tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5424570572836403462024-02-01T21:28:40.692-07:00View From The BridgeInsight and tips on PR, Crisis Comms, Media Relations, Social Media and the people who get it right and wrong.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02884206525444434349noreply@blogger.comBlogger113125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542457057283640346.post-88272599221138410482018-01-03T16:40:00.001-07:002018-01-03T16:40:56.487-07:00I didn't do it, but if I did I should probably totally apologize<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The sex scandals that have befallen <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-97-men-and-one-woman-taken-down-by-the-metoo-movement" target="_blank">nearly a hundred high-profile men</a> in late 2017 provided those of us in the crisis business with a graduate-level class in apologies. Nearly all of them were bad. Mostly because it felt that men were more sorry they got caught than for their off-the-charts inappropriate behavior. </div>
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Most PR professionals will write an apology for their company or client at some point. People mess up. When done well, apologies can limit lost business, shore up a battered reputation and begin the very human process of forgiveness. Done poorly, apologies can do more harm, lead people to question your motives and further damage to your reputation.</div>
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When writing an apology, keep three things in mind: </div>
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<b>Apologies are about the victim, not you</b></div>
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Movie mogul <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/10/05/us/statement-from-harvey-weinstein.html?_r=0" target="_blank">Harvey Weinstein</a>, accused of behavior ranging from boorish to criminal issued a rambling non-apology that mentioned 60s and 70s culture, Jay-Z lyrics, his Bar Mitzvah, the NRA, and his mom. Weinstein even included the words “apologize” and "remorseful” in his note and said he “appreciates” his behavior has caused a lot of pain.
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It is difficult to believe that Weinstein “so respects all women” when he apparently spent more time in a bath robe than Hugh Hefner and remained silent on the exact behavior for which he is remorseful.
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<b>Keep it short</b></div>
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The longer the apology the less likely people are actually sorry. The comic Louis C.K. confirmed accusations from many women that he exposed himself to them in his <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/10/arts/television/louis-ck-statement.html" target="_blank">496-word statement</a>. The words, “I’m sorry” were not included.
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<b>Be sincere</b></div>
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The <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/10/30/560779174/kevin-spacey-apologizes-to-anthony-rapp-over-alleged-sexual-misconduct" target="_blank">least sincere of all the apologies came from actor Kevin Spacey</a>. A fellow actor, Anthony Rapp accused Spacey of making sexual advances toward him when Rapp was 14. Spacey claims that he can’t remember the encounter, that if it happened he was drunk, and that he has respect and admiration for Anthony Rapp as an actor.
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Oh, Spacey also says he’s gay, which seemed to be added to distract the world from the allegation of attempted sexual assault of a minor.<br />
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<a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/intimacy-path-toward-spirituality/201702/the-best-way-apologize" target="_blank">Apologies aren’t easy</a>. Even the best rarely fixes the harm caused and clearly the trauma remains for the victims of these men.
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In the old days, a celebrity got in trouble and an apology was the price of admission back into polite society. Zsa Zsa slaps a cop or Tracy Morgan gets pulled over for DUI…you can fix that with "I'm sorry." </div>
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My sense is people in polite society think an apology is inadequate penance for a predator. What are your thoughts?</div>
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Bill Salvin </div>
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</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02884206525444434349noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542457057283640346.post-89731454865797861542016-04-21T07:45:00.000-07:002016-04-22T07:53:21.018-07:00Theranos: PR Amateurs at the Lab<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Crisis interviews are tough. A successful one requires two things: First, that the messaging is on target. Second is that the person delivering the message does it well. Medical testing start-up <a href="https://www.theranos.com/s/az">Theranos</a> and its billionare CEO failed at both this week on <a href="http://www.today.com/video/theranos-ceo-elizabeth-holmes-i-m-devastated-about-blood-test-issues-668286019825">The Today Show</a>. The company is fighting serious allegations of lab deficiencies that the government says "pose an immediate risk to patient safety." The government has also proposed banning company CEO Elizabeth Holmes from the industry for two years. <br />
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<b>Bad Messaging about Bad Medicine</b><br />
