Message Map

Communication/Media From the BP oil spill and the Egyptian revolution to the Haitian earthquake and the Australian floods, social media has proven its power to unite, coalesce, support, champion, and save lives. Presenting cutting-edge media communication solutions, The Four Stages of Highly Effective Crisis Management explains how to choose the appropriate language and media outlet to properly convey your message during and after a crisis.

Unveiling the secrets of how to manage the media in a crisis, the book examines how rapidly evolving social media and Web 2.0 technologies have changed the crisis management landscape. It illustrates the four distinct stages of media reporting during a crisis and details the information that must be provided. The author provides readers with a wealth of helpful tips and tools—including guidelines, checklists, and case studies that illustrate best practices in crisis media management. Divided into five sections, the book:

• Examines how the kingdom of news has changed and considers the new hybrid model that is emerging • Identifies the four distinct stages in which both old and new media report a crisis • Addresses the use of spokespeople according to the four stages, as well as when to use the chief executive officer • Discusses media interviews, including how to handle news conferences, bloggers, and the importance of media training • Considers the communication aspects of crisis management—including how to harness the power of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Digg, Wikipedia, Flickr, and social media releases The book’s resource-rich appendices include a checklist for briefing a spokesperson, sample media release, a step-by-step flowchart for creating a crisis communication plan, and social media policy guidelines. Complete with a detailed guide on what tools to use and when to use them, this book provides the techniques and understanding required to communicate effectively and avoid any potential bad press and embarrassment that could result from information mismanagement. About the Author:

Jane Jordan-Meier is a former journalist with more than 25 years of experience in the media and communication management. Working at the forefront of media training developing powerful methodologies in crisis media management, she has worked at the highest level in strategic planning and communication including the Australian bicentennial celebrations and the Sydney Olympic Games. Visit www.crisismanagementbook.com for more information. ISBN: 978-1-4398-5373-3 9 781439 853733 90000 K12481 w w w . c r c p r e s s . c o m w w w. c r c p r e s s . c o m The Four Stages of Highly Effe�ftive Crisis Ma��ageme��t Jordan-Meier K12481 cvr mech.indd 1 2/15/11 3:09 PM The Four Stages of Highly Effe�ftive Crisis Ma��ageme��t How to Manage the Media in the Digital Age Jane Jordan-Meier © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b This book is dedicated to my late parents\f Joyce and Leigh \beccombe\f wonderful country parents from the bush in North West N\bW\f Australia.

Without my mother’s dedication\f commitment to\f and encouragement of my education\f I’m not sure that this book would have been possible. Thanks Mum for the determination!

My father’s steadfast belief that women could achieve anything in life was both inspirational and supportive—I took that belief and support to heart and followed my dreams. This book is also a by-product of those dreams and his love. Thanks Dad! vii © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b CONTENTS Preface xv Ackno\fledg\bents xix A uthor xxi ii Section i Media, crisis, and new Re\forting\b tool s Overvie\f 1 1 What Is a Crisis? 5 Unfolding Crisis 5 Crisis Is Triggered 6 A Crisis Stops the Sho\f 8 Case in Point: Virginia Tech 9 2 The Role of Media in a Crisis 11 3 Social, Interactive, and Every\fhere All the Ti\be 15 Today’s Ne\fs fro\b Multiple Platfor\bs 16 Old Media Play a Role in the Social Media Revolution: Social or Leave 16 Po\fer to the People: The Rise of Hyperlocal Ne\fs 19 Mainstrea\b Media Are Still a Factor 20 4 Social Media’s Role in Crisis 23 5 Media Ethics: What Drives Traditional Media Behavior? 27 6 T\fitter: Is It a Fad or the “8-Bazillion Pound Gorilla?” 31 Overvie\f 31 Background 32 Contents viii © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b Pointless Babble: A Critic’s Take 34 Saving Lives, Saving Reputations 35 Breaking Ne\fs: T\fitter and the Media 37 The Po\fer of 140 Characters 38 Rules of Engage\bent 39 Section I Su\b\bary 42 Section ii Stages of a cris is 7 Stage One—Fact-Finding Stage 47 Stage One Characteristics 50 8 Be\fare the ST Factor: Re\be\bber the Context 53 Re\be\bber the Context 56 9 Stage T\fo—The Unfolding Dra\ba 59 Stage T\fo Characteristics 63 10 Stage Three—Finger-Pointing Stage = Bla\be Ga\be 67 Stage Three Characteristics 69 11 Stage Four—Resolution and Fallout 75 Stage Four Characteristics 78 Section II Su\b\bary 80 Section iii S\fokes\feo\fle—S\feed Matters and Perce\ftion is ever ything 12 Who? 85 Golden Rules 87 Co\b\bunication Style 87 Contents ix © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b 13 To CEO or Not? 91 To CEO or Not? 93 CEOs and Social Media 95 Spokespeople and Social Media 96 14 Head and Heart 99 15 Role of the Frontline 103 Guidelines Please! 105 Training Please! 106 Su\b\bary 107 16 Policy Guidelines for Social Media 109 Can You Facebook at Work? Policy First Defense against Risk 109 Guide— Don’t Stop—Social Media Use 111 Section III Su\b\bary 116 Section iV Media interviews— Rules of engagement in a cris is 17 Understanding Journalists’ Questions 121 18 Techniques to Get Your Message Across 125 Bridging Technique 126 When You Do Not Kno\f the Ans\fer 128 Getting behind the Question 129 Question the Questioner 130 Give-and-Take in an Intervie\f 130 19 Dealing \fith Difficult Questions 133 Q = Hypothetical 133 Q = Loaded 134 Contents x © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b Q = Leading 135 Q = Either/Or 135 Q = Closed 136 Q = Multiple 136 Q = Guarantee 137 Q = Question fro\b Hell 138 Handling Silence 138 Handling Interruptions 138 20 Never Repeat the Poison: Avoid Negative Language 141 21 Ho\f the Ne\f Media Are Changing the Rules for Intervie\fs 143 Cro\fdsourcing 143 Li\biting Direct Access to Mainstrea\b Media 144 E-\bail and Blogs 145 22 Lights, Ca\bera, Action—The Intervie\f 147 Before the Intervie\f 147 Kno\f Your Audience 147 Kno\f Your Key Message 148 Practice Your Message 149 Kno\f Your Media 149 Kno\f Your Dress 149 During the Intervie\f 149 After the Intervie\f 154 Television Intervie\fs 154 Dress for the Part 155 Face-to-Face Intervie\fs 156 Ani\bation and Gestures 156 Sound Good 157 Speak in Stand-Alone, Whole Sentences 157 Phone Intervie\fs 157 Radio Intervie\fs 159 Print Intervie\fs 160 E-\bail and T\fitter Intervie\fs 162 Contents xi © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b Dealing \fith Bloggers 163 Ne\fs Conferences 166 Managing a Ne\fs Conference 167 23 Media Training 171 Who Should Be Media Trained? 173 Stage One 173 Stage T\fo 174 Stage Three 176 Stage Four 176 Group or Individual Training? 177 Ho\f Often, Ho\f Much? 177 Section IV Su\b\bary 179 Section V communication— Rules and tool s 24 Why Co\b\bunicate in a Crisis? 183 Key Questions 185 25 What to Co\b\bunicate? 187 Standby State\bent 192 26 To Apologize or Not—The Role of the Apology in a Crisis 193 27 Language in a Crisis—Fall in Love \fith We : No Toxic Language, Please 197 Positive Language, Please! 198 28 Ho\f to Get Your Message Across 201 Contents xii © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b 29 Where? Ne\f Media Tools 203 Overvie\f 203 Web Messages: Content Brutal and to the Point 206 T\fitter 206 Media Relations 208 Protect Your Brand 209 Hash Tags (#) 209 Facebook 210 Facebook Dark Groups 212 Facebook: The Future 214 Univision: An Alternative to Facebook— Useful for the U.S. Ar\by 214 Video and YouTube 215 Blogging 220 Blogs Are a Must Have in Your Crisis Media Toolkit 223 LinkedIn 225 Digg 226 Fl ickr 226 W ikipedia 227 Social Media Release 228 Social Media Ne\fsroo\b 228 Social Media War Roo\b 229 What Tool to Choose When? 230 Integrate Social Media into Planning 232 30 Monitoring: Your Best Defense in a Crisis 235 Section V Su\b\bary 241 Appendix A: Guidelines for Briefing Spokespeople 245 Appendix B: Sa\bple Media Contact Infor\bation Log 247 Appendix C: Sa\bple Ne\fs Release 249 Appendix D: Nine Steps to a Crisis Co\b\bunication Plan 253 Appendix E: Useful Resources 255 Appendix F: Social Media Policy Resources 259 Appendix G: Social Media Resources for Crisis Co\b\bunicators 265 Contents xiii © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b Appendix H: 30 Things You Should Not Share on Social Media 267 Appendix I: Wordpress State\bent 269 Appendix J: Social Media E\bbracing the Opportunities, Averting the Risks 271 xv © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b PREFACE J\fst five years ago when the idea of this book was first mooted, Twitter did not exist, Facebook was barely a year old, and Yo\fT\fbe was in its infancy.

Most crisis comm\fnication was managed thro\fgh the traditional main- stream media. Press releases, news conferences, and reg\flar \fpdates were the mainstay of crisis media management. Blogs were the biggest player on the social media scene. Now? Twitter has revol\ftionized how crises are managed since citizen jo\frnalists armed with smartphones and Flip cameras—all tools in o\fr pockets—break news. The microblogging service has become an inval\f - able fire hose of information. Facebook has over half a billion (and co\fnt - ing) registered \fsers creating a virt\fal news channel with fans galore from every nation, race, and creed. The social media powerho\fse has also cemented its infl\fence among mainstream media. Facebook is now the n\fmber one so\frce for jo\frnalists to research their stories. According to the “2010 Jo\frnalist S\frvey on Media Relations Practices,” * a staggering 73.4% of jo\frnalists \fsed Facebook for s\fch research! Yo\fT\fbe? Now part of “Lord” Google’s empire, Yo\fT\fbe is local - ized across 22 co\fntries in 24 different lang\fages. It has almost do\fble the prime-time a\fdience of all three major U.S. broadcast networks com - bined! It is simply a fact that social media can disseminate information faster than any newsroom ever co\fld. We have moved from the power-of-one to the power-of-many. And look at \fs, “we the people.” We own the news. We have little, if any, loyalty to any one media o\ftlet; and we s\frf, swap, and share from m\fl - tiple platforms. Billions of ears and eyes watching and, in some cases, waiting like the powerf\fl Mommy bloggers to j\fmp to the defense of the ca\fse. The a\fdience has taken control. They are the tr\fth filters. No longer can yo\f claim how they have (the old media) “b\ftchered this story.” Secrets are o\fsted—typically they always were, b\ft now any citizen can pick \fp a phone, send a message, and be heard, almost instantaneo\fsly. Whistle- blowing legislation enables and protects s\fch candor, and beca\fse that * “2010 Jo\frnalist S\frvey on Media Relations Practices,” Bulldog Reporter, TEKGROUP International, October 2010. PRe\fa Ce xvi © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b has not always worked, there is now WikiLeaks, which constantly shares secrets posted anonymo\fsly for the world.The challenges for the crisis media manager are immense—how does one act\fally cover all this territory? It seems so overwhelming. B\ft there are pioneering brave so\fls, social media warriors, and many conservative organizations looking for the proverbial 100-year flood to make the big leap. They have embraced the challenges and have seen that policy and good training really does “drive the train.” They have been genero\fs with their stories and case st\fdies, many of which are presented in this text. This book is an example of m\fch of what happens today—how m\fch we aggregate, monitor, and share \bhatever we want, \bhenever we want, and \bherever the spirit takes \fs.

In writing this book, I have been both c\frator and aggregator—select - ing case st\fdies, examples, and articles to present the best of the best and the worst of the worst, and p\flling together principles, trends, and g\fidelines. Today, there is little original reporting—typically still the domain of the traditional newspaper. Secondary so\frces abo\fnd. These second - ary so\frces have been credited and so\frced to the best of my ability. Yo\f will find many references in this book to articles, research papers, and white papers from E\frope, the United States, and A\fstralia, to name a few. Also, like any good newspaper reporter, I have so\fght o\ft original so\frces. I have interviewed working jo\frnalists, professors, and cons\fl - tants alike to present their views and insights regarding this brave new world, bringing crisis media management into the digital age. I have taken the new media principles of engagement, speed, tr\fst, and acco\fntability and applied them to the prevailing norms of how tra - ditional mainstream media report a crisis. While I was the managing director of the leading media training company in A\fstralia, we devel - oped a methodology for crisis media training and planning based on years of observation and research on the patterns of reporting in a crisis.

This methodology and framework applies j\fst as m\fch to the new as it does to the old. My aim is to give yo\f some confidence that yo\f can predict and plan, and indeed to convince yo\f that the old principles apply and are even more important today. Yes, yo\f do need to take responsibility and act fast:

Tell it all and tell it fast. Yes, yo\f need to be open and honest; yes, train, ed\fcate, and exercise yo\fr plans. And did I say fast? PRe\fa Ce xvii © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b THE BOOK In the five sections of this book, yo\f will learn or have validated the best practices in crisis media management and what this means in the Web 2.0 era.In Section I, we will look at the role of the media in reporting a cri - sis, the trends in reportage, and how the roles of the new and the old are enmeshed. A crisis is defined and disc\fssed. And I take an in-depth look at Twitter’s role in a crisis. Media ethics are also examined. In Section II, yo\f will learn abo\ft the fo\fr stages that the media report in a crisis, the characteristics of each stage, and what this means for deci - sion making in a crisis. Section III deals with spokespeople, according to the fo\fr stages, pl\fs the vexed q\festion of whether and when to \fse the chief exec\ftive officer (\bEO). I also disc\fss the \bEO’s interaction with social media and intro - d\fce yo\f to the role of the frontline staff as well as policy g\fidelines. Media interviews are disc\fssed in detail in Section IV—everything from phone interviews to e-mail and print, and how to stage and manage a news conference, to dealing with bloggers. Media training, incl\fding who to train for which stage, is also disc\fssed. And finally, yo\f will find g\fidelines for social media policy. Section V covers the comm\fnication aspects of crisis media manage - ment and how to get yo\fr message across. A comprehensive g\fide to the new media tools is presented—from Facebook, Twitter, and Yo\fT\fbe to Digg, Wikipedia, Flickr, and social media releases (SMRs), pl\fs a g\fide on what tools to \fse and when. The appendices provide some \fsef\fl reso\frces, incl\fding a checklist for briefing a spokesperson, a sample form that shows how to log a media inq\firy, a sample media release, a step-by-step flowchart for creating a cri- sis comm\fnication plan, a sample social media release, social media pol - icy g\fidelines, and a list of things to avoid sharing in SocialMediaLand. xix © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I first and foremost want to thank my h\fsband, Norm Meier, a g\fr\f in the world of b\fsiness contin\fity. This book co\fld not have been written witho\ft his \fnwavering s\fpport, enco\fragement, and loving patience.

He has p\ft \fp with late nights, early starts, and general \fpheaval as the book spread from room to room! I have appreciated his val\fable insights, s\fggestions, and edits. His extensive experience in disaster recovery and emergency and crisis management, not to mention b\fsiness contin\fity, pl\fs o\fr many disc\fssions abo\ft the all-too-freq\fent crises, have been inval\fable in helping to shape this book.This book wo\fld not have been possible witho\ft the 15-year s\fpport of my b\fsiness partner, S\fsan Templeman, as we forged a solid media train - ing b\fsiness partnership. The rigor of the Media Skills’ training methods, combined with the tools and techniq\fes that we teach o\fr clients, form the basis of this book. I am gratef\fl too for the insights that I have gained from my many clients in many different ind\fstries and in different co\fn - tries d\fring my career in p\fblic relations and crisis media training and coaching. I thank them all for their tr\fst and high-stakes candor as we shared many a sit\fation together. They have been an inspiration. Templeman and my h\fsband have read almost every word I have written and taken the time to provide feedback and comments. I am enor - mo\fsly gratef\fl. What a jo\frney! Acknowledgment m\fst also go to my Media Skills colleag\fes—both past and present, partic\flarly Fiona Van der Plaat and Sonia Zavesky for reading, editing, and making val\fable s\fggestions to early drafts of Section II. Not to mention their role in the development of the crisis skills methodology. A big thank yo\f for all that yo\f have done over the years, not only for Media Skills b\ft in the development of the crisis comm\fnica - tion practice. I appreciate and thank all the co\fntless comm\fnications professionals who have provided information, inval\fable insight, and wisdom as they shared their stories and allowed me to \fse their research. Their generosity is m\fch appreciated, and I hope that I have done j\fstice to their information. It has been an international jo\frney with inp\ft from E\frope, the United Kingdom, A\fstralia, and the United States. Look for Swiss Mike Schwede’s excellent analysis of monitoring tools; Jonas Nielsen, of the aC knowledgments xx © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b Danish-based Mindj\fmpers, for case st\fdies; Scotland’s \braig McGill for blogging tips; A\fstralians Jeff B\fllas, for many excellent tips and tools, and Robyn Sefiani, for her Q\feenwood case st\fdy; pl\fs U.S. cons\fltants Erik Deckers, Gerard Bra\fd, and Pa\fl Gillin among others for their wis- dom, tips, and analyses. I have enjoyed and appreciated Sefiani’s friend - ship and professional s\fpport for many years. Thank yo\f to yo\f all. Thanks also to Kris Olson from Innovis for her story abo\ft \fsing social media d\fring the North Dakota floods, and Mediascape for research and the Victorian b\fshfire case st\fdy. \braig Pearce back in my home co\fntry of A\fstralia was also very helpf\fl with comments, contacts, and an excel - lent paper on social media and crisis comm\fnication. And thanks also to st\fdent Matthew Kaskavitch at the University of Wisconsin, Sto\ft. His interview and information on Facebook dark gro\fps was excellent. The many jo\frnalists with whom I have worked over the years have been an inspiration with their reporting skills and insights into the pat - terns of reporting—so predictable in so many ways. My thanks to all of yo\f, and in partic\flar, to those interviewed whose views yo\f will see in this book. \bhris O’Brien, Brian Stelter, and J\flio Ojeda-Zapata are b\ft three to be mentioned. Thanks to Bernard O’Riordan, a favorite jo\frnalist in A\fstralia, for his enco\fragement and s\fpport with articles and com - ments; and to Neil McMahon for the Macq\farie Bank case st\fdy and paper on social media and crises in A\fstralia. There have been many academics whose time, knowledge, and insights I have val\fed. Thank yo\f to Kirsten Mogensen, Associate Professor at Roskilde University in Denmark. Mogensen was an enlight - ening interview s\fbject and genero\fs with her research. Professors and lect\frers at Pennsylvania State University, too; Shyam S\fndar and Renae Nichols, whose early interviews provided a f\fndamental framework and basis. Thanks to Liz Meier-King for helping make that possible. Thanks to Dr. Fiona Martin, former jo\frnalist and now lect\frer in online media at the University of Sydney, A\fstralia, for her insightf\fl interview and for reviewing copy. Many other fine academics are q\foted and cited—thank yo\f all for yo\fr contrib\ftions to the book. To all my colleag\fes and friends in the International Association of B\fsiness \bomm\fnicators (IAB\b), partic\flarly the San Francisco chap - ter, thank yo\f for all yo\fr s\fpport and enco\fragement, especially in my moments of do\fbt and panic! Molly Walker is a gem and has the best contacts! Margaret O’Hanlon, for yo\fr insights and reading an early draft, thank yo\f. I am indebted to Michaela Hayes for reading the book o\ftline and Section I. Her comments were inval\fable. Thanks also to Elizabeth aC knowledgments xxi © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b Williams for taking the time to read a late section draft, and to Terry Peckham and the board, thank yo\f for yo\fr enco\fragement; it has meant a lot. And to Bianca Smith, a fellow A\fstralian and IAB\ber who took the time to read Section V in its raw state, I owe a big thanks. My acknowledg- ments to Nigel Glennie of \bisco Systems, a fellow IAB\b board member who provided case st\fdies and interesting information on social media by e-mail. To everyone who has gracio\fsly given me permission to q\fote them and \fse bits of white papers, a very big thank yo\f. Yo\f will find them refer - enced thro\fgho\ft the book. Look also for white papers in the appendices. IAB\b also provided me with incredible reso\frces in the form of copy editing and all-aro\fnd writing s\fpport and advice. A h\fge thank yo\f goes to Marc\fs Gonzales, a San Francisco–based writer and editor, for his mammoth efforts in not only editing the final man\fscript b\ft for keeping me on track. Another big thank yo\f to Sally Salay, whose initial edits and feedback p\ft me on the right path of this jo\frney. Their patience and skill were only too evident and enormo\fsly helpf\fl for this novice a\fthor. My acknowledgments also to Adrian Granzella Larssen for helping with a few last-min\fte efforts. Don Karecki from K&M P\fblishers is the reason that this book got off the gro\fnd. After being a keynote speaker and cond\fcting a “Managing the Media in a \brisis” workshop at the B\fsiness \bontin\fity \bonference in New Orleans d\fring my first year of living in the United States, when I was overwhelmed by everything and everyone, he s\fg - gested that I p\ft the content of my workshop into a book. His patience and \fnderstanding when life took a sharp U-t\frn is appreciated. I hope that I have done j\fstice to the \fnswerving confidence and faith that he has demonstrated toward this book. Thank yo\f for all yo\fr s\fpport and enco\fragement. To my family, in partic\flar my da\fghter, Gemma, whose opinion on social media was instr\fctional and is feat\fred in this book; my son Nicholas for his contin\fo\fs enco\fragement and s\fpport; and my sister, Pammie, for reading some early raw copy. Thanks also to my friends who have been enco\fraging with e-mails, Facebook messages, and more.

Thank yo\f for yo\fr \fnwavering friendship, love, and s\fpport. And finally the team at Taylor & Francis/\bR\b Press, especially Mark Listewnik, for taking this book and making it all happen. xxiii © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b AUTHOR A former jo\frnalist, Jane Jordan-Meier has been at the forefront of media train- ing for 15 years, developing \fniq\fe and powerf\fl methodologies in crisis media management. From her base in the United States, she works with corporations, government depart - ments, and nonprofit agencies in North America , A\fstralia, and New Zealand.

She is recognized as one of the world’s top media and crisis management experts. Thro\fgho\ft her career, Jordan- Meier has worked at the highest level of strategic planning and comm\fnica - tion, incl\fding the A\fstralian bicentennial celebrations and the Sydney Olympic Games. Her clients range from experienced chief exec\ftive offi - cers (\bEOs) of global corporations to those doing their first media inter - views. She works with organizations in crisis as well as those wishing to raise their profile with positive media interviews. Many of her programs and training have won awards from her peers in the p\fblic relations and comm\fnication professions. In the 1990s, recognizing the need for exec\ftives to be highly skilled in handling the media, Jordan-Meier co-established Media Skills, a media training cons\fltancy. With former jo\frnalist S\fsan Templeman, she cre - ated a s\fite of methods for developing and delivering strategic media messages. This led to the development of a \fniq\fe approach to managing crisis comm\fnication. The methodology has been licensed and \fsed by a network of trainers aro\fnd the globe. Jordan-Meier is a freq\fent g\fest speaker on crisis comm\fnication and media management at conferences in A\fstralia, New Zealand, and North America. A licensed and accredited media trainer and coach, she holds a master’s degree in comm\fnication management. She has also ta\fght com - m\fnication, at both \fndergrad\fate and postgrad\fate levels in A\fstralia’s © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b Section I Media, c risis , and n ew Re\for ting t ool s In a crisis there is a relentless and \fnforgiving trend towards an ever-greater information transparency … h\fndreds of millions of electronic eyes and ears are creating a capacity and new demands for acco\fntability. * —nik go\bing OVERVIEW In this digital age, news is everywhere, 24/7—m\fltiple platforms, m\fl - tiple channels, m\fltiple choices. O\fr appetite for news has increased. We have control, and it has become an important social act. News is personalized—we share, we swap, we s\frf; we comment, we link, we witness; we report, we create, and we p\fblish o\fr Daily Me. No longer is news a one-way street in the hands of a few: Instead of “King” R\fpert, we have “Dame” Arianna and “Lord” Google. We have jo\frnalists galore—social jo\frnalists, citizen–jo\frnalists, and yes, still an Army of professional, trained jo\frnalists. They are all armed with a diz - zying array of social tools to report a crisis—and fast.

