The document provides guidance on crisis communication and media relations during an organizational crisis. It outlines establishing an emergency PR headquarters and notifying internal and external stakeholders. It also discusses preparing basic media materials like fact sheets and news releases with only factual information. The document recommends establishing a public information center and media information center to respond to inquiries and hold press conferences to provide updates and maintain a unified voice.

1. MEDIA
RELATIONS
370
CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS

2. CRISIS COMMUNICATION
EMERGENCY CHECKLIST
•PR Emergency Headquarters created. The PR Director stays
here and supervises designated staff.
• Notification and liaison.
• Internal: Notify CEO and other top officials on a need to know
basis.
• External: Notify the media, law enforcement, government
agencies, next of kin (announce names to public after
notification or within 24 hours.

3. CRISIS COMMUNICATION
Prepare Media Materials
1. Have company backgrounder, fact sheet and bios of officers
already prepared on the company website.
2. Prepare basic news release on crisis as soon as possible (one-
hour rule)
• Include all known facts (who, what, where when, NOT NOT NOT
NOT NOT why...avoid fault)
• Be certain information is accurate
• Clear release with senior management, legal department and
personnel department.
• Issue release to media, employees, community
leaders, insurance company and government agencies. Get it on
the website. Use fax and email.

4. CRISIS
COMMUNICATION
3. Issue timely statements in an ongoing crisis.
4. Use one-voice principle-information only from official
organizational statements.
5. Use full disclosure, but don’t admit fault. Let investigators
investigate. Cooperate with those investigators.

5. CRISIS COMMUNICATION
PUBLIC INFO CENTER
1.Establish a public information center somewhere within the PR
HQ
2.Respond to phone, email and social media inquiries. 3.If you
don’t know the answer, it’s OK. Explain how you will get the info
and release it to the public.
4. Hold meetings with groups as needed to clarify misinformation.
5.Have a call center if needed.
6.Direct company employees to make no unauthorized
statements.

6. CRISIS COMMUNICATION
MEDIA INFO CENTER
1. Designate a place where the media can gather. Know they’ll be
all over the place anyway. Know they will try and bypass the one-
voice principle
2. Try and create some distance from the PR HQ. You’ll need the
space. Close, but not too close.
3. Have a sole spokesperson on duty day and night.

7. CRISIS COMMUNICATION
WHAT I WISH I KNEW
1.You have never appreciate the chaos.
2.You can never underestimate how important separation is of the
media center and PR HQ.
3. The more you plan, the better it goes. 4
4. Consider set press conferences every few hours.
.This helps dispel rumors the media will uncover.
This symbolizes you’re working.
This gives a chance to get various stakeholders in front of
the camera to present one voice.

8. STUFF THE BOOK
DOESN’T TELL YOU
•There are three ways I target bloggers
• www.technorati.com
• www.blogged.com
• Good old fashioned grunt work
• What blogs are bloggers reading?
• RSS feeds
• Follow the trail….
• Bloggers can be your best friend or worst enemy.
• Prepare for both.

9. BLOGGER RELATIONS
THE DIFFERENCES
• 77% of Internet users read blogs
• 89% of journalists conduct research on blogs
• 72% of bloggers blog to share experience
• 61% of bloggers supplement their income by blogging

10. BLOGGER RELATIONS
THE DIFFERENCES
• Bloggers don’t break news
• Bloggers answer to readers and communities, not editors
or news directors
• Bloggers didn’t graduate from J school, let alone Scripps
• Bloggers don’t have daily deadline; they don’t need press
releases
• Bloggers can get paid to promote products; they just have
to disclose payments.

11. BLOGGER RELATIONS
• Define The Ask
• Do you want to giveaway products?
• Do you want a guest post?
• Do you want an interview?
• Do you want to be part of their links page?
• Do you want permission to use their name as part of future
outreach?

12. BLOGGER RELATIONS
• Build A Relationship
• What do they like to write about?
• How do they want to be pitched?
• How far in advance to they work?
• What is their favorite post?
• Make The Relationship Last
• Many bloggers use their blog as a revenue generating
instrument.
• How can PR pro drive quality traffic to the site.
• Link Building
• @mentions on Twitter and Facebook.

13. BLOGGER RELATIONS
• Content
• Product Reviews
• Research Findings
• New Data
• Justification: Offer a simple declarative sentence as to
why anything you’re pitching would matter to the
blogger’s readership.
• Does it solver a reader’s problem?
• Will it spark a conversation that helps generate more traffic
to the blog?
• Are you responding to the blogger’s needs?