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The way to get on top of a crisis is to take action to solve the problem. Instead, CEO Holmes talked about herself and how she feels about the deficiencies found at the lab. She said she was devastated, but she didn't look devastated. People believe what they see over what they hear. What they saw was someone who didn't like that she had to admit a mistake. It's hard to do those interviews after so many in the media have written and broadcast worshipful stories of the "youngest female, self-made billionaire in the world."<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just because they say you're the next Steve Jobs, doesn't make it true. </td></tr>
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Except this interview isn't about her.<i> </i>It's about the people that may have received faulty test results from a Theranos lab. The government claims the company used shoddy processes, hired unlicensed staff, and ignored its own quality control procedures. If those allegations are true, people could have <i>died</i> because of the deficiencies. Theranos says it doesn't believe any patient was harmed by problems at its labs.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Why wear a lab coat?</td></tr>
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<b>Here are a few things I noticed watching the interview. </b><br />
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<li>Holmes says, "We've taken the approach of saying 'let's rebuild this entire laboratory from scratch so that we can ensure this never happens again'." The only concrete action in that sentence comes from the verb "<i>saying.</i>" They are <i>talking</i> about rebuilding the lab from the ground up. That's not really helpful.</li>
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<li>When Homes says that, "I'm the founder and CEO of this company, anything that happens in this company is my responsibility at the end of the day." While saying that sentence, she shakes her head from side to side as if to say, "not really." Also, she's taking non-specific responsibility, which isn't confidence inspiring. I don't get the sense she was hands on in the lab while these things were going on.</li>
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<li>Not once does she say anything to any of the people who may have gotten inaccurate test results. Taking responsibility is one thing. Apologizing is another. She didn't do that, either. </li>
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<li>Putting a college dropout in a white lab coat is as insipid as it is insulting. She's not a doctor nor is she a clinician in any sense of the word. Lack of authenticity will get you every time. Her PR people should know this. </li>
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<b>What can you take away from this interview? </b></div>
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<li>A serious operational issue requires focus on the people impacted by it and your plans to fix the problem. How <i>you </i>feel about the issue is secondary. </li>
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<li>An interview of this magnitude requires more practice and preparation than it appears Ms. Homes did here. If she was media trained, she doesn't appear to have watched herself at any point in the process. You can't media train people without that step. </li>
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<li>Don't undervalue communication. If you're not so good at communicating, people believe you're not so good at your day job. You don't have to be perfect, but you have to be better than Ms. Holmes. Doing well in a media interview is a <i>learned</i> skill. Take the time it requires to be good at it.</li>
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<li>When the CEO = the Company it's awfully hard to separate them when something has gone wrong. Manage your CEOs media interactions carefully. </li>
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Theranos and its CEO crafted a fantastic origin story about a plucky young who woman drops out of college to pursue her revolutionary dream. She invents a really cool device that will simultaneously change the world and make her rich and powerful. Except the government hasn't approved the device for use and Theranos outsources a lot of its tests to other labs, losing money in the process. Not really revolutionary. The government has now launched a criminal investigation into the company's practices. </div>
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This reality isn't likely to get Ms. Holmes many more magazine covers, but it might just get her indicted.</div>
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If the Theranos lab procedures are as lousy as its PR counsel, reality is likely to win. </div>
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Bill Salvin</div>
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</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02884206525444434349noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542457057283640346.post-77823579742452814662016-03-22T18:15:00.000-07:002016-03-22T18:15:55.489-07:00Why You Never Ask the Internet a Question<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Scientists working for the United Kingdom's National Environment Research Council (NERC) are justifiably proud of their 420-foot state-of-the-art Polar research ship. To build excitement among their fellow citizens, NERC held an online poll to name the new vessel. The internet's answer, by a wide margin?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjbc5KlGFghxUMgLyL26G6z_XHEd4g7Jba5qToBM9Id9YtoIa3IdK6MBDgWLt_tjhlqLx0KDiu0nkZNZQiKmtT0EjZAAwbTX2g1kNs3MdSkhClsJR6D21szh2JnIObe4Qso6dIxsZ2-23w/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-03-22+at+5.59.36+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjbc5KlGFghxUMgLyL26G6z_XHEd4g7Jba5qToBM9Id9YtoIa3IdK6MBDgWLt_tjhlqLx0KDiu0nkZNZQiKmtT0EjZAAwbTX2g1kNs3MdSkhClsJR6D21szh2JnIObe4Qso6dIxsZ2-23w/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-03-22+at+5.59.36+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/boaty-mcboatface-dominates-poll-name-polar-research-ship-n542431">Boaty McBoatface</a>. </div>