* Nik Gowing, Re\fters Instit\fte for the St\fdy of Jo\frnalism, “‘Skyf\fl of Lies’ & Black Swans,” 2009 , p. 1. seCtIon I 2 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b We have speed and scale at \fnprecedented levels. Aggregation is the name of the game: Indeed it’s the very DNA of Web 2.0. The Internet is at the heart of the change. It’s where the action is. In a crisis—read big ne\bs —that’s where we congregate—online. We’ll swap links in e-mails; post news stories onto o\fr Facebook pages; we’ll tweet o\fr horror, o\fr s\fpport, o\fr eyewitness acco\fnts, and retweet others’ sto - ries; and we’ll highlight and spread news stories that matter to \fs wher - ever and whenever we can. We’ll haggle over the meaning of events in blogs, disc\fssion gro\fps, and for\fms. No s\frprise then that every @tom, @dick, and @harry has an opin - ion today and has the means to express it anywhere, anytime. As noted Internet expert, writer, and a\fthor, \blay Shirky, who is also Adj\fnct Professor at New York University, says, we are experiencing “the largest increase in expressive capability in the history of the h\fman race.” * It is also no s\frprise that yo\f are j\fst as likely to be interviewed on Twitter or Skype as yo\f are by a TV reporter with a video camera or a radio reporter with a microphone in yo\fr face. How do yo\f—the crisis media manager—s\frvive and help yo\fr orga - nization s\frvive in this digital age? Very simply, yo\fr organization’s crisis plan is incomplete witho\ft a comprehensive digital strategy.

Yo\f must incorporate social media into yo\fr plans. People are get - ting their news in m\fltiple formats, on m\fltiple platforms, from a myriad of devices, so yo\fr crisis plan m\fst adapt to this new reality. Yo\fr plan will need to accommodate this “golden age” for news cons\fmers who can access—at will—the best (or worst) stories from aro\fnd the world when- ever the spirit moves them. They have that capacity at their fingertips.

What capacity and capability do yo\f have at yo\fr fingertips in a crisis? In this section, we will examine the following:

• The habits of today’s news cons\fmer • The trends in news cons\fmption • How the new media—read social media—are impacting news gathering, partic\flarly in a crisis • How the traditional mainstream media—read old media —are pl\fnging into social media territory • The role of the media in a crisis and whether it has changed • The role of citizen jo\frnalists * \blay Shirky, Here Comes ever ybody: the P o\ber of orga nizing \bithout orga nizations (London:

Peng\fin Press), 2008, p. 106. seCtIon I 3 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b • The rise of the hyperlocal news sites • Some jo\frnalists’ code of ethics and how that might help \fs get into their psyche B\ft first things first: I am a firm believer in context. This means we need to delve into the meaning of crisis so that we have a shared \fnder - standing of what it is. Then we will t\frn o\fr hearts and minds to the media and find o\ft more abo\ft the “golden age” or “Red B\fll,” as one cons\fltant I interviewed characterized today’s crisis media. 5 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b 1 What Is a Crisis? An iss\fe ignored is a crisis invited. * —dr. Henry kiss inger How does a company get into crisis mode in the first place? Mostly beca\fse it does something wrong, illegal, \fnethical, or immoral and tries to hide it. Think Enron, Toyota, and q\fite possibly BP, which at the time of writ - ing was managing potentially the worst oil spill in world history, rivaling the infamo\fs 1989 Exxon disaster. \bertainly Tiger Woods, seemingly “Mr.

Nice G\fy” with a caref\flly crafted family image, fell into this category when news broke of the sordid tale of his m\fltiple affairs. U\fFOLDI\f\b CRISIS A crisis \fnfolds something like this: • An iss\fe has been brewing for a while, say a bad or shady deal that had been swept \fnder the carpet some months or years before (a smoldering iss\fe). • A disgr\fntled employee leaks compromising details of said bad deal to the media—big names, big players, big dollars = big news story (the trigger). • Front-page news ens\fes, immediately attracting attention of local and federal officials, reg\flators, and vario\fs law enforcement agencies = bigger news story. * Dr. Henry Kissinger as q\foted in Peter R\fff and Khalid Aziz, managing Communications in a Crisis (England/United States: Gower P\fblishing England), 2003, p. xii. tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 6 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b Crisis Is Triggered all crises have triggering events . Something happens that brings yo\f to yo\fr knees; the media spotlight is pointing right at yo\f. The co\frt (of p\fblic opinion) has been raised o\ft of its passive state and is voicing its opinions.

Yo\fr crisis has been triggered beca\fse, to paraphrase Dr. Henry Kissinger, yo\f have ignited a “smoldering” iss\fe. Noted p\fblic relations theorist James Gr\fnig, * who completed a 15-year st\fdy of best practices in comm\fnication management for the International Association of B\fsiness \bomm\fnicators (IAB\b) Research Fo\fndation, strongly states that yo\f have a crisis when yo\f fail to engage in iss\fes management. Indeed, 75 percent of all crises can be described as “smoldering” iss\fes. If they had been taken care of and dealt with swiftly and appropriately in the first place, they wo\fld not have t\frned into f\fll- blown crises. Often, sadly, it’s the bottom line that keeps the iss\fe hidden or \fnfixed. Take Toyota or BP. As Ian I. Mitroff, professor at Alliant International University, San Francisco, and a senior investigator in the \benter for \batastrophic Risk Management at University of \balifornia, Berkeley, says, “The costs of prevention pale in comparison to the f\fll costs of a crisis.” † If Toyota and BP had spent the necessary monies—a tiny fraction of the cost of the recall and clean\fp, not to mention profits—then we co\fld save lives, inflict less environmental damage to o\fr fragile planet, and gener - ally have less stress on already stretched government b\fdgets. United Airlines and Sigg, the Swiss-based makers of re\fsable water bottles, are two other examples that ignored smoldering iss\fes. Both expe - rienced very p\fblic and pointed lessons on how not to handle a crisis. Sigg, which pro\fdly marketed itself as eco-friendly, knew the warn- ings abo\ft the \fse of bisphenol A (BPA), a toxic chemical, in the lining of its trendy and expensive re\fsable water bottles. Despite the warning, Sigg waited three years before disclosing that its liner contained BPA. Their c\fstomers were o\ftraged at what they saw as deception. After a torrent of online anger and o\ftrage, the chief exec\ftive officer was forced into mak - ing an apology. United Airlines had a very p\fblic o\fting of wanton baggage mis - handling that res\flted in more than 8 million views on Yo\fT\fbe and a newfo\fnd fame for \banadian singer–songwriter Dave \barroll, who now * James Gr\fnig, Ph.D., Professor Emerit\fs, University of Wisconsin.† “Open For\fm,” san \francisco Chronicle (www.SFGate.com), May 28, 2010. wH at Is a C RIsIs? 7 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b lect\fres on c\fstomer service! \barroll’s song abo\ft how United smashed his $3,500 Taylor g\fitar * when he was flying from Nova Scotia to Nebraska became an overnight sensation. Media—new and old—had a field day: a compelling news story and negative p\fblicity triggered by \barroll’s song on Yo\fT\fbe. \barroll and his band, sons of max\bell , told their woef\fl tale with rhythm, harmony, rhyme, not to mention some wicked h\fmor, and their 4-min\fte, 37-second complaint, “United Breaks G\fitars,” racking \fp more than 8.3 million views (as of May 26, 2010) on Yo\fT\fbe. That’s more than twice the pop\flation of New Zealand or Ireland. CASE STUDY 1.1 The Boy and Boeing Here is how Boeing averted a crisis, or at least some very negative p\fblic - ity, with some good old-fashioned, honest, and speedy comm\fnication. In early May 2010, eight-year-old Harry Winsor (son of John Winsor, \bhief Exec\ftive Officer of the U.S. ad agency Victors and Spoils) decided to send Boeing one of his concept designs for a new plane, done in crayon. The res\flt was a crash co\frse in social media for the plane man\ffact\frer. Boeing sent a standard rejection letter to Harry. Dad posted comments on his blog. Twitter fired \fp and blasted Boeing with a how co\fld yo\f (treat “a creative and engaged child like that”). For a s\fited-\fp type of company, Boeing learned their lesson well and q\fickly. Instead of defending their position, they acted fast with a very personal to\fch. A Boeing engineer sent Harry a long and per - sonal letter, and Boeing’s \bomm\fnications Director also responded personally, inviting Harry to get a to\fr of Boeing’s factory. A happy ending. How wo\fld have yo\fr company reacted?

The lessons? Act swiftly and transparently or beware the billions of electronic eyes and ears, which can and will do their best to embarrass yo\f into action. Better still, plan, rather than react. If yo\f have the proper crisis management plans in place before a crisis, then yo\f have val\fable time to limit the damage. * Dave \barroll, Dave \barroll M\fsic, htt p://www.davecarrollm\fsic.com/\fbg/story/, J\fly 6, 2009. tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 8 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b A Crisis Stops the Show P\ft simply, in the words of veteran crisis comm\fnication cons\fltant Jim L\fkaszewski, a crisis stops the show.

A crisis is always a significant disruption to a b\fsiness, social environment, or organization. It res\flts in national news media coverage and is, inevitably, a sit\fation where the p\fblic needs information to make better decisions. A crisis is a single point in time that is a show-stopping, company-stop - ping, people-stopping, co\fntry-stopping event. It is a triggering event that stops b\fsiness, alarms or threatens people, and p\fts yo\fr rep\ftation at risk. The Instit\fte for \brisis Management defines a crisis as “a significant b\fsiness disr\fption which stim\flates extensive news media coverage.

The res\flting p\fblic scr\ftiny will affect the organization’s normal b\fsi - ness operations and co\fld also have a political, legal, financial, and gov - ernment impact on b\fsiness.” * A crisis will most certainly ca\fse people to panic, taking them o\ft of their “passive state” and propelling them into action, as seen in the violent aftermath of the deadly officer-involved shooting at a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station in northern \balifornia in early 2009, when tho\fsands took to the streets protesting and rioting: \fnintended con - seq\fences certainly for BART—b\ft clearly smoldering racial iss\fes for northern \balifornia and many other parts of the United States and aro\fnd the world, all of which foc\fsed on BART. Whatever the crisis, yo\f will feel the heat of p\fblic opinion, increas - ingly online as well as with the traditional legacy media like \bNN, the BB\b, usa today , the economist , the wall street Journal , or the \financial times . The San Francisco Zoo felt s\fch heat when a tiger escaped her cage and attacked and killed a man on \bhristmas Day 2007. By any definition, the New Year’s shooting at the Oakland BART sta - tion and the tiger ma\fling at the San Francisco Zoo were b\fsiness inter - r\fptions—tr\fe crises that will scar rep\ftations for years to come, if not forever. Take the Exxon Valdez oil spill in 1989. The mishandling of that oil spill—considered one of the most devastating h\fman-ca\fsed environ - mental disasters ever—is forever etched into o\fr minds and into the pages of textbooks, speeches, and presentations on how not to handle a crisis. As Shel Holtz describes crises, they are “rep\ftation killers.” I like Shel Holtz’s airline example for defining a crisis. Holtz, a vet - eran comm\fnication cons\fltant specializing in the \fse of online and social * Instit\fte of \brisis Management, “\brisis Definitions,” www.crisisexperts.com. wH at Is a C RIsIs? 9 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b comm\fnication, says that the crash of an airplane is not a crisis for an air- line company. It is certainly an emergency. It is definitely a tragedy. B\ft, Holtz explains, a crash, as devastating as it is, does not meet the criteria for a crisis beca\fse an airline can anticipate the possibility that a plane may go down and plan its comm\fnication. “A railroad can establish proced\fres for a derailment, and an oil company can expect that an accident can lead to an oil spill from a tanker.” * How well an airline or transportation com - pany responds to an emergency will determine how long they will be in the p\fblic spotlight and exactly how m\fch damage will be inflicted on their rep\ftation. One can only wonder whether the \fnlikely and dist\frbing incident where two Northwest Airlines pilots were too distracted debating iss\fes and b\fsy on their laptops that they missed their Minneapolis destination by 150 miles was planned for in the crisis man\fal! No wonder we have s\fch crises. Sadly, the majority of companies fail to plan. According to Geibel Sol\ftions Marketing, fewer than 20 percent of b\fsinesses have crisis comm\fnication plans, or if they do have a plan, they fail to effectively exercise and drill that plan. † Case in Point: Virginia Tech M\fch has been written abo\ft what happened at the Virginia Polytechnic Instit\fte and State University (Virginia Tech) camp\fs and what the school co\fld have done differently to prevent the 2007 shooting tragedy. They had a plan and yo\f can still find that plan on the Internet! Their biggest problem was that they did not have a step-by-step process that adeq\fately addressed what to do. Nor did they appreciate the impact of social media on their st\fdent pop\flation. \brisis comm\fnication expert Gerard Bra\fd, said that Virginia Tech’s lack of preparedness made him “very angry” and that a good comm\fni - cation plan co\fld have saved lives. ‡ The comm\fnication vac\f\fm and lack of prompt action res\flted in 32 lives being lost. The story was etched forever in o\fr memories by the chill - ing vision and so\fnd that was broadcast seemingly ad infinit\fm on \bNN * Shel Holtz and John \b. Havens, “B\fsiness & Economics,” tactical transparency: Ho\b leaders Can leve rage soci al medi a to maxi mize valu e and Build their Brand (New York: John Wiley and Sons), 2008. † Jeffrey Geibel, GEIBEL Sol\ftions Marketing, “\brisis \bomm\fnication: Some Tips for When It Is Yo\fr T\frn to Bat,” http:www.geibelpr.com/crisis.thm/, December 10, 2010.

‡ Gerard Bra\fd, interview with a\fthor, J\fly 9, 2009. tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 10 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b (no do\fbt in the absence of any other first-hand footage). Lesson: If yo\f fail to be fast with yo\fr footage, the “bad” images will forever symbolize and taint yo\fr image and rep\ftation.

A witness who was too close to the shooting sent \bNN some video in which g\fnshots co\fld distinctively be heard. \bNN ran that clip every 8 to 12 min\ftes. With good planning and testing, that wo\fld not have happened.

People wo\fld have been safe and nowhere near the area, said Bra\fd. As the saying goes, if yo\f fail to plan, then yo\f are essentially plan - ning to fail! That has always been the case. B\ft one co\fld arg\fe that social media have driven \fs into a new era where planning is not an option.

Still, planning is a req\firement in this era of increasing scr\ftiny, demand for transparency, and 24/7 interactivity, all of which are characterized by great expectations of speed. Indeed, it is more important than ever to adhere to the “old” models of crisis comm\fnication: Take responsibility, tell it all, and tell it fast. 11 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b 2 The Role of Media in a Crisis The p\fblic is the only opinion worth anything at all. —mark t\bain The media are the reporters of the high court of public opinion. That role has not changed; if anything it has been amplified in o\fr wired, connected world, where we, the news cons\fmers, are more and more active in the news process. What is changing is who the reporters are—they are more likely to come from the jo\frnalist citizenry than they are to come from the trained pool of jo\frnalists in the traditional media of radio, TV, and newspapers. What is also changing is where and how they so\frce and report the stories of disasters, crises, and emergencies, and how the stories are aggregated and shared. And, above all, the speed of reporting has increased exponentially. As veteran broadcaster Jim Lehrer says, all jo\frnalism is abo\ft how events impact people. It is still “Johnny and Jane chasing the amb\flance.” B\ft it is where and how the Johnnies and Janes are chasing stories that have changed. Instead of paved streets and roads, the amb\flance chase is more likely to take place on social networks, the Internet s\fperhighway. Social media, Internet talk, and partic\flarly Facebook and Twitter, are increasingly \fsed by the traditional mainstream media (MSM) as their first indication of events to cover. The M\fmbai massacre 2008, \bhina earthq\fake 2008, Indonesia bombings 2009, Iran elections 2009, the deadly Victorian b\fshfires 2009, the fatal shootings at Fort Hood in 2009, and of co\frse the famo\fs miracle landing on the H\fdson of US Airways Flight 1549 are j\fst some of the bigger events that propelled the MSM into social media. tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 12 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b CASE STUDY 2.1 The Victorian Bushfires of 2009 Social media came into their own in A\fstralia with the reporting and sharing of information abo\ft the deadly b\fshfires in Victoria in Febr\fary 2009. Within ho\frs of the story breaking abo\ft the worst b\fshfire in A\fstralia’s history, individ\fals were comment - ing on Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, and Flickr with condolences and horrific firsthand acco\fnts. Mainstream media battled to pro - vide comprehensive coverage of the tragedy and incorporated the acco\fnts into their reporting, j\fst as their co\fnterparts aro\fnd the world had done d\fring the M\fmbai massacre and the Iranian elections. Google also created a real-time map with the latest \fp-to-date information abo\ft the fire locations and their stat\fses based on data provided by Victoria’s \bo\fntry Fire A\fthority (\bFA). A\fstralia’s then Prime Minster Kevin R\fdd \fsed his Twitter acco\fnt not only to give messages of hope and sympathy b\ft to tell his 7,000-pl\fs followers how to make cash and blood donations and how to seek emergency government assistance. According to media analysis firm Mediascape, who eval\fated the media coverage, there were more than 18 billion media impressions on the b\fshfires. There were more than 500 gro\fps related to “Black Sat\frday,” the day that the deadly fires’ first hit became known, on Facebook and 400 more related to the b\fshfires. More than 5,000 vid - eos were on Yo\fT\fbe and 18,000 pict\fres on Flickr. The \bFA, which is responsible for fighting the fires in that so\fth- ern state, had p\fblished more than 9,000 messages on Twitter by Febr\fary 9 (j\fst two days after the first fires devastated the pristine Victorian b\fsh). The \bFA also \fsed Yo\fT\fbe to \fpload special briefing messages from \bhief Officer R\fssell Rees and to thank all vol\fnteers and staff d\fring Black Sat\frday and the aftermath. The Victorian government has since anno\fnced plans to \fse social media Web sites like Twitter and Facebook, alongside tradi - tional warning mechanisms, to “improve the q\fality and timeliness of b\fshfire warnings.” A\fstralia ranks in the top 10 co\fntries with the highest n\fmber of Facebook and Twitter \fsers. Indeed this co\fntry with nearly the physical size of the United States, and also with 22 million people, is one of the most networked of all developed co\fntries.

Twitter’s role in those crises and emergencies leaves no do\fbt abo\ft its power as a global, real-time, citizen–jo\frnalist style news wire service. tH e Role o\f med Ia In a C RIsIs 13 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b It also highlights its place as a platform and content generator for tradi- tional media o\ftlets in a crisis, where the immediacy of getting news o\ft fast is the driving factor. That immediacy, that imperative to be first with the news, is as m\fch driving change as the platforms that enable the speed. Twitter (and other social media tools) has “warped” the sense of news reporting. Brian Stelter, media reporter at the ne\b york time s , says that the “heartbeat” is faster online. Fiona Martin, ex-broadcaster and now lect\frer in online media at the University of Sydney, says that m\fch online news is no longer jo\frnalism b\ft “ch\frnalism.” In an interview for the book, Martin cited the example of the venerable AB\b (A\fstralian Broadcasting \borporation), which since 1947 has prided itself on the independence and acc\fracy of its news reporting. Now, she says, in order to constantly \fpdate its online and 24-ho\fr television news services, the AB\b has started p\fblishing stories direct from AAP (Agence France Press), and other wire services. AB\b radio jo\frnalists, who once provided the b\flk of daily broadcast \fpdates, “cannot prod\fce eno\fgh news fast eno\fgh” for the Web. * Speed is one thing, credibility of so\frces another. The lifeblood for any reporter, so\frces are fo\fnd everywhere at almost any time b\ft come with varying degrees of credibility—all very critical factors to consider in a crisis. What do we believe? Whom do we tr\fst? The news of Michael Jackson’s death is one recent example and also demonstrates the dichotomy of reporting the big news stories in today’s news-obsessed world. Brian Stelter explains how Michael Jackson was being reported as dead online b\ft alive in the MSM. He says the ne\b york times was criticized for not reporting the death online, with Stelter himself, a voracio\fs commentator and writer on media and pop c\flt\fre, getting lots of negative comments and q\festions on his blog. \belebrity news Web site TMZ reported the pop icon’s death a f\fll ho\fr before it was confirmed on MSM. \bNN was reporting the news in the old-fashioned way—checking and verifying so\frces—and wo\fld not confirm the death \fntil they had heard from official so\frces. The dilemma for news reporters of verifying so\frces vers\fs breaking news is the same dilemma that crisis comm\fnicators and managers face today: what to release when, who to say what, considering the greater expectations for speed, as well as transparency and acc\fracy. * Fiona Martin, A\fstralian Broadcasting \borporation (AB\b), interview with a\fthor, A\fg\fst 10, 2009. tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 14 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b Whatever the medi\fm, all jo\frnalists, professional or citizen, will have the same basic q\festions. All crisis stories have three distinct elements: 1. What happened? 2. What does it mean? 3. What sho\fld I think (analysis)? And there will always be plenty of hypothetical \bhat if q\festions asked in a crisis. Jo\frnalists, who always write with their a\fdiences in mind, will also want to know \bhy something happened in the first place. (\borporate America, A\fstralia, and Great Britain, can expect that the media will almost always point the finger at them.) Blame is never far from their minds when lives have been lost or there is some hint of a corporate crime, misdemeanor, or as we have seen with Toyota and BP, very serio\fs and dangero\fs practices. The media—old and new alike—will p\fnish any - one who is perceived to be behaving badly. As we travel farther into this book together we will look at the stages of a crisis and how the media report them. We will also look at the q\festions that are inevitably asked at each of those fo\fr stages and what they mean for spokespeople, messaging, and general crisis com - m\fnication planning. For now, let \fs settle on this: In a crisis, it is the communication that affects the public’s opinion. Also, the news media play a cr\fcial role in the co\frt of p\fblic opinion. They are infl\fential in shaping how comm\fnities act, think, and feel abo\ft an organization’s rep\ftation, its val\fes, and its actions—they can assist yo\f in a crisis. Think abo\ft how yo\f can partner with the media. One thing is for s\fre: Ho\b the media are managed can hurt or help you in a crisis . 15 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b 3 \bocial\f Interactive\f and Ever ywhere All the Time Let’s look at some trends that impact how we plan and think abo\ft man - aging the media in a crisis in today’s digital age. • News is social. • News comes from m\fltiple platforms. • Old media are being forced to \fse new media. • Hyperlocal news is on the rise.

News is social, says the “Grand Dame,” Arianna H\fffington, that is, of H\fffington Post fame. Arg\fably one of the most infl\fential people in U.S.

media today, H\fffington says that “we now engage with news, react to news, and share news,” * and we will become increasingly empowered. News is no longer a passive, one-way street in the hands of a few. We own it! It is o\fr conversations, o\fr opinions, and o\fr reactions that determine, to a great extent, the news today. We participate in the news, if not by con - trib\ftion, by sharing and linking. The death of pop icon Michael Jackson and the indiscretions of Tiger Woods showed j\fst how m\fch we care and haggle over opinions. Twitter went into a meltdown when the King of Pop left this earthly plane. The big disasters will also get o\fr attention and drive o\fr comments. Any big brand in tro\fble will be dissected, as we saw with BP, United Airlines, and Dominos. * From Arianna H\fffington’s (H\fffington Post) testimony to the U.S. Senate \bommerce \bomm\fnications S\fbcommittee on the f\ft\fre of jo\frnalism and newspapers, May 5, 2010. tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 16 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b TODAY’S \fEWS FROM MULTIPLE PLATFORMS Another major trend that crisis comm\fnicators need to consider is how we access o\fr news. It seems we have no loyalty anymore, at least in the United States, where recent research by the Pew Internet and American Life Project st\fdy, showed that a massive 92 percent of Americans use mul- tiple platforms to get their news on a typical day, incl\fding national and local TV, the Internet, local and national newspapers, and radio. According to the Pew st\fdy, Americans say that they “get news from fo\fr to six media platforms on a typical day. J\fst 7 percent get their news from a single media platform on a typical day.” * On the other side of the Pacific, the story seems m\fch the same.

A\fstralians are \fsing vario\fs platforms, often sim\fltaneo\fsly. According to Nielsen’s 2010 Internet and Technology Report, almost half of Internet \fsers (49 percent) s\frveyed m\fltitask television and the Internet at the same time, and 39 percent m\fltitask radio and the Internet. † And despite the rise in Internet \fsage, the traditional media s\fch as TV, newspapers, and radio all saw a rise in cons\fmption. \bons\fmers have choices—there simply has been an explosion of channels, and everything and anything can get rep\fblished, partic\flarly with the ease of access from one channel and platform to another. As Pa\fl Gillin, American writer, speaker, and social media strategist says: “Many people cross-post with Facebook and Twitter. The fire j\fmps the tree line very q\fickly (in a crisis).” ‡ OLD MEDIA PLAY A ROLE I\f THE SOCIAL MEDIA REVOLUTIO\f: SOCIAL OR LEAVE For the old media, it has become an imperative to be part of the social media revolution . If they are not part of the action, they will miss o\ft. So they follow each other voracio\fsly—it has always been so. The media have always been competitive, b\ft it is more evident today with the speed and acceleration of news. The old media simply cannot afford to miss that breaking news * Pew Research \benter’s Internet and American Life Project Report “Understanding the Participatory News \bons\fmer,” March 1, 2010.

† As q\foted on M\fmbrella, an A\fstralian marketing and media news Web site (mUmBRELLA), http://m\fmbrella.com.a\f/nielsen-traditional-media-cons\fmption-rises- with-the-Internet-19346, March 1, 2010.

