by Harry Rucker

Created on: October 30, 2008

Prior to and during a crisis situation the media can be a very valuable tool in getting messages out to the affected stakeholders as well as the whole world. This is why the media must be treated with courtesy and their deadlines adhered to. Messages must also be accurate and supported by professional knowledge.

Prior to a crisis an organization should insure that all messages are deemed unclassified, accurate, and appropriate for the crisis situation and backed by authoritative figures on the subject matter. This builds credibility between the organization or response team and the media. The media will then be confident in the organizations credibility and relay the message to the stakeholders.

During the crisis situation information will be in high demand by the media. The organization must consistently provide the media verified information backed by scientific expertise. The media, like the stakeholders, will have a genuine concern during the crisis; the organization can use this concern to its advantage by getting important information out to the public. To make things easier, a Joint Information Center (JIC) should be set up at a safe location so that the different media outlets can receive the information in a timely manner.

There are various ways for an organization to get their information to the media during a crisis situation. The written word in form of a media release ensures consistency and allows for no miss-quotes, however this process may take time and my also cause the reporter to miss important deadlines. Press conferences allow credible sources and politicians to have a face to face question an answer session with the media. This shows that the organization cares enough to address the stakeholders directly, but these press conferences are sometimes difficult to organize, especially in a crisis zone and some professionals may not be available. Satellite media tours, telephone news conferences, commercial news releases, e-mail list serves and broadcast faxes, and websites all have there advantages to helping reporters get the information they need.

Reporters have a very demanding job and during a crisis situation this can build on the stress of it. Organization should take this into account and always remain prepared and accommodate the reported with the most up to date information. If facts aren't available the organization should communicate that to the reporter and never fabricate it. This way, mistakes will not be made in the release and a media crisis will be prevented.

References

Working effectively with the media. Retrieved August 10, 2008, Web site: http://www.orau.gov/cdcynergy/erc/Content/activeinfo rmation/essential_principles/EP-media_content.htm

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