someone else.

think that refusing to discuss a story will allay public concerns or prevent people from seeking, and finding, information—accurate or not—elsewhere.