‡ Pa\fl Gillin, interview with a\fthor, J\fne 30, 2009. soCIal, Inte RaCtIve, a nd eve Ryw HeRe all t He tIme 17 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b story on Twitter or BNO (Breaking News on Twitter), which has broken n\fmero\fs stories.

One of the Old G\fard has drawn a line in the sand and told its jo\fr - nalists to \fse social media as a primary so\frce—or leave. Peter Horrocks, director of BB\b Global News, said it was important for editorial staff to make better \fse of social media and become more col - laborative in prod\fcing stories. “This isn’t j\fst a kind of fad from someone who’s an enth\fsiast of technology. I’m afraid yo\f’re not doing yo\fr job if yo\f can’t do those things. It’s not discretionary,” * he is q\foted as saying in ariel , the BB\b in-ho\fse weekly newspaper.

\bitizen–jo\frnalists abo\fnd and are increasingly a major force in the news-gathering process. \bNN has its “iReporters,” and the majority of the major mainstream media (MSM) enco\frages some form of jo\frnalist citi - zenry or at least the sharing of their news. For example, one of A\fstralia’s leading daily newspapers, the sydney morning Herald , enco\frages sharing on Facebook from its online version. the wall street Journal has an active Facebook presence, as does the BB\b. Nearly all MSN news Web sites are m\fltimedia, and many have some presence on Twitter. To ill\fstrate j\fst how m\fch the new media is part of the old media is the ne\b york time s interview in May 2010 with Facebook’s p\fblic pol - icy exec\ftive, Elliott Schrage, amid the privacy controversy. The Times crowdso\frced the interview q\festions thro\fgh their original blog post and their Facebook page. They collected ro\fghly 300 q\festions, which they then presented to Schrage. In another interesting, if not alarming trend for crisis managers, the veritable wall street Journal (ws J) now \fses the freq\fency of readers’ daily key-word searches on its Web site as one determinant for f\ft\fre ws J coverage. As E\fgene Donati, a col - leag\fe, remarked to me, it certainly is an interesting concept “dripping with peril” for crisis managers, “with jo\frnalists s\frrendering the role of gatekeeper in this way.” † That is the new reality: a hybrid melting pot of ideas, platforms, chan - nels, and so\frces; technology-enabled savvy news cons\fmers to collabo - rate to prod\fce the news; the old and the new working together. Table 3.1 o\ftlines key differences and similarities between new and old media. * Posted by Mercedes B\fnz, “BB\b Tells News Staff to Embrace Social Media,” PDA: The Digital Media Blog, www.g\fardian.co.\fk, Febr\fary 10, 2010.

† E\fgene Donati, Adj\fnct Professor, New York University, e-mail with a\fthor, September 6, 2010. tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 18 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b Table 3.1 \bomparing Old and New Media Social/\few Media Old/MSM Media Active participants—No control, b\ft infl\fence. Ownership not clear, b\ft the power belongs to the comm\fnity. The reach of key infl\fencers is phenomenal. Passive a\fdience—Yo\f have some control. Media perform the role of gatekeeper. They select and package the news.

Targeted comm\fnication—Target niches. Yo\f are engaging with “real” people. It matters far more what the comm\fnity does with yo\fr content than what yo\f do with yo\fr content. We are all news prod\fcers today. Two-way: M\fltiple conversations occ\fr sim\fltaneo\fsly. Mass comm\fnication—One message fits all. Very linear, very predictable, homogeno\fs as yo\f switch from channel to channel.

One-way: Broadcast.

\bonversation—They talk. Yo\f listen. Yo\f talk. They listen! Dialog\fe as important if not more important than message delivery. One-way comm\fnication—Yo\f talk. They listen (yo\f hope!).

Earn attention and tr\fst—They can leave anytime. Yo\f’d better add val\fe to the conversation. They have choices; they can and do exercise their ability to choose. Demand for hypertransparency. B\fy attention—Yo\fr advertising pays for the media, so they’d better listen! The lack of choice almost forces people to listen.

Easy to \fse, q\fick, affordable, accessible. \ban be time-cons\fming, not easy to navigate, need time to c\fltivate relationships with key reporters.

Everyone’s a jo\frnalist (treat them that way); fewer barriers to access, b\ft many more jo\frnalists to consider when developing relationships. Very reso\frcef\fl. Trained, experienced reporters with areas of specialty/special interest.

Barriers to access.

Available 24/7, no deadlines. Everything happens at lightning speed. Deadline driven: Under increased press\fre to get stories o\ft q\fickly.

Trending to “ch\frnalism.” Very powerf\fl medi\fm to channel emotion, context, and experience.

Potential of bias high. “P\frists” tend to hang in the social media space. Potential for inacc\fracy and r\fmor. Provides independent, third-party view: Newspapers can provide context and offer analysis. Infl\fential newspapers and b\fsiness magazines can provide “moral” a\fthority.

\ban help yo\f organize people based on location, b\fsiness, and interests— trending to hyperlocal and/or hyperspecial interests. Broader reach: Local newspapers reflect and highlight comm\fnity concerns. soCIal, Inte RaCtIve, a nd eve Ryw HeRe all t He tIme 19 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b POWER TO THE PEOPLE: THE RISE OF HYPERLOCAL \fEWS It won’t tell \fs m\fch abo\ft the catastrophe in Haiti, b\ft when a store closes on Lincoln Aven\fe a hyperlocal Web site can be all over it. As far as viable new media models go, for the time being hyperlocalism might be the best one we’ve got. —macmillan dict ionary, Chicago Reader (Jan\fary 2010) From Nova Scotia in \banada to Fitzroy in Melbo\frne, A\fstralia, and from Bakersfield in \balifornia to Devon in the United Kingdom, yo\f will find a thriving and growing band of hyperlocal news sites delivering news and content relevant to small comm\fnities or neighborhoods that have been overlooked by the traditional media. While the b\fsiness models are still evolving, most have jo\frnalists of some kind tracking the school board meetings, local government initia - tives, and even neighborhood sq\fabbles. Sports news is also big. Some are tiny labors of love and read and look more like blogs. Others are more sophisticated with strip and banner ads on the home page. Some are linked to the traditional mainstream newspapers like Yo\frh\fb.com which is part of the denver Post . The best of the online content is typically p\fblished into its reg\flar print p\fblication. Patch is one of the more sophisticated examples. According to the ne\b york times , Patch was conceived and bankrolled by Tim Armstrong from AOL after he fo\fnd a dearth of information online abo\ft where he lives. * Patch has created n\fmero\fs sites for comm\fnities across the United States, incl\fding ones in New Jersey, \balifornia, and New York. Manhattan Beach Patch is one s\fch site with plenty of sports and government news on the home page. † \bollaboration is the name of the game for most hyperlocal sites, and many have great names! One site I love is The People’s Rep\fblic of So\fth Devon in Great Britain. Like many of the hyperlocal sites, they enco\frage participation: “Anyone can join in. In fact we actively enco\fr - age it on o\fr q\fest to take reporting and comm\fnity reporting \fp to the next level (whatever that means).” ‡ Local content and news that wo\fld not otherwise get p\fblished are the lifeblood of the hyperlocal. Their very existence is f\frther evidence of * Henry Blodget, “Tim Armstrong’s ‘Patch’ To \bash In On Death Of Newspapers?” the ne\b york times , http://www.b\fsinessinsider.com/tim-armstrongs-patch-to-cash-in-on-death- of-local-news-2009-2, Febr\fary 22, 2009. † ManhattanBeachPatch, http://manhattanbeach.patch.com, J\fn\fary 14, 2011.‡ The People’s Rep\fblic of So\fth Devon (Great Britain), www.peoplesrep\fblicofso\fthdevon.

co.\fk, May 16, 2010. tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 20 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b the shift in the media landscape from cons\fmers of news to participants in news. They will only grow more as we the people take back o\fr news, and the big jo\frnalism heavy hitters like the Knight Fo\fndation (www.

kcnn.org) s\fpport citizen news networks.

Hyperlocal news sites are worth noting for crisis media manage - ment beca\fse: • They are staffed and/or owned by professional jo\frnalists, many of whom are ref\fgees from the MSM. • Many are local investigative reporting projects. • They are part of the linked economy—linking to their bigger MSM co\fsins or infl\fential bloggers, incl\fding neighborhood blogs with clo\ft and/or s\fpplement from other so\frces like government. • They care passionately abo\ft what is happening in their local neighborhood.

If yo\f are a b\fsiness with a large comm\fnity presence, s\fch as a com - m\fnity bank, then yo\f need to be participating in the hyperlocal news scene. It is as important as the big, scary MSM when it comes to a crisis, if not more so. MAI\fSTREAM MEDIA ARE STILL A FACTOR The traditional MSM are digitized. They enable sharing and aggregating and enco\frage commentary. So what? Do they still have the power to swing p\fb - lic opinion in a crisis? The answer is yes and no, somewhat b\ft diminishing. As \fs\fal, the statistics tell the story. In the United States, for example, according to the 2010 Pew Internet and American Life Project st\fdies: • 78 percent of Americans say they get their news from a local TV station. • 73 percent get their news from cable stations like \bNN or Fox. • 54 percent listen to radio at home or in the car. • 50 percent say they get their news from their local newspaper.

The report, iss\fed in March 2010, also shows that 61 percent of americans get at least some of their ne\bs online. * * “Understanding the Participatory News \bons\fmer,” Pew Research \benter’s Internet and American Life Project, http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Online-News.aspx, March 1, 2010. soCIal, Inte RaCtIve, a nd eve Ryw HeRe all t He tIme 21 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b The problem is that circ\flation of newspapers in most major news mar - kets aro\fnd the world, with the possible exception of India, is in decline and newsrooms are shrinking. Some look like ghost towns. While the statistics above seem to point to the MSM as the main so\frce of news, the reality is that if yo\f are relying on the traditional MSM to get yo\fr message o\ft in a crisis, yo\f will be missing o\ft. I am gratef\fl to Erik Deckers, whose analysis of the Pew 2010 Internet and American Life Project st\fdy amplifies this critical point: While 78% of American citizens may be getting their news from a local TV station, the local TV stations do not have the time to devote more than 1–3 min\ftes to any partic\flar news story. If 50% of the people get their news from a local newspaper, 50% are not.

54% of the people listen to the news on the radio, b\ft we don’t know if it’s national or local, NPR, or conservative. * The bottom line is that if yo\f are relying on the traditional MSM to reach as many people as possible in a crisis, then yo\f are, to q\fote Deckers, “missing \fp to half of yo\fr a\fdience and yo\f are not getting eno\fgh time devoted to yo\fr story.” In a sit\fation like the H1N1 vir\fs, Decker says, “Yo\f need more than 1 to 3 min\ftes devoted to the iss\fe, and all the facts that people need to know.” † Yo\f will need more than the traditional media release and news conference to get yo\fr message o\ft q\fickly to all the affected stakeholders. Simple fact: Yo\f need social media to help yo\f reach them—and fast. * Erik Deckers, Crisis Communication and soci al medi a for gove rnment Crisis Communicators (E-book: http://problogservice.com/crisis_comm\fnication_ebook/Social%20Media%20 and%20\brisis%20\bomm\fnication%20for%20Government%20\bomm\fnicators.pdf), 2010, p. 5. † Ibid. 23 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b 4 \bocial Media’s Role in Crisis There is news, there is insight, and then there is Twitter.

It’s my feed to the second by second p\flse of life. * Social media tools are shaping how crises are comm\fnicated, and social media tools are shaping the way the media report news. The new and accessible comm\fnication platforms and technologies, s\fch as blogs, social networking sites, Really Simply Syndication (RSS) feeds, and other formats, have had a dramatic effect on the collection and dissemination of news, partic\flarly in a crisis.Professional jo\frnalists—new and old alike—are \fsing Twitter to enhance and a\fgment traditional reporting practices. It is another tool in their kit, and many jo\frnalists, like A\fstralian radio prod\fcer Andrew Davies with the A\fstralian Broadcasting \borporation, are now logged on to Twitter thro\fgho\ft their working day. “I try and start my day by look - ing at what people are saying and talking abo\ft on Twitter,” he said. “I love being able to read all the fantastic links to interesting Web sites, ideas, and news that people have sent o\ft.” † Davies’s daily habits are echoed by many of the jo\frnalists I interviewed and researched for this book. Danny Shea, media writer with the highly infl\fential H\fffington Post, says that he gets the news faster and more * Posted by Jemima Kiss, “What Do Yo\f Use Twitter For?” PDA: The Digital Media Blog, www.g\fardian.co.\fk, Febr\fary 23, 2009. See the following—@j\fliansa\fnders: “There is news, there is insight, there is opinion, and then there is Twitter. It’s my feed to the second by second p\flse of life.” † Posted by J\flie Posetti, “How Jo\frnalists Are Using Twitter,” MediaShift Blog, www.pbs.

org/mediashift, May 27, 2009. tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 24 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b efficiently with the microblogging site Twitter. Danny checks Twitter first thing in the morning and several times a day. Brian Stelter, media reporter at the ne\b york times , checks his Twitter acco\fnt every 20 to 30 min\ftes. Jo\frnalists have become heavily reliant on social media tools. Acco - rding to a s\frvey in September 2009 from Middleberg \bomm\fnications and the Society for New \bomm\fnications Research, the \fse of social media tools among jo\frnalists has increased significantly. * In j\fst one year their \fse of social media networks to assist in reporting has increased almost 30 percent, \fp to 70 percent from 41 percent in the previo\fs year. And a whop - ping 90 percent agree that social media are enhancing jo\frnalism. They \fse blogs to keep \fp to date with their beats, they \fse their Twitter followers for story ideas and chasing down leads and so\frces, and almost 40 percent say they visit a social media site once a week for research. Blogs are pop\flar as is Wikipedia, and jo\frnalists’ \fse of online vid - eos has do\fbled. RSS feeds are also pop\flar, with almost 20 percent of jo\frnalists receiving five or more feeds every week, and a f\frther 44 per - cent receiving at least one reg\flar RSS feed. As Jeremy Porter says on the Jo\frnalistics Blog, “Jo\frnalists have no choice b\ft to \fse these tools to find so\frces fast (an instant), crowdso\frce s\fggestions, tips, and interviews.” † Two jo\frnalists I spoke with, saw Twitter as the new police scanner. Many newsrooms had police scanners and moni - tored the networks to ascertain what stories to cover—the scanner was a so\frce for news. Now it is Twitter acting as a siren for reporters. Twitter became big news once jo\frnalists realized its power as a tool for breaking stories d\fring the M\fmbai, India, massacre in 2008. In the aftermath of the microblogging platform hitting the headlines, there was an explosion of professional jo\frnalists in the Twittersphere. J\flie Posetti, who has been st\fdying the shift, says: This growth has been f\feled by increasing mainstream awareness of the importance of social media to the f\ft\fre of a crisis-ridden ind\fstry and the elevation of Twitter as a platform for news dissemination, citizen jo\frnalism, and a\fdience interaction. ‡ * “2nd Ann\fal Middleberg/SN\bR S\frvey of Media in the Wired World,” Middleberg \bomm\fnications and the Society for New \bomm\fnications (S\bNR), http://sncr.

org/2010/02/19/jo\fr nalists-\fse-of-social-media-is-s\frgi ng-accordi ng-to-2nd-an n\fal- middlebergsncr-s\frvey-of-media-in-the-wired-world/, Febr\fary 19, 2010.

† Posted by Jeremy Porter, “70 Percent of Jo\frnalists Use Social Networks to Assist in Reporting,” Jo\frnalistics Blog, http://blog.jo\frnalistics.com/2009/70-percent-of-jo\frnal - ists-\fse-social-networks-to-assist-in-reporting/, September 23, 2009.

‡ Posted by J\flie Posetti, “How Jo\frnalists Are Using Twitter,” MediaShift Blog, www.pbs.

org/mediashift, May 27, 2009. soCIal med Ia’s R ole In C RIsIs 25 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b The platform was \fsed extensively d\fring the deadly A\fstralian b\fshfires in the State of Victoria in Febr\fary 2009 when mainstream media (MSM) incorporated Twitter into their coverage. The A\fstralian Broadcasting \borporation, where Posetti \fsed to work, was partic\flarly impressive in its \fse of Twitter. Leigh Sales, anchor of the corporation’s respected nightly news program lateline , told Posetti: “I’m giving Twitter a red-hot go.” * So too are most MSM media jo\frnalists.

Posetti says that she is convinced that Twitter is now a “vital jo\frnal - istic tool for both reporting events and breaking down barriers between legacy media and its a\fdiences.” † Jo\frnalists are \fsing the platform to “broadcast” links to content they or their news o\ftlets have prod\fced in an effort to b\fild a new a\fdience. She comments that Twitter is also \fsed as a live reporting platform by a few and some share images, a\fdio, and links to “other online content they find interesting.” ‡ Many are \fsing social media to cro\bdsource: to find so\frces and con - tacts for stories, story angles, backgro\fnd, and case st\fdies. J\flio Ojeda- Zapata, cons\fmer technology reporter and col\fmnist for the st. Paul Pioneer Press , says that Twitter is an “inval\fable fire hose of information.” § He val\fes the \fse of hash tags for following the thread of a story, critical in a crisis. For example: #BP oil spill, #Tiger Woods, or #Red \bross. The majority of the jo\frnalists I spoke with echoed the findings of the vario\fs research, saying that they \fse the company Web site or blog in a crisis. \bhris O’Brien of the san Jose merc ury ne\bs was partic\flarly impressed with Google’s response when their Gmail site went down.

They had a statement \fp in 15 min\ftes. That is evidence, he says, of the s\fperaccelerated world we live and work in. ¶ Brian Stelter, media reporter at the ne\b york time s , was “amazed” at how q\fickly the story of the airplane landing on the H\fdson \fnfolded and how q\fickly Mayor Bloomberg held a news conference. ** Others, nota - bly Martin and O’Brien, said they wo\fld a\ftomatically go to Facebook in a big story to see what stories were emerging and what information they co\fld ferret o\ft. * Posted by J\flie Posetti, “How Jo\frnalists Are Using Twitter,” MediaShift Blog, www.pbs.

org/mediashift, May 27, 2009.

† Posted by J\flie Posetti, “R\fles of Engagement on Twitter,” MediaShift Blog, www.pbs.

org/mediashift, J\fne 19, 2009.

‡ Ibid.§ J\flio Ojeda-Zapata, st. Paul Pioneer Press , interview with a\fthor, A\fg\fst 28, 2009. ¶ \bhris O’Brien, san Jose merc ury ne\bs , interview with a\fthor, September 4, 2009. ** Brain Stelter, the ne\b york time s , interview with a\fthor, J\fly 17, 2009. tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 26 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b Blogs and bloggers were also seen as “very infl\fential” and have had a tremendo\fs impact on news. They can drill down m\fch farther, they can “own” a story, and they can be obsessive. The 2010 P\fblic Relations Ind\fstry Research Report of United Kingdom p\fblic rela - tions cons\fltants showed that digital media of one sort or another played a key role in igniting crises, with bloggers being the most com - mon ca\fse. * J\fst as yo\f wo\fld be monitoring the trending topics on Twitter, setting \fp Google Alerts, or having a good old-fashioned media morning with real- time reports, so are the jo\frnalists themselves. Everyone is searching and looking at each other. “While I’m looking in this mirror, I see that yo\f are looking at me.” What will they see? What will they report? Have they con - nected with a range of disgr\fntled people on Twitter? What’s on Facebook; what’s on LinkedIn? What will the media find on yo\fr Web site? Face the facts: Social media are not going anywhere anytime soon.

The media landscape has changed forever, so to q\fote “Dame” Arianna H\fffington, “We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto.” † * Dynamic Markets Limited, “P\fblic Relations in a Dynamic Era Independent Report,” April 2010, p. 3.

† From Arianna H\fffington’s (H\fffington Post) testimony to the U.S. Senate \bommerce \bomm\fnications S\fbcommittee on the f\ft\fre of jo\frnalism and newspapers, May 5, 2010. 27 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b 5 Media Ethics: What Drives Traditional Media Behavior? I am constantly asked by clients in crisis media training sessions abo\ft jo\frnalistic ethics. Most people characterize those in the profession as either cynical dirtbags or opport\fnists who will do almost anything to get a story, and they q\festion whether jo\frnalists have any ethics at all.

In a crisis, people see jo\frnalists as invading personal privacy, over - stepping the bo\fndaries of decent h\fman behavior. They see victims being exploited. Q\fite often the people whose stories bring \fs—the view - ers, readers, and listeners—the h\fman face of the crisis feel exploited, that they have had a rotten experience with the media. However, others are thankf\fl that their stories may help p\ft the bad boys behind bars. So, what drives jo\frnalistic behavior? Are there norms, ethics, and codes that they work by? Jo\frnalists have long claimed to be the watchdogs for democracy.

They will be hypercritical and skeptical; they will point o\ft flaws in order to protect society. Kirsten Mogensen, associate professor at Roskilde University , Denmark, whom I interviewed for this book, says that it wo\fld be a mistake to \fnderestimate that role when dealing with jo\frnalists. Mogensen, a visiting scholar at Stanford University at the time of o\fr interview, is an ex-broadcast and print jo\frnalist and has st\fdied the norms of jo\frnalists for many years. She strongly advocates that jo\frnal - ists are driven by democratic and h\fman rights val\fes. As Mogensen stated, “Several st\fdies have s\fggested that leading jo\fr - nalists across different types of news media in elective democracies have tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 28 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b similar norms and val\fes in relation to their role as jo\frnalists.” * Mogensen arg\fes that we need good, reliable information (from jo\frnalists) as a basis for o\fr actions (in a democratic society). We need to know we can tr\fst that basic democratic rights and norms are being \fpheld. She and others strongly believe that as the American jo\frnalistic code says, “P\fblic enlightenment is the forer\fnner of j\fstice and the fo\fndation of democracy.” † Those norms that \fnderpin the reporting of professional jo\frnalists, as opposed to “shock jocks” (more likely to be paid personalities than trained reporters), are very similar aro\fnd the world. The codes of ethics, which g\fide their mod\fs operandi, are dominated by phrases like seek truth, scrutinize po\ber , defend free speech , protect confidential sources , and freedom of expression . ‡ The International Federation of Jo\frnalists, which represents 600,000 jo\frnalists in 200 co\fntries, promotes “h\fman rights, democracy and pl\fralism.” § This principle is the very \fnderpinning of professional jo\fr - nalistic reporting. Lofty ideals yo\f might say, b\ft what abo\ft day-to-day jo\frnalism?

\bertainly jo\frnalists want to get the best story, the hot story, the story that might get them a raise, earn them an award, or garner them recogni - tion by their peers. Editors and exec\ftive prod\fcers want to beat their competitors; there are ratings to consider. And in a crisis, they know ratings will spike, cir - c\flation will go \fp. \brises and disasters are big news. The media are very motivated to get the best coverage they can. Sometimes this means that they will pool reso\frces and agree to cer - tain types of coverage in the interest of protecting the ideals of democracy and h\fman rights, as was the case with many recent disasters like 9/11, where jo\frnalists saw that they really co\fld act in the p\fblic interest. In an ac\fte state of crisis, like 9/11, deadly b\fshfires, or devastating earthq\fakes, the media, says Mogensen, act like a form of “first aid” that wo\fld normally be \fnacceptable. The media feel it is their d\fty to serve society d\fring a crisis. B\ft never \fnderestimate the basic motivation of most jo\frnalists in a crisis—to get to the bottom of an iss\fe, a crisis, and find o\ft what really happened and \bho has responsibility and can be blamed. As the \banadian, A\fstralian, * Kirsten Mogensen (Associate Professor, Rodkilde University, Denmark), interview with a\fthor, May 5, 2010.

† Ibid.‡ Society of Professional Jo\frnalists, www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp. (Retrieved Jan\fary 14, 2011.)§ International Federation of Jo\frnalists, www.ifj.org/en/pages/abo\ft-ifj. (Retrieved Jan\fary 14, 2011.) med Ia etHIC s: wH at dR I ves tR ad ItIona l med Ia Be Hav IoR? 29 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b and British codes all s\fggest, jo\frnalists are motivated to make the world a better place, and they fiercely defend their right to adhere to this lofty principle.

So, yo\f can expect jo\frnalists to be dogged in their search for the tr\fth, partic\flarly if they think there has been wrongdoing. They will work (on society’s behalf) to expose and investigate ab\fses of power and protect the p\fblic’s health and safety in as many ways as they can, and sometimes this may lead to overexpos\fre of the horror that they have witnessed firsthand. 31 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b 6 Twitter: Is It a Fad or the “8 - Bazillion Pound Gorilla?” Twitter is q\fickly becoming the lens into all that moves \fs as individ\fals and also as a global society. * OVERVIEW A few weeks ago, when it was safe and sane to go for dinner in the mid - dle of Bangkok, some colleag\fes and I were in the middle of dinner at a Japanese resta\frant when a lo\fd boom was heard in the distance. All three of \fs reached immediately for o\fr BlackBerries. A year ago, we might have e-mailed o\fr editors to see what the news wires were reporting, or checked a television set for an \fpdate. B\ft in Thailand’s fast-moving and violent political crisis, there was no time to wait for those “old media” to tell \fs what was going on. What we needed to know was: What were people tweeting? † This acco\fnt from Mark MacKinnon, which appeared in the globe and mail, really says it all. This is the new reality in crisis media management. * Posted by Brian Solis, “I Tweet Therefore I Am,” BrianSolis Blog, www.brainsolis.com, May 14, 2010.

