This document provides guidance on managing content during a crisis. It discusses the importance of acting quickly to become an authoritative information source. When preparing content, organizations should focus on facts of the situation, actions they are taking to address it, and expressing empathy for those impacted. Specific examples are provided for crafting statements that convey these elements in a way that influences perception and maintains trust. The document advises tailoring messages for different audiences and using multiple channels of communication to disseminate information.

1. Managing
Content
in
a
Crisis
PRORP
Interna1onal
Congress
By
Joan
Gladstone,
APR,
Fellow
PRSA
Gladstone
Interna1onal
www.gladstonepr.com

2. Why
comment
in
a
crisis?

3. Dic1onary
defini1on
of
a
spokesperson:
Someone
whose
job
is
to
officially
represent
an
organiza1on,
for
example
in
dealing
with
reporters

4. My
defini1on
of
a
spokesperson:
Anyone
who
speaks

5.
How
do
you
influence
percep1on
and
preserve
your
reputa1on
in
a
crisis?
Become
an
authorita1ve
source
of
informa1on
to
reporters,
key
audiences
and
the
general
public

6. Act
quickly
to
influence
the
all-­‐
important
FIRST
stories
and
posts

7. Three
key
elements
to
consider
when
preparing
content
during
a
crisis
1.
Facts
2.
Ac1on
3.
Empathy

8. 1.
Facts
Know
that
you
won’t
have
all
the
facts
in
the
early
stages
of
a
crisis.
Communicate
the
facts
you
DO
have.
Add
new
informa1on
as
it
becomes
available

9. Key
Ques1ons
• WHO
was
impacted?
• WHAT
happened?
• WHERE
did
the
incident
happen?
• WHEN
did
you
find
out?
• WHY
or
HOW
did
it
happen?
• HOW
will
you
prevent
something
like
this
from
happening
again?

10. Roller
Coaster
Accident

11. First
Media
Statement
We
can
confirm
that
a
man
was
in
an
accident
at
our
theme
park.
He
was
immediately
taken
to
a
hospital.

12. Two
weeks
later,
two
TV
sta1ons
call
for
comment
Do
you
go
on
camera?

13. Follow-­‐up
Statement
Since
Mr.
Thomas’
unfortunate
accident
on
March
6,
2014,
we
have
fully
cooperated
with
the
(city)
police
department
and
(state)
Department
of
Safety.
We
are
commided
to
con1nuing
to
work
with
the
authori1es
as
they
inves1gate
the
cause
of
the
accident.
We
have
reached
out
to
Mr.
Thomas
and
his
family
to
offer
our
sincere
apologies
and
wishes
for
his
speedy
recovery.

14. Media
Statement
(con1nued)
This
is
the
first
1me
that
an
accident
of
this
type
has
occurred
at
our
theme
park.
We
take
guest
safety
very
seriously
and
are
conduc1ng
our
own
internal
inves1ga1on.
We
will
take
all
ac1ons
necessary
to
ensure
that
this
adrac1on
and
all
of
our
adrac1ons
operate
in
a
safe
manner.
The
roller
coaster
will
remain
closed
pending
the
results
of
the
inves1ga1on

15. 2.
Ac1on
Change
the
focus
from
the
media
to
those
impacted
by
the
incident
Describe
what
you
are
doing
now,
and
what
you
plan
to
do,
to
build
TRUST

16. Preschool
Incident

17. Immediate
Ac1ons
• No1fied
the
state
licensing
agency
• Sent
a
leder
to
all
preschool
parents
• Provided
a
statement
to
the
media
• Scheduled
a
parents-­‐only
mee1ng
• Ordered
a
temporary
suspension
of
opera1ons
for
five
days
for
intensive
staff
training
and
thorough
review
of
opera1ons

18. 3.
Empathy
When
an
incident
impacts
people,
property
or
the
environment,
your
organiza1on’s
primary
role
is
to
express
compassion
and
reassure
those
affected

19. Lead
from
the
Heart
• Choose
your
spokesperson
wisely
• Discuss
tone
&
demeanor
• Even
if
reporters
don’t
use
the
quote,
you
can
convey
empathy
statements
via
– Website,
Facebook,
social
media,
YouTube
– Employee
mee1ngs,
Town
Halls
– Key
stakeholder
emails,
calls,
briefings

20. Empathy
Messages
Guidelines
• Be
sincere
and
honest
• Show
compassion
before
sta1ng
the
facts
• Demonstrate
commitment
and
a
sense
of
urgency
Examples
• We’re
deeply
sorry
about
the
tragic
accident
• Our
hearielt
condolences
go
out
to
her
family
• We
have
established
a
24/7
hotline
to
provide
updates

21. Amtrak
188
Derails
in
Philadelphia

22. Amtrak
Update:
May
12,
11:13pm
• This
evening,
Amtrak
Northeast
Regional
Train
188,
opera1ng
from
Washington
to
New
York
derailed
north
of
Philadelphia.
There
were
approximately
238
passengers
and
5
crew
members
on
board.
• Ini1al
reports
are
that
several
passengers
have
been
injured
and
taken
to
local
medical
facili1es
for
treatment.
Local
emergency
responders
are
on
the
scene
and
an
inves1ga1on
is
ongoing.
• Northeast
Corridor
service
between
New
York
and
Philadelphia
is
suspended.
• Individuals
with
ques1ons
about
their
friends
and
family
on
train
188
should
call
Amtrak's
Emergency
Hotline
at
800-­‐523-­‐9101.
Addi1onal
updates
will
be
provided
when
available.

23. AMTRAK
CEO
Message
May
14
• The
derailment
of
Northeast
Regional
Train
188
was
terrible
tragedy
that
we
are
responding
to
with
every
resource
we
have
available.
• With
truly
heavy
hearts,
we
mourn
those
who
died.
• On
behalf
of
the
en1re
Amtrak
family,
I
offer
our
sincere
sympathies
and
prayers
for
them
and
their
loved
ones.
• Amtrak
takes
full
responsibility
and
deeply
apologizes
for
our
role
in
this
tragic
event.

24.
Take
a
lead
role
in
guiding
wise
communica1ons
decisions
that
will
impact
your
organiza1ons’
reputa1on
during
the
crisis
and
for
years
to
come