Haiti: Crisis Communication
by Michael Perini, ABC
perini & associates
You don’t have to look long to find officials at all levels, in and out of government and among competing humanitarian organizations, being critical of Haiti’s relief efforts. For example, check out Foreign Policy.
Having first-hand experience with the U.S. military’s Katrina crisis communication strategy and practices, I see some lessons needing to be relearned from our own national disaster.
1. Early and often! A key element of telling the story in a disaster is starting your media presence within hours. I am talking 1-3 max. Most leaders want to wait until they have all the answers. 6, 8 or 24 hours later. Finding that optimal time to talk to the media is a delicate balance, but your organization’s credibility is on the line and so you really don’t have much of a choice.
My experience, having been out in front of the media in crisis, is to start early with a statement of facts, as best you know them, and schedule regular updates for more information. It is a global world so factor in the international media.
Comments reflecting how you plan to manage the situation, that you will or have already assembled the best people, and plan to provide an assessment of the magnitude of the situation, will prove beneficial in the days ahead as you step in front of the camera or use other methods to tell your story.
The world of having the luxury to wait 24 hours after a tragic event, whether local, regional, national or international is GONE! It ended about the time MTV first aired but some senior leaders, again, want to wait. Let me repeat, every story is now global. Online media sources have changed that for all of us in the public relations business. Criticism will mount for your organization and/or activity the longer you wait.
Now, with the new social media entering into the message flow, again waiting is not smart and once you lose your platform for providing facts you will find most of your time spent getting it back as the media will find others to talk in the vacuum you left behind. Clearly, it ‘s a difficult challenge but one that can be managed with a solid strategy and good practices
2. That “talking “head”. There are many who want to be “talking heads” when the media arrives. The challenge of a PR professional is to work with the organizations involved and establish that “on-air” person. Experience has shown that the higher up the organization you go to find that individual the more credibility you have with audiences. One word of caution: Don’t put your senior representative out to the media unless you have practiced, practiced and practiced. Stepping in front of the international media is not the place for a training session. A service we provide is an executive media-training program. Recommend you hold a session on an annual basis with everyone in your organization or activity who might be a spokesperson. A refresher is a good idea just prior to stepping to the global stage.
3. Putting out fires. In Haiti, within 24 hours there were numerous excited and relevatory reports of looting, yet it took several days into the recovery efforts before senior U.N. and Haiti officials responded. Here is just one quote. “It’s clear that it is happening,” said Alain Le Roy, the U.N.’s top peacekeeping official. “But it has happened in Haiti for decades. There was always looting here and there.” A lesson in Haiti’s cultural and historical predilection for looting was no longer of relevance.
After a tragic incident a public relations strategy must be put in place to find, seek and yes “destroy” those stories that don’t seem to be based in fact. One method we recommend is setting up a group to find and “fix” these reports. The group can be of various sizes but it needs to be an integrated part of the crisis communication strategy. A systematic approach with metrics of finding, correcting and disseminating the right information is critical. My point is, when I started out in this business you had 24 hours to get your message to the media; today you have 24 seconds. Accuracy is critical.
There is still much to discuss on crisis communication. Future posts will highlight some more key elements of success.
I would like to hear comments from pre- and post- MTV generations.