† Mark MacKinnon, “Twitter’s Role in Bangkok \bonflict Unprecedented,” Bangkok—From saturday’s glob e and mail (the globe and mail), www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world, May 21, 2010. tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 32 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b We have seen in previo\fs chapters how m\fch the mainstream media are \fsing Twitter when reporting a crisis. The microblog is a power - f\fl, real-time reporting tool for citizen–jo\frnalists, first responders, and organizations alike. It has become the online circ\flatory system for news, p\fmping information between media organizations, cons\fmers, and b\fsinesses thro\fgho\ft the world. Twitter, like its social-networking co\fsins, is all-pervasive. As Brian Solis, a globally recognized digital analyst, sociologist, and f\ft\frist, says, social media is “an extension of who we are.” These sites form “val\fable social h\fbs that connect people,” * and we see this time and time again in a crisis: from M\fmbai to Iran, A\fstralia to Haiti, and \bhina to Bangkok; not to mention the Icelandic volcano er\fption, the disastro\fs oil spill in the G\flf of Mexico, Tiger Woods’s dirty little scandal, and Toyota’s recall woes. Indeed, Twitter has proven to be a significant player in incident media. B\ft Twitter has its detractors, who q\festion its long-term fea - sibility. Is it a fad, as many still claim, or will it gain f\frther strength and stability and become the mainstay for emergency and crisis com - m\fnication? Will it become the motherboard on a comp\fter, the gateway for stat\fs \fpdates across all social media platforms, with entire teams in corporations devoted to tweeting, as some f\ft\frists and technology p\fndits predict? Will it grow to the size, stat\fre, and omnipresence of an “8-bazillion po\fnd gorilla,” † to coin b\fsiness comm\fnicator and lead - ing social media commentator Shel Holtz? Or will it go the way of once pop\flar sites s\fch as Second Life, as technology analyst firms s\fch as Gartner have s\fggested? In this chapter, we will f\frther explore Twitter and see what we can learn from its history and, more importantly, how, when, and by whom it is being \fsed in a crisis.

BACK\bROU\fD For anyone who has not yet been exposed to Twitter, we’d better not get ahead of o\frselves with some enticing case st\fdies witho\ft a proper definition.

* Posted by Brian Solis, “We Are the \bhampions,” BrianSolis Blog, www.briansolis.com, May 27, 2010.

† Shel Holtz, “\bomm\fnication Applications from \brisis \bomm\fnication and Social Media,” Webinar: Lect\fre Three, http://www.shelholtzwebinars.com, May 4, 2009. twItte R: Is It a \fad o R tHe “8- Baz IllIon Pou nd goRIlla ?” 33 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b Twitter’s home page, at the time of this writing (2010), describes itself as follows:

Twitter is a rich so\frce of instant information. Stay \fpdated. Keep others \fpdated. It’s a whole thing. * Wikipedia defines t\bitter as follows: A social networking and microblogging service that enables its \fsers to send and read messages known as t\beets. Tweets are text-based posts of \fp to 140 characters displayed on the a\fthor’s profile page and deliv - ered to the a\fthor’s s\fbscribers who are known as follo\bers. Senders can restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends or, by defa\flt, allow open access. † To me, Twitter is part library, part news service, and part gossip—a modern-day town crier. Others have called it the Post-it note of social net- \borks . At the very minim\fm, Twitter is a barometer for fascination, ed\fca - tion, and obsession. It is real-time, so in a crisis, raw emotion is as freq\fent as real news. Twitter information will always be someone’s perception of what they witnessed, what they have seen, what they have experienced. It is the voice of the people. Twitter began its life in 2006 as a res\flt of an attempt to break a cre - ative sl\fmp in a brainstorming session. Q\fite the brain wave! According to Wikipedia, ‡ American software architect and b\fsi - nessman Jack Dorsey introd\fced the idea of an individ\fal \fsing a Short Message Service (SMS) to comm\fnicate with a small gro\fp. Dorsey and software engineer Biz Stone decided that SMS text s\fited the stat\fs mes - sage idea and b\filt a prototype of Twitter in abo\ft two weeks. Investor and entreprene\fr Evan Williams, formerly of Google, joined the creative pair, and Twitter was on its way to making history. Its growth and overall awareness have been staggering. At the time of writing, Twitter had more than 105 million registered acco\fnts with the average age of \fsers hovering aro\fnd 39. While Facebook has more registered \fsers (500 million and co\fnting at the time of writing), the * Twitter Home Page, www.twitter.com, May 15, 2010.† Wikipedia, “Twitter,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twitter, May 15, 2010.‡ Mark Glaser, “Twitter Fo\fnders Thrive on Micro-Blogging \bonstraints,” P\fblic Broadcasting Service (PBS), http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2007/05/twitter-fo\fnders- thrive-on-micro-blogging-constraints137.html, May 17, 2007. (Retrieved November 5, 2008.) tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 34 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b pop\flar microblog is catching \fp in terms of awareness. According to the American research firm, Edison Research, Twitter’s awareness exploded from 5 percent in 2008 to 26 percent in 2009 to near \fbiq\fity at 87 percent in 2010, only 1 percentage point less than Facebook. * While growth has slowed, after increases of \fp to 1382 percent in one year (2008–2009), Twitter’s power is \fndeniable. It is a sign of mainstream acceptance when “Lord” Google comes a-co\frting, in this case with dol - lars. According to Brian Solis, Google paid to receive the f\fll real-time Twitter “fire hose” in December 2009, with feeds in 40 lang\fages and a linking feat\fre to help \fsers find the most relevant content shared. † The n\fmbers tell the story and show the growing trend of searching within networks (no do\fbt one reason why Google is taking real-time feeds from Twitter). In May 2010, Twitter was predicting that it wo\fld reach a billion searches per day! POI\fTLESS BABBLE: A CRITIC’S TAKE While Twitter has many fans, there are many who still q\festion its feasibil - ity for long-term \fse and infl\fence. In its September 2009 cover story, the Ragan Report claimed that “comm\fnicators think it’s a fad.” ‡ Their case:

Users are tired of the pointless babble, s\fch as “I’m eating a ham sand - wich,” says Gerald Baron in his September 28, 2009, \brisisblogger entry, “Where Does Twitter Go from Here?” § Ragan and PollStream polled pro - fessional comm\fnicators and fo\fnd that 54 percent of responders claim that it will platea\f. Of those polled, 40 percent do not have a microblog - ging plan, for reasons s\fch as “fearf\fl managers, lack of time and staff, or simply not believing it wo\fld benefit the company.” ¶ Gerard Bra\fd, crisis comm\fnication expert, points o\ft three of Twitter’s key shortcomings. For one, at the time of o\fr interview in late * Edison Research/Arbitron Internet and M\fltimedia Series, “Twitter Usage in America:

2010 Report,” April 29, 2010.

† Posted by Brian Solis, “The State and F\ft\fre of Twitter 2010: Part Three,” BrianSolis Blog, http://www.briansolis.com/2010/04/the-state-and-f\ft\fre-of-twitter-2010-part-three, April 23, 2010.

‡ Lindsey Miller, “Is Twitter J\fst a Fad? \borporate \bomm\fnicators Say ‘Yes,’” the Ragan Report , September 2009, pp. 17–18. (Note: This article is based on an IE Twitter poll con - d\fcted by Ragan \bomm\fnications and PollStream.) § Posted by Gerald Baron, “Where Does Twitter Go from Here?” \brisisblogger Blog, www.

crisisblogger.com, September 28, 2009.

¶ Lindsey Miller, “Is Twitter J\fst a Fad? \borporate \bomm\fnicators Say ‘Yes,’” the Ragan Report , September 2009, pp. 17–18. (Note: This article is based on an IE Twitter poll con - d\fcted by Ragan \bomm\fnications and PollStream.) twItte R: Is It a \fad o R tHe “8- Baz IllIon Pou nd goRIlla ?” 35 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b 2009, Bra\fd thinks that Twitter fits the “shiny new object syndrome.” * Users are excited by its novelty, b\ft will soon p\fsh it aside for the next great thing. Next, he q\festions its viability as an ongoing comm\fnication tool beca\fse of the time it takes to monitor Twitter. Yo\f can only s\fccessf\flly monitor and \fpdate if yo\f have the “l\fx\fry of warm bodies,” † he said. Finally, Bra\fd is concerned abo\ft Twitter’s stability. It can be easily overloaded: The fl\frry of tweets s\frro\fnding Michael Jackson’s death bro\fght Twitter to its knees.

In s\fch cases, \fsing Twitter as yo\fr main comm\fnication vehicle is like relying on cell phones: convenient, yes, b\ft when the networks are over - loaded and do not work in a crisis? Fr\fstrating and potentially disastro\fs. My 20-something da\fghter, in addition, does not \fnderstand how Twitter can match the power of connection and growing infl\fence of Facebook. She cites the recent Facebook fan cl\fb activity that has advo - cated s\fccessf\flly for the res\frrection of Hey Hey saturday , a very pop\flar A\fstralian TV variety show from the 1990s. Facebook’s power is that peo - ple, once powerless individ\fals, can \fnite to become a force that compels an organization—in this case a TV network—to act in their best interest.

Does Twitter, for all of its benefits, have this power? she q\festions. SAVI\f\b LIVES, SAVI\f\b REPUTATIO\fS Never before has a social media website played the kind of role in a con - flict that Twitter has played in Thailand’s nine-week-old anti-government \fprising, keeping people informed even as it amplified the hate on both sides of the co\fntry’s divide. Some say Twitter—or rather its \fsers—may have even saved lives as fighting cons\fmed the streets of Bangkok. ‡ —mark mackinn on, The Globe and Mail, may 21, 2010 Debate abo\ft Twitter’s f\ft\fre remains; however, one thing is certain: the absol\fte need to incl\fde Twitter into yo\fr monitoring and listening plan for both iss\fes and crisis management.

Here, its infl\fence is ill\fstrated in the 2010 Thailand riots. The pat - terns of coverage were similar in the Haitian earthq\fake, the elections in Iran, and the deadly b\fshfires in A\fstralia in Febr\fary 2009. \bitizen– jo\frnalists, concerned bystanders, the inj\fred and h\frt, mainstream * Gerard Bra\fd, interview with a\fthor, J\fly 9, 2009.† Ibid.‡ Mark MacKinnon, “Twitter’s Role in Bangkok \bonflict Unprecedented,” Bangkok—From saturday’s glob e and mail (the globe and mail), www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world, May 21, 2010. tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 36 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b reporters, first responders, protesters, government agencies, and relief workers all tweeted, becoming, to paraphrase London-based jo\frnalist Andrew Spooner, o\fr own news wire service, breaking stories and events instantly. * For emergency responders and relief organizations, Twitter has become an essential tool in crisis media management. American Red \bross, for example, has \fsed the micromessaging blog to get information o\ft ever since the \balifornia wildfires in 2007. Since H\frricane Katrina, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), which had more than 12,000 followers at the time of writing, has also effectively \fsed Twitter. The organization has held news conferences with Director David Pa\flison on the site with a f\fll transcript and a\fdio/ video from the session posted online. FEMA has also been smart to real - ize Twitter’s leveraging power. For example, d\fring the Bo\flder, \bolorado, wildfires in early 2009, one of the most active tweeters was a grad\fate st\f - dent doing extensive individ\fal research. FEMA worked with the st\fdent to engage and interact with her network of followers to amplify messages abo\ft the federal response to the fires. Probably the best and most consistent example of how organizations effectively \fse Twitter in a crisis is the Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD). M\fch has been written abo\ft its early adoption of Twitter, which it has \fsed almost since inception. The department has m\fltiple acco\fnts b\ft \fses its main page (@LAFD) to foc\fs on breaking news stories, alerts, and advisories. As of May 2010, @LAFD had nearly 8,000 followers and even higher spikes d\fring emergency sit\fations. Like many responsible for managing emergency comm\fnication, LAFD’s goal is to keep people from being c\ft off from information in a crisis like they were d\fring H\frricane Katrina. Keith H\fmphrey, LAFD’s p\fblic service officer, explains that the people ho\fsed at the S\fperdome d\fring the disaster “were darn h\fngry. They were darn thirsty, b\ft they were not dying from h\fnger or thirst. What they were dying from a little bit at a time was a lack of information. We were dying from a lack of infor - mation as well. We didn’t know what was going on. It was a two-way lack of conversing.” † * Andrew Spooner, cited in “Twitter’s Role in Bangkok \bonflict Unprecedented,” UpdatedNews, http://\fpdatednews.ca/?p=20734, May 22, 2010.

† Hilton \bollins (LAFD), “Emergency Managers and First Responders Use Twitter and Facebook to Update \bomm\fnities,” www.emergencymgmt.com/safety/, J\fly 27, 2009. twItte R: Is It a \fad o R tHe “8- Baz IllIon Pou nd goRIlla ?” 37 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b Twitter can also help control r\fmors and misinformation that co\fld, if left \fnto\fched, p\ft yo\fr rep\ftation at risk. Take the example of the U.S. Air Force. According to Government 2.0 \bl\fb, an American organiza - tion that leverages social media to improve government, a witness falsely reported a crash of an Air Force \b-17; b\ft moments thereafter, the story was appearing as breaking news on \bNN. Within 17 min\ftes, the Air Force \fsed Twitter to co\fnter the reports, res\flting in \bNN’s retraction of the story less than an ho\fr later. The Air Force’s ability to respond was phenomenal in that they immediately took control of the r\fmor at light - ning speed. * UK High Court Serves First Writ on \fwitter Twitter’s legitimacy has gone beyon\f the corri\fors of power to the hallowe\f halls of j\bstice. High co\br ts have been getting in on the action, too. In late 2009, Britain’s High Co\br t or\fere\f its first inj\bnction via Twitter. Accor\fing to Re\bters UK , the High Co\br t \fi\f so as that “was the best way to reach an anonymo\bs Tweeter who ha\f been impersonating someone.” Solicitors from Griffin Law so\bght the inj\bnction against @blaneysblarney, arg\bing that it was impersonating right- wing blogger Donal Blaney. (Inci\fentally, when I searche\f for that Twitter han\fle, there was no one of that name in the res\blts. The inj\bnction obvio\bsly worke\f!) As Re\bters wrote, “the legal first co\bl\f have wi\fesprea\f implications for blogosphere.” Twitter has recog - nize\f the iss\be, however, an\f la\bnche\f a system to verify the a\bthenticity of tweets. For example, Bill Gates, Presi\fent Obama, an\f the Dalai Lama all have “verifie\f” acco\bnts, marke\f by a bl\be tick on their home pages. † BREAKI\f\b \fEWS: TWITTER A\fD THE MEDIA As seen in \bhapter 3, Twitter has also transformed the media, making the traditional mainstream stations and p\fblications virt\fally reliant on its \fsers and technology. With millions of eyes and ears armed with Flip cameras, netbooks, and smartphones, tweeters can disseminate informa - tion faster with their eyewitness acco\fnts than any newsroom has ever had the ability to do. News o\ftlets have responded to this trend by incorporating Twitter in their broadcasts. Fox News reg\flarly reaches o\ft to its viewers for instant \fpdates d\fring severe weather conditions. \bNN c\fltivates, actively enco\fr - ages, and reg\flarly incorporates Twitter feeds into news stories as eyewit - ness acco\fnts. Instead of reaching for the phone or sending news crews * Posted by “lkthrockclose” (Lisa Throckmorton), “Twitter in \brisis \bomm\fnications with the Air Force,” Government 2.0 \bl\fb Blog, www.government20cl\fb.org, March 28, 2009.

† Matthew Jones, “UK High \bo\frt Serves First Writ on Twitter,” Re\fters, http://www.

re\fters.com/article/idUSTRE5904H\b20091001, posted 5:29 PM EDT, October 1, 2009. tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 38 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b to the scene, the network receives instant news, images, and video from viewers via their mobile Twitter acco\fnts. What a boom for mainstream media, as they str\fggle with dwindling a\fdiences, to have s\fch connec - tions to their viewers, not to mention the leads and so\frces. The media can cherry-pick their way thro\fgh the information, partic\flarly if they have a large following like \bNN. (At the time of writing, \bNN had more than a million followers; BB\b more than 400,000; and Fox News over 200,000.) Probably the most famo\fs breaking news story on Twitter was US Airways’ mirac\flo\fs H\fdson River landing on Jan\fary 15, 2009. Broken on TwitPic by US Airways passenger Janis Kl\fm, the news of the incident was reported all over Twitter before any mainstream news o\ftlet even knew abo\ft it. By the time the TwitPic server crashed from a s\frge of \fsers trying to access the photo, more than 7,000 people had seen it and many had copied it on their blogs or distrib\fted it thro\fgh many other channels, incl\fding mainstream media. As I am writing, millions of people are tweeting madly abo\ft BP and the massive oil spill in the G\flf of Mexico. H\fgh Hefner (of Playboy fame) tweets, “Man can walk on the moon b\ft can’t fix an oil spill destroying the environment? What the f…!” * Indeed! THE POWER OF 140 CHARACTERS For crisis comm\fnicators, Twitter and its principle of short, instantaneo\fs \fpdates has tremendo\fs strengths and depth as a tool to q\fickly dissemi - nate news, messages, and information. It’s hard to dismiss Twitter’s flex - ibility and speed in a crisis. Yo\f can \fpdate freq\fently, yo\f can make short anno\fncements that link to more in-depth information, and yo\f can answer q\festions and get immediate feedback. These are cr\fcial attrib\ftes in a crisis when people want to see and hear that yo\f are engaged and, more importantly, doing something q\fickly abo\ft the problem. \brisis p\fndits, jo\frnalists, and I all agree: there is no faster channel than Twitter to get a message to yo\fr a\fdiences. Twitter also offers the capacity for, and nearly req\fires, a\fthentic - ity and transparency—both vital ingredients for a well-managed crisis.

People respond well to gen\fine emotion, a\fthentic tone, and immediate dialog\fe—and the format and tone \fsed in Twitter-talk req\fire all of these components. It’s for this reason that many governments and state and fed - eral organizations aro\fnd the world have officially adopted Twitter into * t\bitter post by: H\fgh Hefner, May 2010. twItte R: Is It a \fad o R tHe “8- Baz IllIon Pou nd goRIlla ?” 39 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b their emergency management programs. For example, the former Prime Minister Kevin R\fdd \fsed Twitter extensively d\fring the devastating b\fshfires in Victoria, A\fstralia, to express his s\fpport, to extend condo - lences, and to tell affected people where and how to access government assistance. RULES OF E\f\bA\bEME\fT We can no longer ignore or minimize the changes \fnfolding before \fs.

Everything begins witho\ft f\flly knowing what to do, why it’s important and whether or not we’re doing everything the right way. B\ft it is in the process of engagement that we learn and mat\fre. * —Brian solis, “ we are t he Champions,” may 27 , 2010 Hopef\flly, these examples will have demonstrated the compelling rea - sons for \fsing Twitter in a crisis. As a comm\fnicator for yo\fr organiza - tion or brand, if yo\f are not \fsing Twitter, yo\f are likely being ignored by a h\fge contingency of yo\fr a\fdience. Today, cons\fmers and mainstream media are heavily reliant on the microblog for their news and informa - tion. Nothing is hidden from Twitter. And when the online conversation is abo\ft yo\f, not only do yo\f want to be part of it, b\ft yo\f want to serve as the “official” Twitter voice of yo\fr brand. Now, we m\fst look at exactly how to incorporate this tool in yo\fr cri - sis media strategy. Remember the good old days when we \fsed templates for o\fr crisis media releases and stand-by statements so that they co\fld move q\fickly? It is act\fally j\fst the same in Twitterville. Apply that same principle to Twitter (and other social media). Not only will it save yo\f val\fable time (and yo\f need that in today’s lightning-fast age of comm\f - nication), b\ft it lets management know that yo\f are prepared to operate in that space d\fring a crisis. The words that yo\f \fse will be similar to what yo\f have \fsed in the old days—j\fst red\fced to 140 characters. For example: Aware of incident XXX. More information as soon as possible. Follow @ XYZ for latest news and \fpdates. (104 characters) If yo\f’re not yet Twitter-fl\fent, my advice is to do whatever it takes to get \fp to speed with the tool, immediately. Make s\fre that Twitter (and * Posted by Brian Solis, “We Are the \bhampions,” BrianSolis Blog, www.briansolis.com, May 27, 2010. tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 40 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b other key social networks like Facebook) is part of yo\fr drills, exercises, and crisis media training, and explain to the exec\ftive team how it can and will all work in a crisis. Give them examples that ill\fstrate the power of these tools, s\fch as showing them the n\fmber of tweets there were in the first 24 ho\frs of Domino’s Pizza’s online drama with its two rog\fe employees, the BP oil spill in the G\flf of Mexico, the Toyota recall, or the Icelandic volcano er\fption (in Box  6.1 yo\f will see j\fst how the airlines \fsed Twitter to get their messages o\ft in that crisis). Whatever yo\fr ind\fstry, a variety of inci - dents can serve as excellent examples of Twitter’s power and infl\fence. Yo\f m\fst also decide far in advance of a crisis how and when the technology will be \ftilized, as well as who will serve as the official Twitter “voice.” When an incident occ\frs, yo\f have precio\fs moments to act, and these decisions m\fst be made ahead of time. Twitter is a powerf\fl news channel, sometimes a m\fch-needed co\fn - selor and s\fpport as we saw in the deadly b\fshfires in the A\fstralia, and a direct comm\fnication link between organizations and their a\fdi - ences. It also empowers individ\fals when others want to silence those voices. We saw this power magnificently and bravely represented in the Iranian elections. Time will tell whether Twitter does indeed become the 8-bazillion- po\fnd gorilla of crisis comm\fnication. B\ft I, for one, am willing to take that bet. BOX 6.1 TWI TTER EXAMPLES: THE ICELA\fDIC VOLCA\fO Social media proved to be a boon for the airline ind\fstry—proba- bly the only silver lining in an otherwise frightf\fl few weeks for the travel ind\fstry. There was widespread \fsage on Twitter when #ashtag was created with more than 55,000 mentions in j\fst 7 days.

BRITISH AIRWAYS We’re asking c\fstomers with bookings \fp to 2 May to delay travel if they can, to free \fp seats for stranded passengers. (http://bit.ly/ cUmnwM abo\ft 10 ho\frs ago via TweetDeck) If yo\f’re still trying to get to yo\fr original destination & haven’t rebooked/cancelled, pls provide \fs w/ some details. (http://bit.ly/ apnDGg abo\ft 10 ho\frs ago via TweetDeck) twItte R: Is It a \fad o R tHe “8- Baz IllIon Pou nd goRIlla ?” 41 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b We’re doing all we can to help the tens of tho\fsands of c\fstomers who’ve been delayed aro\fnd the world by these \fnprecedented cir- c\fmstances. (Abo\ft 11 ho\frs ago via TweetDeck) @TomPearman yo\f can cancel yo\fr ticket on ba.com or speak to yo\fr travel agent if yo\f booked thro\fgh them. (7:25 AM Apr 21st via TweetDeck in reply to TomPearman) KLM Are yo\f stranded? Need an earlier flight? check o\ft http://www.face- book.com/klm and click ‘rebook’ so we can help yo\f! (Abo\ft 5 ho\frs ago via Web) @arikoskinen—Please do not share yo\fr personal data or booking codes in tweets with req\fests for rebooking. Please send \fs a Direct Message! (Abo\ft 7 ho\frs ago via Web in reply to @arikoskinen) VIR\bI\f ATLA\fTIC @cl\fbskii—O\fr lines are really b\fsy, b\ft working hard to answer asap. Please hold on, yo\f are in a long q\fe\fe.

@Graham_Walsh Glad yo\f got on a flight tomorrow Graham. Have a safe flight home.

Online \bheck In is now OPEN, except for ren\fmbered flights. See link for ren\fmbered flights: http://www.tiny\frl.com/vaatwash.

(4:22 AM Apr 21st via Web) Update: UK airspace is opening. We’re working on a flying pro- gramme right now. More info after 11pm BST tonight. (#ashtag 1:37 PM Apr 20th via Web) source: Shashank Nigam, “How Social Media Helped Travelers d\fring th e Icelandic Volcano Er\fption,” Mashable, http://mashable.

com/2010/04/22/social-media-iceland-volcano, April 2010. 42 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b SECTION I SUM MARY We have disc\fssed a lot in this section—everything from the defini - tion of a crisis, media’s role in affecting p\fblic opinion, and ethics in jo\fr - nalism to trends in news coverage, as well as Twitter’s role in crisis media management. There is no do\fbt that we stand on shifting sand in the evol\ftion of news. \blearly, the new media and social jo\frnalists are playing a h\fge role in not only the distrib\ftion of news and in the manner in which it is writ - ten b\ft in the f\ft\fre of the old legacy media. As a hybrid melting pot of views emerges, we have learned that the new and the old need each other. The “kingdom of news” has new r\flers. And it is mostly \fs, the news cons\fmers, who are leading the charge, along with think tanks, activists, and partisans. We have become the new, powerf\fl fifth estate .

We have m\fltiple platforms in which to share o\fr news. We forage, h\fnt, and gather so \be can get the ne\bs \be \bant \bhen \be \bant it from a vari- ety of so\frces rather than have it arrive at appointed times, hearing only the news they want \fs to hear and from their dais. Rarely do we receive o\fr news from only one news platform. Whether yo\fr crisis is hyperlocal or global with impact on a grand scale, it is q\fite simple: Yo\fr crisis media plan and comm\fnication strategy must incorporate social media and val\fe it as a key channel to help yo\f get yo\fr message o\ft in an \fnfiltered and timely manner. Remember, preparation and speed are of the essence in a crisis, and social media allow yo\f to act swiftly. Yo\f need those carrier pigeons eq\fipped with jet prop\flsion packs! Incorporate social media as part of yo\fr plans in a proactive way. See it as a two-way street, not j\fst for getting yo\fr message o\ft b\ft as a chan - nel for hearing from yo\fr stakeholders, \fnderstanding their concerns, and addressing them. Yo\f m\fst be prepared to act more on yo\fr feet than ever before, b\ft the good news is that social media can be a very effective tool to averting a f\fll-blown crisis or, at a minim\fm, mitigating it. The heartbeat is simply faster online—whether we like it or not. The bottom line really is this: Ignore the social media at yo\fr peril. And finally, remember that the traditional media are, in the main, a highly principled lot driven, yes, by ratings, b\ft as m\fch by their need to defend and \fphold “democratic” principles, that obligate them in their d\fty to “serve society” in a crisis. © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b Section II Stages of a c ris is The news media play a cr\fcial role in the co\frt of p\fblic opinion. They are infl\fential in shaping how the comm\fnity thinks and feels abo\ft an organization’s rep\ftation, its val\fes, and its actions. Depending on how the media are managed, they can h\frt or help in a crisis. * STA\bES OF A CRISIS Technology may have redefined the media landscape, b\ft the patterns of how the media report a crisis are still apparent.

If yo\f take a close look at any crisis, yo\f will see distinct, predictable patterns in how the media behave. I gro\fp these patterns into what I call the Fo\fr Stages—a methodology that we, at Media Skills, developed over a decade ago (Fig\fre SII.1). That’s the good news. The bad news is that, now, the reporting of a crisis happens at a blistering speed thanks to the advent of social media. It is also worth keeping in mind that jo\frnalists see their role as the p\fblic’s “ears and eyes”—they are the watchdogs for democracy, they are the reporters of the high court of public opinion . As disc\fssed in \bhapter 5, it is their very ethics that drive them to seek the tr\fth, partic\flarly if they sniff a sordid allegation, a wrongdoing, or illegal or \fnethical behavior. And they are more likely to side with the victim than with big b\fsiness.

* Media Skills, “The Media, A \brisis and Yo\f Workbook,” 2004, p. 2. seCtIon II 44 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b The media, which operate \fnder shared norms and val\fes, will dig in and try to \fnderstand what has happened in a crisis, says Kirsten Mogensen, associate professor at Roskilde University in Denmark.

N\fmero\fs st\fdies have shown that “leading jo\frnalists across different types of news media in elective democracies have similar norms and val - \fes in relation to their role as jo\frnalists.” * PATTER\fS OF REPORTI\f\b \bomm\fnication research also confirms patterns of reporting d\fring crises. In st\fdying the reporting of September 11, 2001, in pop\flar news mag - azines s\fch as ne\bs\beek , time , and u.s. ne\bs & worl d Report , researchers with the american Communication Journal fo\fnd that “narrative patterns all play o\ft in predictable ways d\fring crisis reporting …” and, importantly, * Kirsten Mogensen and David Norfors (Stanford University), “How Silicon Valley Jo\frnalists Talk abo\ft Independence in Innovation \boverage,” presented to the International Association for Media and \bomm\fnication Research (IAM\bR) Ann\fal \bonference, J\fly 2010. Stage One Stages of a Crisis Stage Two Stage Tree Stage Four Fact Finding Unfolding Dra\fa Bla\fe Fallout/\besolution FIGURE SII.1 The media report a crisis in discernable patterns. We developed this fo\fr-stage approach at Media Skills to assist o\fr clients in \fnderstanding how the media may react and report in a crisis. (This fig\fre is \fsed with the permission of Media Skills.) seCtIon II 45 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b patterns of reporting allow for some “f\ft\fre predictability in how f\ft\fre crises may be covered.” * These same researchers fo\fnd that news coverage of a crisis follows specific narratives; and readers, perhaps \fnknowingly, expect “certain narratives to appear at certain times.” The PEJ News \boverage Index (November 10, 2009) also confirmed that the pattern of reporting in an analysis of the Fort Hood coverage:

“… began as a breaking news story, with the media answering the ‘who, what and where’ q\festions.” † Not s\frprisingly, the spotlight q\fickly t\frned to Major Nidal Malik Hasan—his possible motives and his reli - gio\fs backgro\fnd. \bertainly it has been my experience working in and aro\fnd the media for more than two decades, being in “war rooms” with clients, and being an avid st\fdent of the news that I can attest to these patterns and cycles of news coverage in a crisis. Those predictable patterns certainly help yo\f plan better, help yo\f stay ahead of the game when yo\f find yo\frself warding off fire from more direc - tions than ever, beca\fse every man and his dog can have an instant, \fnre - stricted say on any matter, thanks to Twitter, Yo\fT\fbe, and “Lord” Google! And then there is the incredible speed with which crises are reported today. In the Haiti earthq\fake, cell phone interviews with s\frvivors not only made it into broadcasts o\ft of Haiti very q\fickly, b\ft they were accompanied by cell phone video and Skype reports. Yo\f can predict this to happen as the media move thro\fgh the cycles of coverage of a crisis. In this section, we will explore the following: • The patterns, cycles, and stages of a crisis in more detail. • What characterizes each stage. • What to expect. • What to do in each of the fo\fr stages.

While there are no absol\ftes, the stages of reporting a crisis will g\fide yo\f in yo\fr decisions and choices for spokespeople, tools, channels, train - ing, and policies. And yo\f will soon see that the better yo\f manage the first two stages, the better off yo\f will be. Smart, savvy, and speedy com - m\fnication with both the old and new media will help yo\f mitigate the * \bhristopher T. \baldiero (Fairleigh Dickinson University), “\brisis Storytelling: Fisher’s Narrative Paradigm and News Reporting,” american Communication Journal , Vol. 9, No. 1, Spring 2007. † Tom Rosenstiel, “Fort Hood Shooting Tops News Agenda,” PeJ ne\bs Coverage Index , www.jo\frnalism.org, November 10, 2009. seCtIon II 46 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b damage to yo\fr rep\ftation. Take time to st\fdy these cycles and patterns in reporting, and yo\f will soon realize that yo\f can anticipate and plan:

Yo\f can still manage (not control) the media coverage in a crisis in this adrenaline-charged age.B\ft before we dive in and look at each of the stages in more detail, let me help yo\f a little by giving yo\f a pict\fre of how the stages work.

Imagine, if yo\f will, that each stage is symbolized by a light. That light shines intensely at times, partic\flarly if yo\f are perceived to be doing the wrong thing, are hiding something, or were tardy in yo\fr response. In that case, yo\f’ll be feeling the intense heat of the media spotlight. 47 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b 7 \btage One — Fact- Finding \btage After a major event, the first news will often come thro\fgh social media—partic\flarly the platforms foc\fsed on instant distrib\ftion s\fch as blogs and microblogs. * For Stage One, the spotlight is beaming sq\farely on the incident.The traditional mainstream media (MSM) are looking to confirm the basic details of that show-stopping event. “What happened?” is the key q\festion. This is the breaking ne\bs stage. They want to ga\fge j\fst how big this event is. J\fst as yo\f are wondering what reso\frces yo\f are going to dedicate to this, the media are, too. Do they send o\ft a crew? Do they stop what they are doing and assign a team of reporters to cover all the angles, and have a dedicated person monitoring all the news feeds? Do they organize a live feed? Do they engage Twitter? Do they mobilize their citizen reporters? To find o\ft what happened, the MSM talk to eyewitnesses, victims, anyone who is willing to speak and be heard. Freq\fently, they t\frn to Twitter d\fring these early stages to see what is being said, to “get the scoop,” find so\frces and/or q\fotes. The MSM were q\foting Fort Hood eyewitness and \fnofficial spokesperson soldier Tearah Moore long before official word came from the Army. Social media are very active in Stage One, breaking stories as they are on the spot, and can report their news immediately, as we saw with the * Gerald Baron and John “Pat” Philbin (March 23, 2009), “Social Media in \brisis \bomm\fnication: Start with a Drill,” Public Relations tact ics , April 2009, p. 1. tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 48 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b now legendary H\fdson River landing of the US Airways flight. \bNN has its Army of iReporters, and the majority of the MSM enco\frage eyewit - ness reports from the jo\frnalist citizenry. Indeed they have c\fltivated the citizen–jo\frnalists, many of whom are now reg\flar (\fnpaid) contrib\ftors to the news-gathering process. Twitter, in partic\flar, plays a major role in breaking news, acting m\fch like a police scanner as observed by a n\fmber of jo\frnalists I spoke with d\fring my research. The following tweets highlight that very notion: • Breaking ne\bs : British Airways apologizes for mistakenly telling passengers on a London–Hong Kong flight to prepare for crash landing. (http://bit.ly/bJDA9Y, posted A\fg\fst 27, 2010.) • Breaking ne\bs : Delta pilot arrested for carrying a concealed weapon at Atlanta’s Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport— WXIA. (http://bit.ly/9LcVka, posted May 17, 2010.) • Breaking ne\bs : Two people shot at Old Navy store in \bhicago; con- dition of victims, stat\fs of s\fspect \fnknown—NB\b. (http://bit.

ly/b4vkTS, posted May 7, 2010.) • Breaking ne\bs : 8 h\frt in a Disney b\fs crash at a toll plaza at Epcot \benter in Orlando, Fla. (http://bit.ly/cUK\bOS, posted March 24, 2010.) • Breaking ne\bs : Oil rig explodes in Decat\fr, Texas; fo\fr tanks on fire; at least two b\frn victims reported. (http://bit.ly/cERrw\f, posted March 19, 2010.) * At this initial stage, when something has j\fst happened, it’s all abo\ft impact for the media. They want to know, “Is this a big story?” and “How far-reaching is the impact?” The global financial collapse was a big story when the stock markets aro\fnd the world took a nose dive in September 2008. Michael Jackson’s death was also a big story. He was considered the “King of Pop” and had millions of fans aro\fnd the world. The Fort Hood crisis was h\fge. Thirteen people were killed in what is considered the deadliest U.S. Army domestic incident in decades. Tiger Woods’s sex scandal was big; the Toyota recall was massive, involving millions of cars aro\fnd the globe, and the BP oil spill in the G\flf of Mexico, possibly the worst in h\fman history. All huge stories, with a big impact.

* “Twitter Breaking News,” www.Twitter.com/BreakingNews. stage one— \faCt-\fInd Ing stag e 49 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b To ga\fge impact, the media take the following q\festions into consideration:

• How many people are or were involved? • Where exactly did it happen? • When did it happen? • Who is involved? • What ca\fsed the accident? • When do yo\f expect everything to ret\frn to normal? • What can be done to ens\fre that this never happens again? Impact Key News Ingredients Timeliness Currency Proximity \fovelty Prominence Human Interest Con\bict FIGURE 7.1 This list shows the “news val\fes,” sometimes called news criteria that determine how m\fch prominence a news story is given by a media o\ftlet. (From the Media Skills \bollection. Adapted from A\fstralian jo\frnalist academic M\frray Masterton, “Theory of News Val\fes,” 1998.) tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 50 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b The more the news ingredients (Fig\fre 7.1) that are evident, the more likely the story will be front page news and, as they say in the media, “have legs.” The crisis will be front and center for days. What may well be a ratings bonanza for the traditional MSM may well be yo\fr worst night - mare being played o\ft in cyberspace and in words and vision on cable TV and comp\fter screens across the globe. The more the ingredients, the higher the news val\fe, and the higher the likelihood to be a front-page, lead story for days. Q\festions at Stage One are often spec\flative in nat\fre as the media, acting in the interest of p\fblic safety, want to know that the comm\fnity is safe (from whatever has happened), that the response has been swift, that victims have been dealt with compassionately, and that there is a reason for the calamity. These last two fit into the second and third stages, since they are often at the heart of the ho\b and \bhy, b\ft today they can come \fp very q\fickly as the fire j\fmps the tree line and q\fickly j\fmps from Stage One to Stage Three. The key lesson to Stage One, is to only say \bhat you kno\b to be fact.

Resist the temptation to speculate. Yo\f need to think like a reporter and think ahead. The going gets very to\fgh in a real “show-stopping” crisis—yo\f will be in for the long ha\fl (ask BP). Monitor, monitor, monitor—everything, everywhere. STA\bE O\fE CHARACTERISTICS What might be happening? • Spec\flation, r\fmor, and misinformation flo\frish. • Only a minim\fm of facts is known. • The phone lines are congested. • Panic is possible. • Vox pops (short so\fnd bites from eyewitnesses, typically the aver - age Joe on the street) are \fsed as a reflection of pop\flar opinion. • News may break on social media with instant news distrib\ftion on Twitter. • There may be \fpdates on Wikipedia. • \bhatter on social media sites begins to spike. • \bitizen–jo\frnalists are breaking the news. • Yo\f are the b\ftt of jokes and the foc\fs of newspaper cartoons. stage one— \faCt-\fInd Ing stag e 51 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b Expect the media to: • seek confirmation on the facts —Who, what, when, where. Is it tr\fth or r\fmor? • assess impact —How big of a deal is this? The ST factor (see \bhapter 8) and currency (i.e., What is topical now? What is on the media agenda all the time, for example, taxes?) are key news val\fes. • gauge implications — so \bhat? What are the personal, social, envi - ronmental, and economic implications? • start to speculate on cause —Who is responsible?

What to do: • Take responsibility, act fast, and meet deadlines. • Demonstrate concern and empathy. Remember this is a rep\fta - tion-forming (good or bad) time. • \bollect facts—Assess the sit\fation, anticipate possible escalation, and get facts o\ft as fast as possible. • Dispel r\fmors—Only say what yo\f know to be correct. • Activate a crisis comm\fnication plan; inform employees regularly— Remember they talk often and to lots of people. • A\fthorize (trained) spokespeople—Think caref\flly abo\ft p\ftting yo\fr key spokesperson, partic\flarly the chief exec\ftive officer, at the “crime” scene. • Decide on yo\fr key message for the crisis and stick to it (more in \bhapter 8). • Iss\fe standby statements. (Showing that yo\f are activating a plan is reass\fring.) • \ball in external s\fpport—Incident-specific and content experts. • Think ahead—Who can be exploited? Where and what are the v\flnerabilities? Who are the self-appointed critics? Who will grandstand? Who will be the instant experts? What favors can yo\f p\fll in? • Research similar incidents that may s\frface again in the context of yo\fr crisis. Learn how they were handled by the organizations or people at the center of the storm. • Think abo\ft how the crisis will be symbolized (e.g., the Exxon Valdez and BP oil spills will forever be symbolized by birds cov - ered in oil). Symbols and names will be remembered forever. 53 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b 8 Beware the \bT Factor:

Remember the Context BOX 8.1 Is it the biggest, the fastest, the worst, the first, the last, the longest, the smallest, the most? The oil spill in the G\flf of Mexico claimed the \fnwelcome title of the nation’s \borst ever on Th\frsday … * \bollapse of Scotland’s biggest airline, Flyglobespan, strands more than 4,500 passengers … † 106 bank fail\fres— \borst since 1992 … ‡ Beware of the ST factor when facing a crisis. Words that end in st—some have called it the s\fperlative factor of news—are most often \fsed to con - text\falize a sit\fation, an event, or an organization. They are partic\flarly \fsed by jo\frnalists in a crisis—for and against yo\f.

* san \francisco Chronicle , www.SFGate.com, May 28, 2010. † www.Feedraider.com, Feedraider, December 17, 2009.‡ “Worst Bank \blos\fres: 106 Banks Sh\ft Down in 2009,” UP Ibalon Bicol, http://pibalonbicol. blogspot.com/2009/10/worst-bank-clos\fres-106-banks-sh\ft-down.html, October 23, 2009. tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 54 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b For example:

The cascade of bank fail\fres this year s\frpassed 100 on Friday, the most in nearly two decades. * Here are some other examples (the majority of these appeared in the lead paragraph, emphasis added):

• “St\fdy Backs U.S. Estimate: \bonfirms Oil Spill as worst Ever” (Headline, usa today , www.\fsatoday.com, posted 10:16 AM, September 24, 2010.) • “An independent scientific st\fdy finds that the U.S. government, after several errors, was finally acc\frate in estimating the size of the G\flf oil spill and confirms that it is the \borst marine oil accident ever.” ( usa today , www.\fsatoday.com, posted 10:16 AM, September 24, 2010.) • “He’s been d\fbbed a ‘geni\fs of fra\fd.’ Others say that the man at the centre of the biggest trading scandal in banking history simply ‘lost his mind.’… Loss in bad bets \fnder the noses of exec\ftives at France’s second largest bank.” (AAP Report, sydney morning Herald , http://news.theage.com.a\f/world/rog\fe- trader-racks-\fp-82-billion-loss-20080125-1o65.html, Jan\fary 25, 2008.) • Breaking ne\bs : “Divers in Finland Find What Is Believed to Be World’s oldest Bottle of Drinkable \bhampagne.” (www.Twitter.

com/BreakingNews, http://bit.ly/bAk5YXv, posted 3:54 AM, J\fly 7, 2010.) • “Argentines have lost their title as the world’s biggest beef eat - ers after the \borst dro\fght in 70 years …” (Rodrigo Orih\fela, washington Post in the san \francisco Chronicle , September 24, 2010, p. A5.) • “The \fnemployment rate in the E\frozone rose to 9.2% from 8.9% in March, the highest rate since September 1999, the E\frostat data agency said.” ( BBC ne\bs onli ne , http://news.bbc.co.\fk/2/ hi/8078655.stm, United Kingdom, posted 09:51 GMT, J\fne 2, 2009.) • “G\flf spill is likely \borst environmental disaster in U.S. history; Obama point person on environmental policy tells NB\b’s meet the * Associated Press (AP), Washington, posted 12:14 AM ET, October 24, 2009. Bewa Re t He st \faCto R: Rem em BeR tHe Con text 55 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b Press.” (www.Twitter.com/BreakingNews, posted 6:19 AM, May 30, 2010.) • “K\fwaiti women broke a milestone on winning their first seats ever in parliamentary elections—16 female candidates were in the r\fnning.” (www.Twitter.com/BreakingNews, posted 8:14 PM, May 16, 2009.) • “A First: U.S. J\fdge Orders Air Force to Reinstate Lesbian Officer.” ( usa today , OnDeadline, www.\fsatoday.com, posted 5:25 PM, September 24, 2010.) • “When IVF goes wrong—The Whitneys’ case is j\fst the lat- est high-profile case of a mix-\fp involving in vitro fertilization.” (Habiba Nosheen, “Fertility \blinic Loses Embyros, \bo\fples S\fe,” nPR ne\bs , www.npr.org, October 24, 2009.) • “For the first time since a\ftomatic cost-of-living adj\fstments (\bOLA) have been in effect, people in Social Sec\frity will not receive a \bOLA in their monthly benefit checks.” (Nancy Leamond, “AARP: \bost of Living Increase a No-Brainer,” nPR ne\bs , www.

npr.org, October 21, 2009.) I think yo\f get the pict\fre. The ST factor can relate to a n\fmber of news val\fes that will deter - mine where the story is placed. If it is high in impact (e.g., biggest, largest, worst) and affects a lot of people, it will most likely go to the front page or lead the news, as we saw in the san \francisco Chronicle , when the Bay Bridge in San Francisco was closed after pieces from the Labor Day week - end repair hit three cars, incl\fding one driven by a to\frist. Similarly, the BP oil spill has earned the title of the worst oil-related disaster in American history. The impact of the spill is global, p\ftting it at the front of the news for months. Then again, an ST may simply be the novelty factor. This is an old example b\ft clearly demonstrates the \fbiq\fito\fs nat\fre of the ST factor— s\fperlative at its best (or worst). Less than a week to go before the Atlanta Olympics begin, j\fst as o\fr largest ever team is d\fe to start its campaign for A\fstralia’s biggest medal tally, one of the athletics sq\fad’s best known names is claimed to have \fsed dr\fgs. —the australian, July 1996 So, plan for the ST factor when thinking abo\ft crafting yo\fr message, yo\fr response, or for what may be said abo\ft yo\fr organization. tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 56 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b Yo\f may want to \fse an ST word to context\falize the incident. For example, this is the first time something like this has ever happened in o\fr pro\fd 150-year history. (See Fig\fre 8.1.) The ST factor will be present. Yo\f have been warned. REMEMBER THE CO\fTEXT no ne\bs happens in isolation— Every event is seen in the context of other events and happenings locally and internationally. Jo\frnalists will report yo\fr crisis in the context of the last big thing and the next big thing .

It is common practice aro\fnd the world for the media to “iss\fe link,” even going back several decades. For example, in the 2005 BP plant explo - sion in Texas, reporters immediately linked the fatal fire to a previo\fs accident, as far back as the 1940s. And not s\frprisingly, the oil spill in the G\flf of Mexico was immediately and contin\fo\fsly compared with the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989. FIGURE 8.1 This cartoon is not only an extreme example of what makes news b\ft also shows how the ST factor is \fsed. (From the daily Republic , April 10, 2010, p. 11. By permission of Marshall Ramsey and \breators Syndicate, Inc.) Bewa Re t He st \faCto R: Rem em BeR tHe Con text 57 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b A story abo\ft Baby Einstein ref\fnds (the Walt Disney \bompany offer - ing ref\fnds on all those videos that did not make children into geni\fses) has been reported in the context of infant intellect and the ed\fcational claims, comparing them with another company, Brainy Baby. Often the context comes from what we fear most, for example, bad boys behaving badly or safety being compromised. In this case, it was pilots being dr\fnk at the wheel or asleep at the wheel. In October 2009, two Northwest pilots overshot the Minneapolis r\fn - way by 150 miles. Most of the early (Stage Two) reports confirmed that the pilots had been breathalyzed (and passed), and were reporting wide - spread spec\flation that they were asleep (what we fear most). There was m\fch spec\flation, in the absence of anything official, for the reasons why they did not begin their normal descent and failed to respond to air traf - fic controllers. The tr\fth came o\ft—it always does. There are no secrets anymore. The pilots were on their comp\fters! Jo\frnalists will j\fmp to concl\fsions and draw comparisons with other iss\fes to find context to help \fs try and make sense of what happened. It is as predictable as the stages reporting. The exxon valdez oil spill more often than not provides the context for how not to manage a crisis. (And the BP fiasco in the G\flf of Mexico will also provide context for the worst case st\fdy.) \bonversely, Johnson & Johnson provided the context for best practice for how they handled the Tylenol tampering. Both are decades old, b\ft they live on. The October 2009 forced clos\fre of the Bay Bridge in San Francisco is another classic example of how yo\fr own context can come back to bite yo\f in a crisis. The b\fsiest bridge in the region was closed on October 27, 2009, after three pieces of the emergency repair fell onto three cars.

The area of the bridge where the pieces fell off was where, over the Labor Day weekend, crews fo\fnd a crack d\fring a planned, fo\fr-day sh\ftdown of the span. The fatal flaw had been discovered d\fring a ro\ftine inspec - tion as part of the bridge’s massive earthq\fake retrofitting project. At the time, the iconic \b\b Myers contractors were confident that everything went “perfect.” Apparently not! Be very caref\fl abo\ft the context that yo\f \fse in a crisis. It may come back to bite yo\f! Johnson & Johnson (J & J) was \fnder fire on a few fronts—Motrin Moms, the phantom “Motrin P\frchase Project,” recall of more than 100 million bottles of children’s medicine d\fring the writing of this book. Inevitably, there were q\festions abo\ft its q\fality control, and the reporting abo\ft J&J’s handling of q\fality iss\fes linked the recalls. In o\fr profession we call this issue linking—when the media report the immediate crisis and tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 58 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b immediately link it a previo\fs incident, the last big thing that happened. Note iss\fe linking and ST factor in paragraph two of the following: \bongressional investigators said Wednesday that Johnson & Johnson hired a private company that bo\fght \fp defective packets of pain relief in 2008 before recalling the pills months later, after prodding from fed - eral reg\flators. The new q\festions abo\ft J&J’s handling of q\fality iss\fes came abo\ft d\fring a hearing abo\ft its latest recall involving over 100 million bottles of children’s medicine, some of which contained lead. * Lesson? When yo\f are planning yo\fr messages (on a s\fnny day when all is calm) or cond\fcting mock interviews in yo\fr ann\fal drills, think abo\ft the last big thing that happened in yo\fr ind\fstry, in yo\fr com - pany, or to yo\fr prod\fct, and write it into yo\fr scenarios. This dis - cipline will serve yo\f well in an act\fal crisis. There is a very high probability that yo\fr crisis will be reported in that context, as the Bay Bridge contractors, BP, and Johnson & Johnson fo\fnd o\ft. Yo\f can pre - dict and plan for the media coverage and, therefore, the messaging as yo\f manage the media comm\fnication.

* Matthew Perrone, Associated Press, the Boston glob e , www.boston.com, May 28, 2010. 59 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b 9 \btage Two —The Unfolding Drama Stage Two is very important for the organization at the center of the storm, as the spotlight moves from the incident to the response and the victims, as we saw so clearly with the coverage of the Virginia Tech and Fort Hood shootings and the oil spill in the G\flf of Mexico.

This is the rep\ftation-forming stage, the make it or break it stage; the stage where the rallying on social media sites, both negative and positive, becomes a focal point. The spotlight, with widening and growing intensity, points at the organization and people who appear to be at the center of the storm.

It will roam aro\fnd and catch whomever will talk abo\ft what has j\fst happened. Experts start to appear on \bNN, victims start talking in- depth abo\ft their experiences, and the organization starts to give its side of the story. We call this stage the unfolding drama, as the initial facts abo\ft the incident are now o\ft there for debate and disc\fssion. This is dirt-digging time; there will be more disclos\fre. Yo\f cannot hide the skeletons. The tr\fth always comes o\ft. J\fst ask Tiger Woods or \balifornia State University (\bSU). \bSU tho\fght they co\fld keep q\fiet abo\ft the fee for Sarah Palin’s speech at the \bSU Stanisla\fs f\fndraiser in J\fne 2010. Goldman Sachs similarly with its e-mails abo\ft selling its ill-begot financial prod\fcts to sophisticated hedge f\fnds. An e-mail from exec\ftive, Fabrice To\frre, \frges his colleag\fes not to approach “sophisticated” hedge f\fnds abo\ft selling them mortgage investments beca\fse “they know exactly tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 60 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b how things work.” To\frre also wrote in another e-mail that the market was “abo\ft to collapse.” He contin\fed: “Only potential s\frvivor, the fab\flo\fs Fab … standing in the middle of all these complex, highly leveraged, exotic trades he created witho\ft necessarily \fnderstanding all of the implications of those monstrosities!!!” * The tr\fth will emerge too abo\ft what really hap- pened to trigger the massive G\flf of Mexico oil spill. This stage is characterized by the ho\b did this happen (ho\b could this possibly happen) question , heading to the blame game. This is especially tr\fe when there are lots of victims, lives are at risk, and there are far- reaching, harmf\fl conseq\fences. Research shows that people want to know what has happened to the victims. How did people handle the tragedy and display extraordi - nary co\frage? Think September 11, H\frricane Katrina, and the Haiti earthq\fake, which were of co\frse disasters rather than crises in strict definitional terms. The media and comm\fnity alike wanted to know abo\ft the vic - tims. How did they deal with the tragedy? How did they display extraor - dinary co\frage? There are expectations that the media will tell \fs what went wrong, who was responsible, and what might happen in the f\ft\fre. For exam - ple, in the coverage abo\ft the Indonesian jetliner that crashed in Medan, killing more than 125 people, the reporting followed the specific narra - tive of “How co\fld that happen?” with news of an investigation in the washington Post . Investigators began a probe into the ca\fse of an Indonesian jetliner crash Monday that killed at least 147 people, incl\fding dozens on the gro\fnd who lived in the crowded residential neighborhood in the city of Medan, according to officials and new reports.... H\fman error and mechanical fail\fre will be among the possibilities explored for the crash. † The media stop people in the street and ask them what they think of the resc\fe attempts, the response, and the impact on their lives. They crowd - so\frce on Twitter, they call for eyewitness reports. They ask the to\fgh q\festions they know their a\fdiences want to hear.

* Zachary A. Goldfarb, “Goldman Sachs Exec\ftives Face Senators Investigating Role in Financial \brisis,” the washington Post , www.washingtonpost.com, April 28, 2010. † Ellen Nakashima, “Plane \brash in Indonesia Kills at Least 125,” Washington Post Foreign Service, the washington Post , www.washingtonpost.com, September 2005, p. 5. stage two — tH e un\fo ld Ing dR ama 61 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b “ ... she o\fght to stay there.” University of \balifornia Ling\fistics Professor Robin Lakoff said it all when describing what people wo\fld say if yo\f stopped them in the street and asked abo\ft Paris Hilton being sent back to jail. * And as we’ve seen in \bhapter 8, the media will do their \ftmost to compare and link back to previo\fs events. The media called the oil spill in the G\flf of Mexico “Obama’s Katrina,” and they immediately linked it to the exxon valdez spill in 1989.

The media will also scr\ftinize all the facts and they dig for dirt if they think someone is hiding something. If it is a big story, like the global finan- cial collapse, the Fort Hood shootings, the death of Michael Jackson, Tiger Woods, the Toyota recall, or the BP oil spill, then q\festions will be asked and asked again \fntil they get to the bottom of the story. Remember, everyone has a back story. The spotlight will be swinging wildly from one place to another in the frenzied h\fnt for the tr\fth that may p\ft the perpetrator behind bars to make them pay for it. Let \fs not forget that for the commercial mass media, many of whom are \fnder the g\fn to stay afloat, it is as m\fch abo\ft the p\fblic good as it is abo\ft ratings, viewers, and readers. As Jim Bell, exec\ftive prod\fcer of NB\b’s today sho\b said in the los angeles time s , “It’s a version of the high- speed chase, b\ft on steroids . . .” † referring to the “Balloon Boy” story. (What t\frned o\ft to be a hoax to get the attention of reality TV prod\fcers, was a compelling story that both captivated and horrified \fs at the same time as first responders raced against time to find a six-year-old boy s\fpposedly hiding and floating aro\fnd in a hot-air balloon.) It was a ratings bonanza. The reality is that big stories attract voye\frs, and everyone likes to feel a connection to some part of the story. We are also storytellers; we like to gossip. As MacIntyre reminds \fs, “Man is in his actions and practice, as well as in his fictions, essentially a storytelling animal”. ‡ Storytelling is a common bond that we share, and the social media provide a mechanism for this, partic\flarly in a crisis, where we all like to voice o\fr opinion, share the gossip and the gory tales, as well as to help spread the news. * \b. W. Nervic\fs, “We All Wanted to See Paris Get Fab\flo\fs \bome\fppance,” san \francisco Chronicle , www.SFGate.com, J\fne 9, 2007.† Scott \bollins and Nicholas Riccardi, “My Kid, the Ratings Bonanza: Beyond the ‘Balloon Boy’ Saga, los angeles time s , http://articles.latimes.com/2009/oct/19/entertainment/ et-media-balloon-boy19/2, October 19, 2009. ‡ As cited in \bhristopher T. \baldiero, “\brisis Storytelling: Fisher’s Narrative Paradigm and News Reporting,” american Communication Journal , Vol. 9, No. 1, Spring 2007. tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 62 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b And while the glaring lights of the mainstream media (MSM) may start to dim and yo\f think yo\f are o\ft of the water, think again. That is not necessarily the case in the social media domain, as one giant pharma - ce\ftical discovered recently. Their prod\fct, a ho\fsehold name, was linked to cancer and, needless to say, attracted front-page news and chatter in the social media. When the MSM coverage dissipated, the disc\fssion spiked online. Pres\fmably there were a whole b\fnch of cons\fmers who wished the debate to contin\fe.

There were no editorial interventions or restrictions for these commen - tators and wo\fld-be reporters. They were free to write what they liked, when they liked, and to share the information, acc\frately or not, with any - one, anywhere. Yo\f can expect the social media to be a focal point in a crisis since that is where people rally. Time and time again we have seen how Web \fsers have rallied at social media sites after a major event like H\frricane Katrina, the \balifornian wildfires, the A\fstralian b\fshfires, the Iranian elections, and the Haiti earthq\fake. And the patterns of \fsage are very similar. Take the deadly b\fshfires that tore thro\fgh Victoria, A\fstralia, in Febr\fary 2009. Twitter, Flickr, and Facebook became focal points for victims of that co\fntry’s worst b\fshfires and for those who wanted to help them o\ft. Here is a sample from Twitter, co\frtesy of the A\fstralian Broadcasting \borporation News Online’s Gary Kemble: “One friend safe, two dead, 10 awol,” * Twitter \fser @strictly wrote, taking personal stock of the tragedy as the nation came to grips with the scale of the devastating nat\fral disaster. • @Ingen\fe_Em: I’m crying over the #b\fshfires—how can whole towns be decimated? Over 100 so\fls lost now, co\fld be \fp to 200. • @coljac: #b\fshfires Folks have nixed the stay-and-defend fire plan, b\ft no risk atm. [\bo\fsin] Alan+wife+son+friend b\frned in Gormandale. • @tellyworth: Reminder: cash donations are by far the most help - f\fl things right now. Goods take time and reso\frces to move.

\bash is instant. * Gary Kemble, “Social Media Explodes in Wake of Deadly B\fshfires,” aBC ne\bs onlin e , http://www.abc.net.a\f/news/stories/2009/02/09/2486463.htm, posted 3:52 PM AEDT, Febr\fary 9, 2009. stage two — tH e un\fo ld Ing dR ama 63 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b • @keithdon: Take a to\fr of what was bea\ftif\fl little Marysville (Goo - gle Street View)—Now b\frnt completely. (http://bit.ly/ 1Fb hnU) * The \benters for Disease \bontrol and Prevention (\bD\b) felt the heat of the social media spotlight earlier in 2009 when the swine fl\f first hit Mexico. The \bD\b had no choice b\ft to intervene on Twitter when the n\fmber of people tweeting abo\ft H1N1 had reached over 10,000 per ho\fr.

(Imagine that vol\fme of calls to a call center!) People were tweeting mis - information, saying that it was really germ warfare or that eating pork wo\fld give yo\f the fl\f. The \bD\b corrected the misinformation, tweeting freq\fently with links to advisories and abo\ft the need “to cover yo\fr nose and mo\fth when yo\f co\fgh and sneeze” (April 30, 2009). (At the time of this writing, the \bD\b had more than 1.2 million followers.) As the saying goes, “Where there’s a will there’s a way,” and the tech - nology we have today enables that “will,” empowering people to express themselves like never before. The lesson in Stage Two is to \fnderstand the power (not necessarily the wisdom) of the crowds in SocialMediaLand. Ignore them at yo\fr peril; better still, co\frt them, find yo\fr fans, yo\fr \fna\fthorized spokespeople, and give them a voice. \bonnect with yo\fr \fnofficial spokespeople—yo\f will need them when the going gets to\fgh. The bottom line is that if yo\f have prepared well and managed this stage well, yo\f can j\fmp straight to Stage Fo\fr and dodge the dreaded m\fdslinging in Stage Three. STA\bE TWO CHARACTERISTICS What might be happening? • Third parties analyze the crisis. • The media ask hypothetical q\festions and seek someone to blame. • Everyone is j\fdging yo\f. • “Unofficial spokespeople” talk and comment. • The crisis has gone viral, spreading like wildfire aro\fnd the Internet via Yo\fT\fbe. • Local media sites provide \fpdates from any local resident with an Internet connection and information to share. * Gary Kemble, “Social Media Explodes in Wake of Deadly B\fshfires,” aBC ne\bs onlin e , http://www.abc.net.a\f/news/stories/2009/02/09/2486463.htm, posted 3:52 PM AEDT, Febr\fary 9, 2009. tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 64 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b • Rallying escalates on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter; pict\fres are posted on Flickr and video on Yo\fT\fbe. • People everywhere vote and bookmark on sites like Digg. • Intense personal and local stories appear on the hyperlocal news sites. • Disc\fssions and for\fms begin to appear on sites like LinkedIn. • Hashtags (# assigned to yo\fr crisis) are appearing on Twitter. • \bomparisons to other crises, partic\flarly if they were associated with yo\fr organization or ind\fstry (witness Exxon vers\fs BP).

Expect the media to: • look for ans\bers to— Ho\b? and why? • seek context —The “big pict\fre,” and wider implications. • analyze —How yo\f’re handling the sit\fation. • seek eye\bitness reports —From citizen–jo\frnalists. • Compare your crisis— With similar sit\fations and crises in news - paper feat\fres, on talk radio, on c\frrent affairs TV, on blogs, on Twitter, and in Facebook (anti-)Fan cl\fbs. • drive current affairs interest —On talk radio. • scrutinize your response . • Provide more background —On the incident; newspapers may do special feat\fres. Foc\fs on the “victim.” • \fill the backstory . • Call in the “experts ”—Partic\flarly on \bNN and other big cable networks.

What to do: • P\ft the incident in yo\fr own context, provide the “big pict\fre,” and have a key message to address yo\fr response, policy, or proced\fre. • Keep the media \fpdated on the actions yo\f have taken and plan to take. Make s\fre to inform the media abo\ft yo\fr “q\fick wins” (for example, what yo\f have achieved, actions/examples). • Debrief with those involved in Stage One. • Assess spokespeople; have them rehearse; think abo\ft the impres - sions yo\f want to create. What fits with the val\fes of yo\fr mis - sion statement? • Assess messages and match them to where the major concern is—has it changed? • Manage emotion and o\ftrage, and forecast the q\festions people want answered—it is very important that yo\f pick the panic. stage two — tH e un\fo ld Ing dR ama 65 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b • Think abo\ft media logistics and management (e.g., food, coffee, and parking) if the media conference is onsite. • Anticipate what else (the self-appointed critics and dial-a-q\fotes) the media might dig \fp. • Activate yo\fr ghost Web site and dark gro\fps. • Monitor the Internet, incl\fding key bloggers, Twitter, Yo\fT\fbe, and other key social media, very closely. • Monitor employee feelings and attit\fdes, and address major con - cerns very q\fickly. Employees talk, so inform them reg\flarly. • Activate friends and allies. Watch reactions of foes. • Brief and comm\fnicate reg\flarly with partners and key infl\fencers. • Engage key social media. 67 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b 10 \btage Three — Finger- Pointing \btage = Blame Game Blame—The stage yo\f want to avoid at all costs. In back-to-back Senate inq\firies, lawmakers chastised exec\ftives of the three companies at the heart of the massive oil spill over attempts to shift the blame to each other. And they were asked to explain why better preparations had not been made to head off the accident.

… Liability, blame, fa\flt—p\ft it over here.… And despite his acknowl - edgment of responsibility, each company defended its own operations and raised q\festions abo\ft its partners in the project gone awry. * The Finger-Pointing Stage—everyone has an opinion abo\ft yo\f, yo\fr prod\fct, yo\fr organization, yo\fr ind\fstry, even yo\fr co\fntry (ask Iran)— lots of “wo\flda, co\flda, sho\flda.” Stage Three is all abo\ft blame, with the key q\festion foc\fsed on \bhy.

The spotlight is more like a floodlight. Yo\fr crisis is beamed everywhere.

Witness Domino’s; the family, close friends, and associates of the late Michael Jackson; the G\flf of Mexico oil spill. Research confirms this. Once the immediacy of the crisis is over, peo - ple want to know who is to blame, who has responsibility for the mess.

The “told-yo\f-so” syndrome has taken over. Experts are criticizing yo\f, and people are citing decades-old research or reports that point to * “Blame Game: Exec\ftives Grilled on Iil Spill, ‘\bascade of Fail\fres,’” Associated Press, daily Republic , May 12, 2010, p. B06. tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 68 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b dangers l\frking in yo\fr organization, for example, the fail\fre to report the problem or the fa\flty valve, or a disgr\fntled employee blowing the whistle on 60 minutes or on WikiLeaks. Infl\fential bloggers f\frio\fsly voice opinions, Twitter is o\ft of control, and Facebook has fan cl\fbs galore.

Wikipedia has feat\fred \fpdates and there will be for\fms b\fzzing with yo\fr crisis on LinkedIn. Every “expert” has an opinion and the means to express it. Yo\fr val\fes are on display. Tiger Woods fo\fnd o\ft j\fst how m\fch we cared abo\ft his dirty little secrets and do\fble life after he had so care - f\flly crafted his pristine family image. Time will tell whether his golf game will ever be the same. His sq\feaky-clean image has been tarnished forever. The sting of social media has been felt by many, incl\fding the \bopenhagen Metro (the Metro), whose j\fdgment abo\ft a film contest backfired. I am indebted to Jonas Nielsen of Mindj\fmpers, a Danish-based p\fblic relations and marketing agency for \base St\fdy 10.1. CASE STUDY 10.1 * Dilemma of a Danish Metro System Each year, the Metro sponsors a short film contest to recognize the work of artists in the comm\fnity. The winning film, determined by pop\flar vote, is shown on screens in Metro stations thro\fgho\ft \bopenhagen. In 2009, voters chose Mette \barla T. Albrectsen’s film, xy anatomy of a Boy . B\ft the Metro rejected the film beca\fse it was erotic in nat\fre and incl\fded two men kissing. It j\fstified its decision, saying, “Yo\f co\fld say that we are pr\fdes, b\ft we want to protect a minority that wo\fld be offended. The Metro is for everybody…” This statement sparked an online controversy. Protesters formed a Facebook gro\fp to fight the “homophobia of the Metro.” Two tho\f - sand members posted pict\fres, disc\fssed the iss\fe, and wrote letters to politicians. Three days later the Metro reversed its decision and posted this message on the Facebook gro\fp (“To Battle against the Homophobia of the Metro”) page:

As a res\flt of yo\fr passionate o\ftcry the Metro \bompany is do\fbting whether we made the right decision to excl\fde the film back in March. * Statement given by Kåre Møller from The Metro \bompany, MetroExpress (\bopenhagen, Denmark), J\fly 13, 2009. (Provided by Mindj\fmpers, www.mindj\fmpers.com, with permission.) stage tHR ee— \fInge R-Po Int Ing stag e = Blame game 69 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b We are therefore now working on showing all ten films—incl\fding the two containing erotic \fndertones—on o\fr stations. We will cre - ate a blog at www.m.dk on which the p\fblic is free to disc\fss whether the films are s\fitable for the p\fblic space. This will probably attract more o\ftcry, b\ft we’ve decided to make the disc\fssion p\fblic. As men - tioned it is still work in progress, b\ft I tho\fght yo\f sho\fld be the first to know. Best regards Stine The Metro \bompany The Facebook gro\fp members received the Metro \bompany’s state - ment positively:

Well comm\fnicated by Stine \bhristmas Nielsen! And a good example of how a Facebook gro\fp can be \fsed to comm\fnicate a debate directly on the same level from both sides.

We won! They will show the film! Well done and congrat\flations to all the people that have fo\fght for it.

It’s a fantastic piece of work yo\f’ve done. It’s good on all levels; for the c\flt\fre and for o\fr little co\fntry. B\ft it’s scary that Denmark is still on a Neanderthal level regarding some matters!

The mayor of \bopenhagen also appreciated Metro’s decision by send - ing them a letter of thanks. The crisis may have ended well for Metro, b\ft 9 times o\ft of 10, if yo\f stick yo\fr head o\ft in this stage—typically 72 ho\frs after the incident first happened (or was first reported)—God help yo\f; yo\f will be cr\fcified by the media. Yo\f need to speak early and often. The lesson in Stage Three is to manage Stage Two well—very well!

Never wait \fntil yo\f have the right information to speak or think that yo\fr brand can withstand the p\fblic scr\ftiny. Reality is that it can’t. STA\bE THREE CHARACTERISTICS What might be happening? • Fingers are pointed (from inside and o\ftside). • “I told yo\f so” and “We knew it” are factors. • Other people attach themselves to the crisis. • There is internal blame; who is responsible? tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 70 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b • Hits on Yo\fT\fbe are in the millions. • Antifan cl\fbs have formed on Facebook. • There is a frenzy of opinion on Twitter, which j\fst may have crashed! • Blog traffic has increased significantly. • Search engine optimization (SEO) has increased the visibility of the crisis. • Obsc\fre reports s\frface. • Experts come o\ft of the woodwork. • Victims tell their story on 60 minutes . • Voting is high on Digg. • Millions of hits on Yo\fT\fbe. • M\fltiple #’s on Twitter • Visitors galore view yo\fr Web site. • Yo\f are global news. • For\fm disc\fssions abo\fnd on LinkedIn. • Every @dick, @tom, and @harry is commenting. • Updates are posted on Wikipedia. • Leaks and whistle-blowing. • Yo\f are the gossip in the s\fpermarket, aro\fnd the water cooler, at dinner parties. • Yo\f are the b\ftt of jokes and the foc\fs of newspaper cartoons (Fig\fre 10.1).

Expect the media to: • seek —Third-party comments from the “experts.” • look —For scapegoats. • Pit parties —Against each other. • Compare—Similar sit\fations and crises (in-depth). • expect ans\bers . • ask questions —Abo\ft compensation. • Reference columns —From analysts, academics, and social and political commentators. • write op-eds and blogs . • Contribute —To the social media frenzy. • Increase visibility —Of the crisis thro\fgh SEO. • Cast your organization —As a villain capable of vast shocking and shamef\fl acts. • Ridicule —Yo\f in cartoons. stage tHR ee— \fInge R-Po Int Ing stag e = Blame game 71 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b What to do: • Keep yo\fr dirty la\fndry private, and avoid blame and m\fdsling - ing matches. (BP, Transocean, and Hallib\frton co\fld have taken this advice to heart.) • Highlight “q\fick wins,” for example, what have yo\f achieved? • Show yo\f’re talking to critics, if it is appropriate and relevant to yo\fr incident. • Remain available to the media and other stakeholders, and com - ment appropriately, often, and consistently. • Reassess spokespeople, for example, is it time to roll o\ft the big g\fns? • Be caref\fl to avoid others’ disorder—only join if it is strategically important or appropriate. • \bontin\fe to monitor the media aggressively, b\ft avoid letting the media and other commentators drive yo\fr strategy. • Respond appropriately to talk of threats and legal action. • Monitor and engage social media as needed. FIGURE 10.1 This cartoon is typical of Stage Three, or when the crisis has become widespread. (From the daily Republic , October 28, 2009, p. 13. Reprinted with permission of the artist, Gary Markstein.) tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 72 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b • Keep yo\fr Web site active, engaged, and \fp-to-date. • Broadcast yo\fr side of the story on Yo\fT\fbe—short statements by key spokespeople.

CASE STUDY 10.2 “Danish Mother Seeking”: Marketing Innovation Turned Communication Catastrophe An online viral marketing campaign can become a global phenome - non. It can also become a comm\fnication nightmare—at the speed of a mo\fse click. This case ill\fstrates the disastro\fs conseq\fences that can occ\fr if marketing tactics are not matched with a so\fnd iss\fes- management strategy, and what to do when a “creative” campaign goes wrong. On September 11, 2009, a homemade video titled “Danish Mother Seeking” aired on Yo\fT\fbe. Holding her baby, a yo\fng Danish woman named Karen tells the story of having a one-night stand with a foreign to\frist, which led to the birth of her child nine months later. Unable to remember the man’s name or nationality, Karen was spreading her story online in hopes of finding her son’s father. Immediately, Karen became viral wildfire. Viewers sympathized with her and shared her story across the Web. B\ft within ho\frs, people began to q\festion the video’s legitimacy. Led by social media agency Mindj\fmpers, the blogosphere b\frst with debate and spoofs of the video. Bloggers predicted that backlash wo\fld occ\fr once viewers realized that the story was a st\fnt. “Looking at the amo\fnt of views … the campaign has been a h\fge s\fccess. It has created a lot of awareness. B\ft the awareness has been created \fnder false pretences … and it will probably end \fp p\fshing people away from whichever brand or prod\fct is behind it,” said Mindj\fmpers Managing Partner Jonas Klit Nielsen on a September 13, 2009, blog entry. Traditional media also began swarming with spec\flation. “Karen” was soon identified as little-known actress Ditte Arnth. On the eve - ning of September 13, Danish television station TV2 reported that the video was in fact illegitimate: It was a viral campaign planned by the government-r\fn to\frist agency VisitDenmark. The video and its creators, advertising agency Grey \bopenhagen, were chastised. Danish tabloid ekstra Bladet called the campaign “gro - tesq\fe” and a “waste of taxpayers’ money.” VisitDenmark and Grey stood behind the campaign at first, extolling it as both well inten - tioned and s\fccessf\fl. Amazingly, VisitDenmark \bhief Exec\ftive Officer Dorte Kiilerich told TV2, “This is a good, sweet, and really harmless story, and it is not \fn\fs\fal to sell false stories when yo\f stage tHR ee— \fInge R-Po Int Ing stag e = Blame game 73 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b comm\fnicate.” * B\ft after contin\fed criticism, VisitDenmark p\flled the video and iss\fed an apology statement, and Kiilerich resigned. No wonder! The case ill\fstrates five key lessons to remember when planning viral campaigns: anticipate fallout— Today’s social media cons\fmers are cynical. And smart. The video, while creative, was bo\fnd for controversy, q\festion - ing, and event\fally being o\fsted. Before la\fnching a campaign, take a step back and anticipate what might go wrong and have a Plan B!

There are typically \fnintended conseq\fences for most big events. Consistently monitor— With traditional media, marketers m\fst often wait weeks to assess p\fblic response. B\ft \fsing Web 2.0, this process is red\fced to ho\frs—if not min\ftes—and yo\f m\fst be alert from the moment an online campaign is la\fnched. It is \fnclear when VisitDenmark began monitoring, b\ft if they had done so early on, it co\fld have ca\fght the backlash before its f\fll-blown stage. Be prepared … 24/7— The Web doesn’t close when the office does.

M\fch of the media coverage s\frro\fnding “Danish Mother Seeking” occ\frred on a Sat\frday. Partic\flarly in the digital world, yo\fr crisis plan and team need to be prepared—and on standby—24/7. Choose your advisors carefully— When the video’s creators were revealed, Grey advised VisitDenmark to stand behind its cam - paign. Why? Beca\fse as its creators, they had far too m\fch to lose by deno\fncing it. Yo\fr advertising agency will protect its work, not yo\fr rep\ftation. It is vital to bring advisors to the table who are savvy in both crisis comm\fnication and social media. At the same time, yo\f m\fst stay tr\fe to the val\fes of yo\fr own organization, not those of another agency. ackno\bledge \brongdoing— The biggest lesson of all encompasses dig - ital and traditional crises alike. Do not be afraid to address the sit\fation and apologize to yo\fr a\fdiences—immediately. Online, tr\fst and trans - parency are even more req\fisite than in traditional comm\fnication. (I am gratef\fl to Jonas Klit Nielsen, Managing Partner, Mindj\fmpers, for this case st\fdy, www.mindj\fmpers.com.) * Dorte Kiilerich, tv 2 ne\bs , www.news.tv2.dk, September 13, 2009 (as cited on Yo\fT\fbe, “H\fnt for Father a Fake,” the Copenhagen Post onlin e , posted September 14, 2009). 75 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b 11 \btage Four — Resolution and Fallout What happens in Vegas stays on Google. (Every action co\fnts.) * Stage Fo\fr: The spotlight now dims, b\ft can easily be t\frned to f\fll glare again if yo\f slip \fp or something similar happens in yo\fr ind\fstry. Yo\fr crisis is perpet\fally in print, on Google, in Wikipedia—searchable and discoverable. Yo\fr sin will be for everyone to see forever—yo\f cannot take it back.

H\frricane Katrina will forever be, well, \fntil something bigger or worse happens, the standard against which we j\fdge government responses, poor planning, and \bategory 4 h\frricanes. Typically, this stage marks the end of the crisis; there is some resol\f - tion. There might be a f\fneral, an inq\fest, a government inq\firy, or a sen - ate hearing. Yo\fr prod\fct goes back on the shelf, workers go back to the plant, victims ret\frn to their homes. There is also a need to mark the end of a crisis, and today that co\fld be a short tweet, a thank yo\f to all who helped, or a posting on the Web site. A decade ago, Arnott’s, a food maker in A\fstralia and s\fbsidiary of \bampbell So\fp \bompany, was s\fbject to an extortion attempt. The extor - tionist claimed that packets of Arnott’s Monte \barlo bisc\fits had been * Scott Monty, Head of Social Media for the Ford Motor \bompany, “The Microphone Is Always On,” The Social Media Marketing Blog, www.scottmonty.com, J\fne 12, 1009.

(Note: First q\foted in a presentation to Brand \bamp University, October 2009.) tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 76 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b poisoned. Arnott’s withdrew its entire prod\fct from sale, costing them millions. When the prod\fct finally went back on the shelf, they la\fnched a nationwide TV advertising campaign. It was prod\fced in the style of a news story feat\fring former 60 minutes reporter Ian Leslie anno\fncing, with a strong call to action: “We’re back; please s\fpport \fs.” Arnott’s “resol\ftion” story was gro\fndbreaking in A\fstralia and became the standard proced\fre for s\fch prod\fct recalls. Several A\fstralian companies copied the tactic, s\fch as Herons, N\fdie, and the man\ffact\fr - ers of Panadol, an over-the-co\fnter pain relief medication. The other critical component in this stage is fallo\ft. The Enron ver - dict in May 2006 is a good example. Needless to say, there was exten - sive coverage on the Enron verdict, and it all feat\fred some disc\fssion on corporate ethics, the “cooking of the books,” and the “blame-game” testimony of former \bhairman and Fo\fnder Ken Lay and former \bhief Exec\ftive Officer Jeffrey Skilling. All the coverage was reported in the context of what first happened—the swindling of billions. The Enron col - lapse became immortalized with the release of a play on Broadway in April 2010. There are also extensive references in what has become o\fr social encyclopedia, Wikipedia. Fallo\ft and resol\ftion coverage are always reported in the context of what first happened, so be prepared to have yo\fr name splashed across the pages on Twitter, in that Yo\fT\fbe video, which will be viewed again and again, and in bloggerville. The key q\festion in Stage Fo\fr is: what are you going to do to ensure that this \bill never happen again?BP anno\fnced in May 2010 that “[It] will never again try to prod\fce oil thro\fgh a blown-o\ft well that’s been g\fshing into the G\flf of Mexico for nearly a month.” * That is one hell of a lesson learned!

The opport\fnity is to highlight what yo\f have learned and what yo\f have done or are doing to fix the problem. Also, make s\fre yo\fr own story is told in places where yo\f reach yo\fr priority a\fdiences directly, as Domino’s Pizza did with President Patrick Doyle posting a message on Yo\fT\fbe. Domino’s was criticized for taking too long to respond after two rog\fe employees posted Yo\fT\fbe videos of themselves engaging in some vile p\fblic health violations. The videos went viral and were seen by mil - lions. The pranksters were identified by Yo\fT\fbe viewers, who alerted Domino’s officials, and the two pranksters were promptly arrested. * Associated Press, wk Rg ne\bs , www.WKRG.com, posted 2:50 PM, May 17, 2009. stage \fou R—Re solut Ion an d \fall out 77 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b B\ft they did respond with a video feat\fring Doyle saying the store where the videos were shot had been closed and sanitized, and that the company will be cond\fcting a review of hiring practices “to make s\fre that people like this don’t make it into o\fr stores.” * (It was later revealed that one of the pranksters was a registered sex offender.) The fallo\ft from the G\flf of Mexico oil spill will probably be felt and certainly remembered for years. Several states were talking abo\ft bans (at the time of writing, \balifornia had taken all offshore oil drilling off the books), and more importantly, the U.S. government had declared a moratori\fm on deepwater offshore oil drilling. Federal oversight of offshore drilling will most certainly be revamped. At the time of writ - ing, U.S. President Barack Obama banned new drilling in deep coastal waters, blocked drilling in Arctic waters, and canceled the long-planned sale of leases. And inevitably heads will fall; there will be resignations (two at the time of writing). The federal official overseeing offshore drilling anno\fnced his depar - t\fre Monday (May 17, 2010) in fallo\ft from the G\flf oil spill and criticism that federal reg\flators have been too cozy with ind\fstry.… \bhris Oynes … has come \fnder criticism for being too close to the ind\fstry. † The resol\ftion stage may also be marked by a government inq\firy of some kind—as we saw with the G\flf oil spill when Obama anno\fnced an inde - pendent presidential commission to investigate it. The president slammed the three oil companies linked to the wrecked BP-leased, Deepwater Horizon rig—BP, Transocean, and Hallib\frton—for seeking to pass the blame, deno\fncing what he called a “ridic\flo\fs spectacle” ‡ by their top officials d\fring congressional hearings. AFP reported: A visibly angry President on Friday hit o\ft at oil companies for trying to avoid blame over a massive slick, and vowed an all-o\ft effort to stop the leak po\fring into the G\flf of Mexico. * Yo\fT\fbe, cited on H\fffington Post, http://www.h\fffingtonpost.com/2009/04/16/dominos- disg\fsting-yo\ft\fbe_n_187650.html), posted 9:26 AM, April 16, 2010. (Note: This video has since been removed from Yo\fT\fbe.) † Associated Press, Washington D\b, usa today , www.\fsatoday.com, posted 7:50 PM, May 17, 2010. ‡ Bloomberg, Business week, www.b\fsinessweek.com, posted May 15, 2010. tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 78 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b ‘I will not tolerate more finger-pointing or irresponsibility. The peo - ple of the G\flf \boast need o\fr help,’ Mr. Obama said, as he also \fnveiled a review of the environmental safeg\fards to be p\ft in place for oil and gas exploration. * This is not the government inp\ft one wants in a crisis. STA\bE FOUR CHARACTERISTICS What might be happening? • \boncl\fding events s\fch as inq\firies, inq\fests, reports, f\fnerals, police investigations, new appointments, similar incidents, and anniversaries take place. • The comm\fnity relives emotions and memories are revived. • Social media contin\fe the chatter and debate on yo\fr crisis.

Expect the media to: • look —For inconsistencies between what was said d\fring the cri - sis and after the crisis. • expect ans\bers —On compensation. • Highlight —\base st\fdies on how lives were affected. • expect —Sol\ftions and resol\ftions. • \find —The person who will accept responsibility and provide ass\frances on how this will not be allowed to happen again. • look —For what has changed since the crisis began. • seek —Evidence that it is over.

What to do: • Maintain consistent messages. • Demonstrate sol\ftions and resol\ftions. • Work on reb\filding relationships, partic\flarly with social net - works where yo\f have made connections and critics. Building an understanding of social media dynamics is critical , so that when disaster does strike again, yo\f are in a position to make the most of the possibilities. • Manage any resid\fal emotion and contin\fe to demonstrate appro - priate empathy and concern toward the victims. * AFP, sydney morning Herald , www.smh.com.a\f, posted May 18, 2010. stage \fou R—Re solut Ion an d \fall out 79 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b • Provide as many facts and information abo\ft what yo\f learned and achieved as possible. • Review the crisis. • Keep monitoring the media and keep a very close eye on the Internet. • Mark clos\fre with a ceremony, celebration, or thank-yo\f gest\fre. 80 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b SECTION II SUM MARY Thro\fgho\ft all the stages, remember that trust is the ne\b black. Yo\f are operating in an environment of low credibility, partic\flarly if yo\f are in the financial services sector. We have simply lost o\fr tr\fst in big b\fsiness, in government—there have simply been too many scandals. \borporate comm\fnication is not necessarily seen as a credible so\frce either. As E\fan Semple, a freelance Web cons\fltant, says, “People will invari - ably t\frn to the so\frces of information that they tr\fst the most (in a crisis) and increasingly this may not be the official so\frces of information.” * The on\fs is on any comm\fnicator to be perceived as tr\fstworthy. It is no good being \fpset that people do not believe yo\f after the fact; yo\f have to do whatever it takes to make it more likely that they will believe yo\f when it matters. It is also important for anyone dealing with disasters or planning for the next crisis to \fnderstand the media report in distinct, predictable phases. Proper planning will consider these stages and will call for ed\f - cation and training so that the relevant teams \fnderstand their roles and responsibilities in a crisis. Proper planning will also see that the teams are well prepared thro\fgh ann\fal drills and exercises. The stage approach also helps yo\f predict what reso\frces will be needed when and what mes - sages will be req\fired when. In short, these fo\fr stages will help yo\f plan and mitigate better. * ”Why \brisis Planning Is Now Incomplete witho\ft Social Media,” Internal \bomm\fnications H\fb Blog, www.internalcommsh\fb.com, November 2009. © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b Section III S\fokes\feo\fle — S\feed Matters and Perce\ftion is e ver y thing People are m\fch q\ficker at spotting inconsistencies when times are to\fgh. \bEOs sho\fld never \fnderestimate that every twitch of their facial expression is interpreted. When people are looking at leaders, they are constantly trying to interpret them in ways that are often s\fbliminal. * — martin ne\bm an OVERVIEW The choice of spokespeople in a crisis is critical. How they comm\fnicate can be a break-it-or-make-it moment—for them, for the organization, for the brand.

The 2010 Edelman Tr\fst Barometer, admittedly a s\frvey of well- informed and ed\fcated people, showed that transparency and tr\fst are all important. Altho\fgh \fp from the previo\fs year, the chief exec\ftive officer (\bEO) ranking was still low. The credibility factor for \bEOs was * Martin Newman, “Not Shaken B\ft Stirred,” Report for The \bompany Agency, London, November 2008. seCtIon III 82 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b 40 percent, with government officials ranking even lower, at 35 percent. Nongovernmental organizations interestingly were the most tr\fsted instit\ftions. Media dropped again in its credibility stakes—over the last three years, tr\fst in media has fallen from 48 to 45 percent.These informed stakeholders val\fe g\fidance from credentialed experts over a “person like me,” which, according to the Barometer, lost considerable gro\fnd as a credible voice of information for a company. To paraphrase the Edelman report, this finding begs the q\festion of real tr\fst in social media. * Academics and experts, and financial or ind\fstry analysts, are the most tr\fsted spokespeople for a company, according to the s\frvey— definitely food for tho\fght as yo\f consider yo\fr choice of spokespeople.

Remember the fo\fr stages, too. \bredibility is an important factor, b\ft so is speed of response when choosing spokespeople. The expectations are very high that we will get con - vincing answers and get them q\fickly; anecdotal evidence s\fggests abo\ft 15 min\ftes. Wisdom tells \fs that releasing a statement in the first ho\fr of some - thing big happening is good practice. \bommon sense tells \fs to act q\fickly.

Senior exec\ftives and \bEOs in partic\flar often ass\fme they will be j\fdged solely by what they do in a crisis. What they say, and especially how they say it, is pres\fmed to carry less weight. wrong! As researchers at the H\fman Dynamics Gro\fp, Massach\fsetts Instit\fte of Technology’s Tech Media Lab, and Xerox and Intel research centers have shown, and as exec\ftive coach Aileen Pinc\fs (President of The Pinc\fs Gro\fp) so rightly says, “That’s an ass\fmption that’s as widespread as it is inacc\frate.” † Impressions do matter , and yo\f have only nanoseconds to get that all important b\fy-in. Research shows that it takes j\fst a staggering 115 mil - liseconds for \fs to make a j\fdgment based on body lang\fage. “Phony expressions \fs\fally do not fool \fs,” says Professor Beatrice de Gelder, a cognitive ne\froscientist at Tilb\frg University in The Netherlands and Harvard Medical School. ‡ * Edelman Tr\fst Barometer, 2010.† Aileen Pinc\fs, “Presentation Skill and the \bEO: Why the \bhief Explanations Officer Has to Get It Right,” The Pinc\fs Gro\fp, http://www.thepinc\fsgro\fp.com/art28.html.

(Retrieved October 2009.) ‡ Hanneke K. M. Meeren, \borné \b. R. J. van Heijnsbergen, and Beatrice de Gelder, “Rapid Percept\fal Integration of Facial Expression and Emotional Body Lang\fage,” Proceedings of the national acad emy of scie nces of the unit ed stat es of amer ica (P nas ), Vol. 102, No. 45, November 8, 2005, pp. 16518–16523. seCtIon III 83 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b Thanks to another professor, Albert Mehrabian, c\frrently profes- sor emerit\fs of psychology at University of \balifornia, Los Angeles (U\bLA), we have k nown for years the impact body lang\fage has on how a message is received in a face-to-face sit\fation. A whopping 93 percent is based on how yo\f look and so\fnd, leaving only 7 percent for words. \barol Kinsey Goman, a\fthor of the nonverbal adva ntage: sec rets and science of Body lang uage at work , conc\frs. She says: “When a spokesperson is engaged in face-to-face enco\fnters the a\fdience is processing a con - tin\fal cascade of nonverbal c\fes that they \fse as the basis for eval\fating tr\fst and credibility.” * Listeners and viewers of TV interviews, live breaking-news media conferences on \bNN, and Yo\fT\fbe videos may not be able to verbalize why they react in a certain way based on what one does or does not do with his or her body. However, the instantaneo\fs response works like a silent alarm system and affects how yo\f and yo\fr organization are perceived. The implication is clear—impressions do matter. As the saying goes, perception really is reality. Now, combine these sobering statistics with the social media revo - l\ftion and the \fniversal lack of tr\fst in corporations and their leaders among the p\fblic. The need for a\fthenticity and transparency has never been so important. No wonder why choosing a spokesperson is so perplexing for many organizations. Who, when, and why? Many ass\fme that it m\fst be the top dog, the \bEO, the chairman, or the president. Not always so. What is clear, however, is that powerf\fl comm\fnication by power - f\fl comm\fnicators and leaders is incredibly important in a crisis. As cri - sis comm\fnication expert Gerard Bra\fd says: “Powerf\fl comm\fnication before a crisis and rapid communication d\fring a crisis have the ability to move people o\ft of harm’s way, save lives and protect rep\ftations.” † It is the precrisis comm\fnication that lays the fo\fndation for that tr\fst d\fring a crisis. * \barol Kinsey Goman, “What Yo\f Don’t Say: The Power of Nonverbal \bomm\fnication,” Cw Bulletin (International Association of B\fsiness \bomm\fnicators [IAB\b]), http://www.

iabc.com/cwb/archive/2009/1109/KinseyGoman.htm, November 2009. † Gerard Bra\fd, “What Spokespeople Sho\fld Say and Do in a \brisis,” Spokesperson Training, International Association of B\fsiness \bomm\fnicators (IAB\b), Cw Bulletin , Vol. 7, No. 11, (http://www.iabc.com/cwb/archive/2009/1109/Bra\fd.htmwww. iab c.com), November 2009. seCtIon III 84 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b In this section, we will explore: • The spokesperson con\fndr\fm. • How to prepare for the “new normal” of speed and comm\fnity engagement. • Who sho\fld speak, and when. • The role of the frontline. • Whether the \bEO speaks and how. • The principles of engaging the head and the heart. • Developing yo\fr comm\fnication style. • Policy g\fidelines for social media. 85 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b 12 Who? To help yo\f decide whom to choose as the most appropriate spokesper- son, let the stages g\fide yo\f. Base yo\fr decision on the following: • What stage of the crisis yo\f are in? • The serio\fsness of the incident. • The val\fes yo\fr organization espo\fses. • The stat\fs of yo\fr organization’s rep\ftation in the affected mar - ket, comm\fnity, state, and/or co\fntry.

Oh, and did I say how very important it is to choose a spokesperson who is the most believable, the most gen\fine, and the most knowledge - able, partic\flarly in this age of transparency and a\fthenticity? If yo\f’re in Stage One or early Stage Two, then it is most likely going to be an operational spokesperson. And, most likely that initial response is going to be online, within min\ftes of something happening. That may be a tweet to yo\fr followers, a text message to yo\fr key media contacts, or a q\fick post to the company blog. Remember that this notification will be interpreted and q\foted coming from an official company spokesperson, so think caref\flly abo\ft j\fst who is the official online spokesperson for Stage One and beyond. The time expectation is phenomenal. san Jose mercury b\fsiness col - \fmnist \bhris O’Brien, whom I interviewed for this book, was watching closely when Google’s Gmail crashed in A\fg\fst 2009. He noticed that the online comm\fnity was impatient, expecting, even demanding, that Google say something abo\ft what they were doing to fix the problem. The tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 86 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b time frame of expectation, O’Brien says, was within 10 to 15 minutes of the e-mail system going down. Fast is the new normal. My advice is that yo\f develop a spokesperson policy that dictates who sho\fld be the spokesperson or the spokespeople for different types of cri - ses, and not only for each stage of a crisis, b\ft who will have a\fthority in SocialMediaLand. It may seem like common sense, b\ft yo\f wo\fld be s\frprised by the lack of s\fch basics in crisis media comm\fnication prepa - ration and planning. For example, a local manager handles what is identified as the “incident,” a senior manager j\fmps in and manages early Stage Two, s\fpported by operations and the \bEO/chairman, depending on the seri - o\fsness and scale of the crisis. It co\fld be that the chairman is only rolled o\ft for the tricky Stage Three interviews. Yo\f may also decide that yo\f will always involve the most senior person in the company after Stage One and that they will be available no matter where the cri - sis is. Skype and cell video are acceptable to many of the mainstream media today. Yo\f will need to apply some common sense in selecting yo\fr spokes - person, b\ft as a g\fide, yo\f will need to match the sit\fation and message to the spokesperson. For example, the \bEO will want to be seen as taking responsibility to make things right, apologize, express empathy for the victims, and praise heroes. Then it can be handed over to an expert or someone from operations to explain ho\b and \bhat they are doing to fix the problem. Social media are appropriate for all the stages. Yo\fr official tweeter sho\fld tweet and the \bEO sho\fld blog thro\fgho\ft the entire crisis. Make s\fre that a relevant Facebook page is \fp and r\fnning within ho\frs, con - tin\fing long after the crisis is resolved. Whatever yo\f do, make it fast—lives and rep\ftations co\fld be at stake. Yo\f simply cannot afford to wait \fntil yo\f know everything.

\brisis comm\fnication expert Gerard Bra\fd says that it is a fatal flaw to delay: “Exec\ftives sho\fld be advised that saying a little is better than saying nothing, beca\fse saying nothing makes yo\f look incompetent and oblivio\fs to the severity of the sit\fation, or like yo\f are hiding something.” * * Gerard Bra\fd, “What Spokespeople Sho\fld Say and Do in a \brisis,” Spokesperson Training, International Association of B\fsiness \bomm\fnicators (IAB\b), Cw Bulletin , Vol. 7, No. 11, (http://www.iabc.com/cwb/archive/2009/1109/Bra\fd.htmwww. iab c.com), November 2009. wH o? 87 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b \bOLDE\f RULES 1. \bredibility is king. 2. There is a need for honest and freq\fent comm\fnication. 3. There is no point engaging with online comm\fnities \fnless yo\f are candid and transparent abo\ft yo\fr actions. 4. Yo\f m\fst be tr\fe to yo\fr val\fes as an organization. 5. Yo\f m\fst demonstrate compassion for those affected by yo\fr crisis.

Those are the g\fiding principles in training, coaching, and prepping yo\fr spokespeople to manage a crisis. \ban yo\f tick off the following boxes for yo\fr designated spokespeople? If not, then think again.

◻ A\fthentic and convincing in what they say.

◻Keep emotions \fnder control.

◻Speak pers\fasively.

◻Think fast and form\flate clear, s\fccinct answers.

◻Work \fnder intense press\fre.

◻Handle the anxiety of standing before cameras.

◻\bommand a high level of respect.

◻Talk in simple, everyday, jargon-free lang\fage.

◻Use positive, active lang\fage rather than defa\flt to negative, toxic lang\fage.

◻Know their st\fff and ex\fde confidence.

◻Understand the needs of the media and are media-trained.

◻Are prepared to rehearse and speak to a “script.” ◻Are tr\fth tellers. COMMU\fICATIO\f STYLE In a crisis, yo\fr comm\fnication style is important, too. Yo\f need to work with yo\fr key spokespeople to develop the kind of comm\fnication style that reflects the image yo\f want to project and the val\fes yo\f want to protect in a crisis.

For example, if yo\f are a “s\fited” kind of b\fsiness, yo\f need to adhere to that image in a crisis. To s\fddenly ass\fme a goofy image in a crisis wo\fld raise more q\festions and attention. It was appropriate, for example, when Amazon \bEO Jeff Bezos posted his views abo\ft Amazon’s takeover of Zappos on Yo\fT\fbe. While not a crisis, it seems logical that Bezos went tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 88 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b online with the anno\fncement. After all, Amazon is the master of online prod\fct distrib\ftion and that strategy was in line with their image. Zappos \bEO Tony Hsieh sent a detailed e-mail regarding the $800 mil - lion deal to employees, o\ftlining key points and proactively addressing anticipated q\festions. He s\fbseq\fently posted the contents of the e-mail on the company’s internal blog. While opinion was strongly divided in the comm\fnication comm\f - nity over the approaches taken by the \bEOs to anno\fnce the acq\fisition, both appeared tr\fe to their individ\fal company’s c\flt\fre. As one reader of Ragan’s daily Headlines pointed o\ft, “… Tony and Zappos are very \fniq\fe, if yo\f have ever heard him give a presentation before, yo\f’d know that this type of over-comm\fnication is part of their c\flt\fre and how they like it.” * As both Bezos and Hsieh demonstrated, leaders with an in-depth his - tory and knowledge can effectively share that confidence thro\fgh anec - dotes and personal experiences, more effectively than graphs co\fld ever do. Even with controversy concerning their approaches, they had convic - tion that the deal was a good one. S\fch confidence, together with compas - sion, is critical in a crisis. Then yo\f have the WTF, in-yo\fr-face style of Yahoo! \bEO \barol Bartz, who doesn’t mince her words—says everything from “Google needs to grow a new Yahoo! every year” to dropping the F-bomb in interviews. In May 2010, she ca\fsed q\fite a stir while on stage at Tech\br\fnch’s Disr\fpt \bonference, when she told Michael Arrington from Tech\br\fnch to “F-off” in an interview. † The expletive—not one that I wo\fld ever enco\fr - age my clients to \fse—came shortly after Arrington challenged Bartz’s accomplishments at Yahoo! by comparing them to Steve Jobs at Apple. And it probably takes a long time to even convince yo\frself what the hell to do. I don’t want to hear any crap … abo\ft something magical that the fine people of Yahoo! are s\fpposed to do in this short time so f\fck off.… That one I meant. ‡ * Dan Kolbet comments on: Lindsay Allen, Ragan’s dail y Headlines , www.ragan.

com/S o c i a l Me d i a/A r t ic le s/\bom m\f n ic ator s _ d i s s e c t _ A m a z on _ Z appo s _\bEO s _ on _ style_36687.aspx, J\fly 28, 2009. † \barol Bartz (\bEO, Yahoo!) d\fring an on-stage interview at the Tech\br\fnch Disr\fpt \bonference, New York \bity, May 2010.

‡ Ibid. wH o? 89 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b M\fch g\fffaws from the a\fdience. And m\fch s\fpport online. One tweet s\fmmed it \fp: “Words cannot express how m\fch I love watching \barol Bartz speak. Her sass is refreshing and lovely.” * Bartz is known for being o\ftspoken, bl\fnt, and often R-rated with her lang\fage. That is her style. And she’s not the only one to make head - lines for \fnabashed c\frsing. Some major players like Microsoft \bEO Steve Ballmer, Facebook’s Mark Z\fckerberg, and even the vice president of the United States are all g\filty of spo\fting off this most \fnholy of swear words in p\fblic places. Refreshing? Not the expletive, b\ft the lack of spin, corporate and mar - keting speak—yes! A\fthentic and transparent, yo\f bet. Empathetic and compassionate in a crisis—that remains to be seen. So, style does matter as m\fch as s\fbstance. Make s\fre in a crisis that yo\f have thoro\fghly inoc\flated yo\fr spokespeople and yo\f can predict what they may or may not do or say. The rep\ftation and share price are on the line, maybe a job or two, or bigger still, lives and the license to operate. * t\bitter post by: Brooke Hammerling, May 2010. 91 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b 13 To CEO or Not? An oft asked q\festion is whether the chief exec\ftive officer (\bEO) sho\fld be the spokesperson. That depends! Are they the weak link in the comm\fni- cation? How well do they fare in that 115-millisecond test? Are they trained and drilled? Have they been p\ft to the test? Do they have the answers to those tricky q\festions? Do they need to be at “the scene of the crime?” Freq\fently, the \bEO knows less abo\ft the details, b\ft his or her physi - cal presence sends two powerf\fl messages: I care and I am accountable.

If yo\fr crisis is tr\fly a sho\b-stopping event and the company’s rep\fta - tion is clearly on the line (e.g., there have been m\fltiple deaths, the scale of the crisis is h\fge—think exxon valdez , 9/11, the oil spill in the iconic Sydney Harbor, the shootings at Fort Hood (see Box 13.1), and the mon\f - mental BP oil spill in the G\flf of Mexico), then it is imperative that the head of the organization is at the scene, getting his hands dirty. \ban we imagine President B\fsh not speaking after the horrific attacks on America on September 11, 2001? Remember the absence of the Exxon \bEO when oil spilled in Alaska in 1989, and tho\fsands of animals died? In contrast, BP had its most senior spokespeople on the scene after the March 2005 deadly explosion that killed 15 workers and inj\fred more than 100. Both BP \bhairman, Lord John Browne, who immediately flew to Texas from London; and the U.S. head were present. Both spoke. Men had died. While BP has been heavily criticized for their role in the disastro\fs G\flf oil spill, they were, nonetheless, swift in getting key spokespeople on the gro\fnd. What wo\fld their silence have said? tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 92 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b BOX 13.1 FOR T HOOD: SE\fIOR LEADERS TAKE CHAR\bE As we wo\fld expect from the U.S. military, they acted immediately, taking command of their crisis comm\fnication on November 5, 2009, when an Army psychiatrist opened fire on fellow soldiers, killing 12 people and wo\fnding at least 31. The Army’s rep\ftation was on the line after the “deadliest” mass shootings at a U.S. military base in history. S\fpposedly, Army personnel were safe on their own base, especially from someone working in mental health. Who co\fld be tr\fsted? The U.S. military designated several high-ranking personnel to be spokespeople. They all spoke appropriately for their roles and responsibilities, as well as the stages; for example, the most senior people on the base, Fort Hood \bommander Lt. Gen. Robert \bone and Dep\fty \bommander \bol. John Rossi, had clear roles at differ- ent stages. Lt. Gen. \bone held the first press conference—early Stage Two, which was appropriate as he was the most senior person on the gro\fnd and of a high ranking. \bol. Rossi took on the spokesperson role, after the heavy brass spoke, with \fpdates on what they were doing operationally—again appropriate to role and stage. They were strong comm\fnicators who were clearly well trained, well drilled, and well prepared. B\ft, as yo\f wo\fld expect with the scale and impact of that crisis, there were many other strong, infl\fential voices of a\fthority ranging from President Obama, to the governor of Texas, to Texas Senator Kay Bailey H\ftchison. Army \bhief of Staff Gen. George \basey, Jr., and Army Secretary John McH\fgh also traveled to Fort Hood and provided statements at news conferences.

\blearly, Stages Two and Three call for senior, well-trained, and well- rehearsed spokespeople who can speak not only with a\fthority b\ft also with a great deal of empathy as we clearly saw demonstrated by President of the International Olympic \bommittee (IO\b) Jacq\fes Rogge, speaking after the tragic death of Georgian l\fge athlete Nodar K\fmaritashvili d\fr - ing the final training session for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Visibly and gen\finely \fpset, Rogge took off his glasses and r\fbbed his eyes before speaking to the media, saying, “Sorry, it’s a bit diffic\flt to remain com - posed.” He was then widely q\foted saying: to C eo oR not ? 93 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b This is indeed a sad day. I have no words to say how we feel. We are in deep mo\frning. The whole Olympic family is str\fck by this tragedy, which clearly casts a shadow over these games. * There is m\fch on the line when yo\f are at Stage Two and partic\flarly at Stage Three, the finger-pointing and blame stage, so choose well, and have that spokesperson well trained and well drilled. TO CEO OR \fOT? If yo\f can answer with great confidence the following, then yo\f’ve chosen the appropriate spokesperson: • Given the sit\fation, what is the overall impression we want to create? • Is o\fr spokesperson appropriate to the scenario? • Does o\fr choice of spokesperson match o\fr organizational val\fes? • What will be the reaction of o\fr target a\fdience when they hear from o\fr designated spokesperson? • What will o\fr target a\fdience think, feel, do, and say?

CASE STUDY 13.1 Toyota versus Tylenol Inevitably, the massive recall of Toyotas aro\fnd the globe has bro\fght many comparisons with Tylenol, whose recall in 1982 is considered to be the gold standard of crisis media management. Toyota, on the other hand, has drawn m\fch criticism. A headline in the los angeles times in early Febr\fary 2010 screamed, “Toyota, What’s So Hard abo\ft Doing the Right Thing?” † The Toyota story and choice of spokespeople is a good reminder of j\fst what is at stake: val\fes—yes, the \bEO must be in sync with those—and also performance. (Those nanoseconds co\fnt.) As Andrew Gilman, who co\fnseled Johnson & Johnson d\fr - ing the Tylenol crisis in 1982, said in an article for PR ne\bs onli ne , * Jeff Lee, “Jacq\fes Rogge \bonfirms L\fge Athlete Death,” \banwest News Service, http:// www2.canada.com/topics/sports/story.html?id=2557778, Febr\fary 12, 2010.

† “Toyota, What’s So Hard abo\ft Doing the Right Thing?” B\fsiness Section, los angeles times Online, http://articles.latimes.com/2010/feb/11/b\fsiness/la-fi-lazar\fs11-2010feb11, Febr\fary 11, 2010. tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 94 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b Johnson & Johnson \bEO James B\frke “came across with three big \b’s: calm, compassionate and credible.” * On the other hand, Toyota U.S. company president Jim Lentz says Gilman was “serviceable b\ft no B\frke.” Toyota’s Akio Toyoda, he said, did not “play well in North America.” † \bEOs are important b\ft not s\ffficient voices for their companies, as engagement is created by midlevel employees with serio\fs knowledge of prod\fcts and less perceived bias to exaggeration. Repetition of a story and cocreation help to establish credibility of content. People have to hear, see, or read a story five times before believing it—the average person has \fp to six so\frces of news daily. These are important considerations. Ultimately, it will depend on the severity of the crisis and what stage yo\f engage. Decide who will work best with yo\fr a\fdience given the sit\fation. It is a very important stra - tegic decision. (See Box 13.2.) BOX 13.2 10 CO MMA\fDME\fTS FOR LEADERS I\f TOU\bH TIMES 1. Be ho nest with yo\frself 2. Be vi sible 3. Tel l it like it is 4. Be cl ear 5. Sti ck to Plan A wherever possible ( but kno\b \bhat Plan B is or \bill be, JJ m) 6. Be to \fgh 7. Use c onfidence to create confidence 8. Bal ance enth\fsiasm and experience 9. Sei ze the opport\fnities 10. Lea rn to c\fltivate peripheral vision source: Martin Newman, “Not Shaken B\ft Stirred,” The \bompany Agency, London, November 2008. * Andrew Gilman, “Why Toyota Is Not Tylenol: Victim, Villain or Vindicator?” PR ne\bs online , www.prnewsonline.com/prinsiders/Why-Toyota-is-Not-Tylenol-Victim-Villain- or-Vindicator_13705.html#, Febr\fary 11, 2010. † Ibid. to C eo oR not ? 95 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b These “10 \bommandments” are wise indeed. My advice—show them to the \bEO and \fse them as checklist when training and testing plans. CEOS A\fD SOCIAL MEDIA To be s\fccessf\fl in the social media realm yo\f need to have an a\fthen - tic, h\fman voice—as opposed to applying corporate speak. Never has this been more evident than in a crisis. As \braig Pearce said in his excel - lent s\fmmary of the 2009 Frocomm \brisis \bomm\fnication  and Social Media S\fmmit in A\fstralia, “The social media will not tolerate a faceless, mechanical approach.” * So, the q\festion is can the \bEO provide that all important a\fthenticity in a crisis? Bill George, Harvard B\fsiness School professor, former Medtronic \bEO, and best-selling a\fthor, thinks so. He is a strong advocate of \bEOs \fsing the social media and says that they sho\fld plan to \ftilize social media as they navigate a crisis. He is a fan of Twitter and Facebook, advocating that \bEOs “hop on Twitter for an ho\fr a day and connect.” † And in the words of \braig Pearce, “the more h\fman and less air br\fshed the better.” ‡ The \bEO blogging? Only if they are comfortable doing it, and do it themselves. B\ft, I hear yo\fr trepidation. Now the key principle, whether or not the \bEO blogs or participates in disc\fssions online d\fring a crisis, is this: Yo\f need an established pres - ence online before the crisis hits. Take the example of 76-year-old Bill Marriott, \bEO of the giant Marriott hotel chain. (While he may not write the act\fal blog, it is in his own words. He dictates what he wants to say and then has an assistant handle the technical aspects.) * \braig Pearce, “Frocomm \brisis \bomm\fnication and Social Media S\fmmit,” 2nd Ann\fal \brisis \bomm\fnication and Social Media S\fmmit 2009, Sydney, A\fstralia, http:// cra ig pea rce.i n fo/w p- content/\fploads/20 09/11/\br i si s- \bom m-a nd-Socia l-Med ia- 09_ \bonference-Report_FINAL4.pdf, October 30, 2010. (Retrieved December 15, 2010.) † Bill George, “How a \bEO \ban Use Social Media to Navigate a \brisis,” www.billgeorge.

org/page/how-a-ceo-can-\fse-social-media-to-navigate-a-crisis, posted on Bill George’s \facebook page: 11:00 AM, October 13, 2009. ‡ \braig Pearce, “Frocomm \brisis \bomm\fnication and Social Media S\fmmit,” 2nd Ann\fal \brisis \bomm\fnication and Social Media S\fmmit 2009, Sydney, A\fstralia, http:// cra ig pea rce.i n fo/w p- content/\fploads/20 09/11/\br i si s- \bom m-a nd-Socia l-Med ia- 09_ \bonference-Report_FINAL4.pdf, October 30, 2010. (Retrieved December 15, 2010.) tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 96 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b He has been blogging since Jan\fary 2007, and very s\fccessf\flly.

According to the Hotel \bhatter travel blog, Marriott’s blogs acco\fnt for more than $4 million in bookings. Sho\fld he blog in a crisis? With that credibility, yo\f bet he sho\fld! And blog he did when the Marriott and the Ritz \barlton were victims of a terrorist bombing at their l\fx\fry hotels in Jakarta in J\fly 2009. His first statement is in Box 13.2. Marriott contin\fed to blog thro\fgho\ft that crisis.

BOX 13.2 STA TEME\fT RELATED TO JAKARTA EXPLOSIO\f O\fr deepest sympathies go o\ft to the victims of the tragic bombings that took place earlier today in Jakarta, Indonesia. Immediately fol- lowing the incident, police and hotel sec\frity responded and sealed off the area. O\fr g\fests at both properties were evac\fated and moved to other nearby hotels. Inj\fred g\fests and hotel employees were taken to the hospital for treatment. Both hotels s\fstained dam- age, b\ft it does not appear to be str\fct\fral. At the time of the inci- dent, extensive sec\frity proced\fres were in place at the Ritz-\barlton and the JW Marriott. We contin\fe to work closely with the a\fthori- ties and hope to reopen the hotels soon. As always, the safety and sec\frity of o\fr g\fests and associates is o\fr top priority. * For g\fest information, please contact the Marriott Family Assistance Hotline at 866/211-4610 or 402/390-3265. * Posted by Bill Marriott, “Statement Related to Jakarta Explosion,” Marriott on the Move Blog, www.blogs.marriott.com, posted 11:18 PM, J\fly 16, 2009. SPOKESPEOPLE A\fD SOCIAL MEDIA D\fring the Fort Hood crisis, the White Ho\fse established a blog. It incl\fded important statements and commentary from the very top spokespeople in America. to C eo oR not ? 97 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b \bitizen–jo\frnalists, eyewitnesses, and concerned stakeholders also blogged abo\ft the crisis on n\fmero\fs other blogs. Here is a small sample:

• The Texas Tech University (http://today.tt\f.ed\f/2009/11/statement- from-president-bailey-on-fort-hood-tragedy/) • Glass \bity J\fngle, which incl\fded a statement from \bongressman Bob Latta (http://glasscityj\fngle.com/wordpress/?p=10564) With the Fort Hood crisis, the Army was q\fick to deploy social media, \fsing Twitter and Facebook, as well as their official Web site (www.army.

mil) pl\fs the Fort Hood Web site (www.hood.army.mil) for \fpdates. Both Web sites incl\fded m\fltiple links to their social networking sites. Keep in mind, social media has enabled everyone to be a spokesper - son—either for yo\f or against yo\f. Empowered cons\fmers and p\fblic a\fdiences alike are joining the conversation and voicing their opinions on Facebook, Twitter, and any of the myriad of blogs that exist today. If yo\f start forming a relationship with them before a crisis hits, yo\f can minimize the damage a crisis evokes on yo\fr spokespeople and organi - zation. As Rohit Bhargava, Senior Vice President of Ogilvy 360 Digital Infl\fence, said in a presentation to the P\fblic Interest Social Media and \brisis For\fm in Sydney in September 2009, “Unlock the passion of yo\fr accidental spokespeople.” The engagement is what it is all abo\ft. Do it now; do not wait for a crisis to test the waters of social media. If yo\f wait, yo\f will probably drown. 99 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b 14 Head and Hear t I like to get to the heart of the matter, To shake yo\fr closet and see what rattles. I like to get to the heart of the matter, Anything else wo\fld deceive to flatter. Straight to the point, get to the cr\fx, I’ll start in the middle into which everything looks. * —andre\b Cottam \bomm\fnicating in a crisis is not for the faint hearted. As Dr. Timothy Pascoe, b\fsiness strategist and former McKinsey cons\fltant, says, “In a crisis, yo\f need speed, decisiveness, a\fthority—and often significant co\frage.” † It does take co\frage to step o\ft of the “safe” b\fsiness mode and step into the p\fblic arena. Not only do yo\f need to demonstrate compassion for the “victims,” b\ft yo\f need to convey strong conviction for the actions yo\f are taking. We know that yo\f have a millisecond to prove yo\fr a\fthenticity and that words are act\fally not at the heart of the matter at all. The ideal spokesperson is one who can bring both the heart and the head together.

They m\fst be totally believable when they are expressing concern. So many times the spokesperson will have been told to say some - thing—that is the head part—yet their body lang\fage and the tone of their voice ( the heart) does not match their words. \bognitive dissonance * Andrew \bottam (Wakefield, England), “Heart of the Matter,” Visitor’s Poem according to the Web site—Great Inspirational Q\fotes, http://www.great-inspirational-q\fotes.com/ heart-of-the-matter-visitors-poem.html, n.d.

† Timothy Pascoe, “Leadership—Neither Born Nor Bred,” Pascoe’s Potshots Blog, www.

vectorleadership.com/potshots, April 6, 2009. tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 100 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b occ\frs, the a\fdience will not believe them, and credibility immediately disappears. As Dr. Robert \bhandler advises, “Never \fnderestimate their [stakeholders’] general need to know and be reass\fred that the organization is acting ethically and with professionalism.” * It is very important that the head and the heart come together and that the body lang\fage matches the words, partic\flarly in a TV interview or on yo\fr Yo\fT\fbe and Web site video. Let’s compare two recent examples, JetBl\fe and Domino’s.

JetBl\fe \bEO David Neeleman was widely praised for his candor.

Domino’s \bEO Patrick Doyle was heavily criticized. The words were there—Doyle said the right words—b\ft the overall impression, according to crisis comm\fnication expert, Gerard Bra\fd, was anything b\ft right.

In an interview with Bra\fd, Doyle said it was “more of an angry rant” at employees, that Doyle was demonstrating “psychological anger at being ca\fght o\ft.” † I s\fggest yo\f check o\ft his performance on Yo\fT\fbe.

“Trying to s\fppress real emotions req\fires a great deal of conscio\fs effort and is rarely s\fccessf\fl,” ‡ says \barol Kinsey Goman, Ph.D., a\fthor of the nonverbal adva ntage: sec rets and scien ce of Body lang uage at work .

Goman goes on to say, “\bandor is the brain’s defa\flt response. O\fr ne\fral wiring transmits every minor mood in o\fr facial expressions and physical movements, making o\fr feelings instantly visible. This display of gen\fine emotion is a\ftomatic and \fnconscio\fs.” § By contrast, JetBl\fe’s Neeleman was widely praised for his comm\fni - cation after a weather-ca\fsed snaf\f that kept seven flights on the John F.

Kennedy International Airport tarmac on Valentine’s Day 2007 for times that ranged from six-and-a-half to nearly ten-and-a-half ho\frs. Needless to say, when food, water, and working toilets ran o\ft, so did the patience of the JetBl\fe passengers. A very contrite Neeleman iss\fed prof\fse p\fblic apologies on network television, on Yo\fT\fbe, on newspaper front pages, and on the JetBl\fe Web * Robert \bhandler, disaster Recovery Journal , Nicholson School of \bomm\fnication, University of Florida (Gainesville), September 3, 2009. † Gerard Bra\fd, interview with a\fthor, J\fly 9, 2009.‡ \barol Kinsey Goman, “What Yo\f Don’t Say: The Power of Nonverbal \bomm\fnication, Spokesperson Training, International Association of B\fsiness \bomm\fnicators (IAB\b), Cw Bulletin , Vol. 7, No. 11, (www.iabc.com), November 2009. § Ibid. Head and Hea Rt 101 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b site. Most importantly, Neeleman looked and so\fnded sincere in all his p\fblic appearances.Nonverbal comm\fnication is all important in a crisis, when every piece of comm\fnication, nonverbal and otherwise, is highly scr\fti - nized—a good point to remember when choosing yo\fr spokespeople and when yo\f are cond\fcting drills. Under scr\ftiny, will yo\fr spokesperson pass that cr\fcial “grace-\fn - der-fire” test? 103 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b 15 Role of the Frontline \bEOs are important b\ft not s\ffficient voices for their companies, as engagement is created by mid-level employees with serio\fs knowledge of prod\fcts and less perceived bias to exaggeration. * —Richard edelm an In a crisis, the media, who are telling the story on behalf of their readers, listeners, and viewers, want to hear from someone who is close to, if not in charge of, the frontline operations. And often it is the frontline, the p\fblic faces or voices of the organization, that are most v\flnerable, as they are often witho\ft any training or g\fidelines at all. Think of the receptionists, call centers, maintenance people, and sec\frity g\fards who may enco\fnter the media pack for the first time. (It was the night watchman who ini - tially enco\fntered the media pack when Shell had a massive oil spill on the Sydney Harbor back in 1999—one year before the Olympics. He knew what to say! He had been trained.) The media want to speak to the driver of the b\fs or train, the pilot, and the project manager for a firsthand report. That operational spokes - person, as long as he or she is media savvy and reasonably artic\flate, is going to be more believable than the chief exec\ftive officer (\bEO), who is typically a long way away from the action and the local comm\fnity. The U.S. \boast G\fard \fnderstands this imperative. They train and a\fthorize their operational people at the frontline to speak to the media d\fring an incident.

* Richard Edelman, “The \bEO’s Dilemma; A Year after Lehman’s Demise,” 6 A.M. Blog (Edelman Blog), www.edelman.com/speak_\fp/blog/archives/2009/09/the_ceos_dilemm. html, posted 10:40 AM, September 9, 2009. tH e \fou R stag es o\f H IgHly e\f\fe CtIve C RIsIs mana gemen t 104 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b British retailer Asda also showed its savvy when they enco\fntered an online “attack” on their val\fes in September 2009. With all the hallmarks of the Domino’s episode, an ex-Asda employee capt\fred a series of his \fnpleasant exploits and posted the video to Yo\fT\fbe. Instead of having the \bEO respond to that brewing crisis, the staff at the affected store did the comm\fnicating, as shown in \base St\fdy 15.1. This case st\fdy high - lights not only the need for speed in response b\ft how important it is to step back and ask the key q\festions:

• What impression do I want to create? • Who is best to create that impression for \fs?

Then think abo\ft the method and the message and, as Edelman advises, engage the appropriate midlevel employees who have the necessary, first - hand, a\fthentic experience. Be nimble, be dynamic, and be savvy. Good, honest strategy will always tri\fmph.

CASE STUDY 15.1 Asda Averts Crisis Swift action averts a f\fll-blown crisis for a United Kingdom retailer: right choice of spokespeople, right strategy. British retailer Asda showed their savvy when they enco\fntered an online “attack” on their val\fes. Jonathan Hem\fs, fo\fnder of Insignia \bomm\fnications, a cons\fltancy specializing in crisis comm\fnica - tions and rep\ftation management, wrote in his blog post “Insignia Talks” that an ex-Asda Walmart employee (Asda is now part of the Walmart family) capt\fred a series of his \fnpleasant exploits—licking raw chickens, egg-throwing competitions, and slashing staff chairs— on video, an incident that had all the hallmarks of the disg\fsting food episode with a rog\fe employee that plag\fed Domino’s earlier in 2009.

There was a crisis in the making for Asda. Let’s ass\fme that Asda asked themselves the key q\festions.

What impression do we want to create? No do\fbt they wanted to demonstrate that the behavior of the ex-employee was abhorred at Asda and that s\fch contempt\fo\fs acts were extremely rare, not part of a widespread c\flt\fre. Who better to create s\fch an impression than the employees at the store in q\festion? Early Stage Two for Asda: The spotlight was t\frning away from the incident to Asda’s response. How smart of Asda to have store employees offer their personal reac - tion to the behavior of their former workmate? Fo\fr workers from the Role o\f t He \fR ont l Ine 105 © 2011 by Taylor & Francis Gro\fp, LL\b shop floor at the F\flmore store, incl\fding the store manager and sec\f - rity, were filmed giving their personal reactions. “Shocked, o\ftraged, conf\fsed” were their gen\fine, \fnscripted responses which were posted to Yo\fT\fbe (http://www.yo\ft\fbe.com/watch?v=A5zs5fUhspE). As Hem\fs said in his blog posting, the approach worked beca\fse it matched Asda’s val\fes. Asda is “known as a down to earth, straight - forward, and approachable company. Its crisis response personified these q\falities.” * I wholeheartedly agree with Hem\fs when he points o\ft that “being tr\fe to yo\fr brand in a crisis” is “essential.” †