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Bad things can happen when you ask the internet a question. On the scale of just how bad, Boaty McBoatface skews funny rather than embarrassing or offensive. It has not gone well for other organizations, brands or celebrities who have tried to engage the public online.<br />
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When <i>50 Shades of Grey </i>author E.L. James held a <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/jarrylee/fifty-shades-of-shade#.xxbL3eYGl">Twitter Q&A</a> last year, it devolved pretty quickly.<br />
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Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Jameis Winston from Florida State University (FSU) was dealing with allegations of sexual assault and an arrest for shoplifting crab legs from a local grocery store. The FSU Athletic Department decided to have their QB take questions from fans using #AskJameis. It veered into NC-17 territory quickly and at one point, more than 1,500 tweets per minute were streaming across Twitter with questions like this: </div>
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These aren't isolated cases. Shell had a campaign called "Let's Go" about the future of energy production. Greenpeace, among others grabbed the "Let's Go" tag and ran with it. </div>
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There's the NYPD Twitter campaign to share pictures with NYPD officers under #myNYPD and here's what they got:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9K52l7sFadGYz7I128xvlX2C2g0iJeDJpJt2dgdjhNuNrMwTvIJdDbqATCQJyfQhSl1QKczEOBcJ9HNgVK201iw_pckUsk7-cp1tJsUP16pTFIGbgV7L9vXNFBTTxPQa_4VhqY-SrUknH/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-03-22+at+5.12.51+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9K52l7sFadGYz7I128xvlX2C2g0iJeDJpJt2dgdjhNuNrMwTvIJdDbqATCQJyfQhSl1QKczEOBcJ9HNgVK201iw_pckUsk7-cp1tJsUP16pTFIGbgV7L9vXNFBTTxPQa_4VhqY-SrUknH/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-03-22+at+5.12.51+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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McDonald's used #McDStories to encourage engagement. Guess how that went?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWljfBXFuFs3HZxCjPCyv9o7f9YnxqTxz-SNs_pSh3iM1W3hvN4efwYVrdl3rFZlQT_1PZubQTDObEtqlPctK_v_ra7MaQBvFefkkz89hSrtoqQMIXncr-hCBmwaiLzDL-XuJd8QEXCuq7/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-03-22+at+5.20.42+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="151" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWljfBXFuFs3HZxCjPCyv9o7f9YnxqTxz-SNs_pSh3iM1W3hvN4efwYVrdl3rFZlQT_1PZubQTDObEtqlPctK_v_ra7MaQBvFefkkz89hSrtoqQMIXncr-hCBmwaiLzDL-XuJd8QEXCuq7/s320/Screen+Shot+2016-03-22+at+5.20.42+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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I could go on. This will undoubtedly happen again because communicators and marketers often fail to learn the lessons of the past. You don't have to take my word for it, a simple Google search can take you down the rabbit hole of failed internet campaigns. If you do that though, here's a little advice. </div>
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</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02884206525444434349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542457057283640346.post-81341153195513767742014-04-20T17:34:00.001-07:002014-04-20T17:34:20.168-07:00Countering Rumors: 3 Ways to Slow the Flow of False News in a Crisis<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WSGTb6Kon0I/U1RdRSs8qmI/AAAAAAAABUk/YgOq0hcV0Kc/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-20+at+4.49.52+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WSGTb6Kon0I/U1RdRSs8qmI/AAAAAAAABUk/YgOq0hcV0Kc/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-20+at+4.49.52+PM.png" height="198" width="200" /></a>Monday is the <a href="http://www.baa.org/">2014 Boston Marathon</a>, and it's a fair guess the event will have thousands more in-person spectators and millions more virtual observers after the tragedy of 2013's race.<br />
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The sad part of all of the increased attention is that much of the information that will be spread about the race is likely to be false. Major events bring out pranksters, scam artists and hoaxers.<br />
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After the terrible explosions at the finish line of the 2013 Boston Marathon, social media and mainstream media were both perpetuators of and victims of false information. In fact, there was more false information than true information on Twitter during the first 100 hours of the event according to a study done by the <a href="http://precog.iiitd.edu.in/Publications_files/ecrs2013_ag_hl_pk.pdf">IBM Research Lab</a> in Delhi, India. Here's the key takeaway: <b>On Twitter, only 20% of information in the aftermath of the <a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-the-wake-of-the-boston-marathon-bombing-twitter-was-full-of-lies-5294419/?no-ist">Boston Marathon Bombing</a> was true.</b> Put another way, only one Tweet in five was accurate.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4tv_WfA1WgV3NUofpTsHbVJ-sH2XyPViF-qOEJg3p2-g5gfnDQqy_D2Fx7Soi_J16Nc-cE5nl5Jx_sVgY03sphjc8XOanByL0hH2s_c3iYC86MMzRrQzC72iNoNTrVJkpfIyrvmcktBIX/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-20+at+12.14.03+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4tv_WfA1WgV3NUofpTsHbVJ-sH2XyPViF-qOEJg3p2-g5gfnDQqy_D2Fx7Soi_J16Nc-cE5nl5Jx_sVgY03sphjc8XOanByL0hH2s_c3iYC86MMzRrQzC72iNoNTrVJkpfIyrvmcktBIX/s1600/Screen+Shot+2014-04-20+at+12.14.03+PM.png" height="308" width="400" /></a></div>
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For a good look at some of the most egregious examples of fake content spread via Twitter in the aftermath of the bombing, this <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2014/04/18/what-twitter-got-wrong-during-the-boston-marathon-bombing-week/ZOYLJpEydYgJ8UYNUT674H/story.html">article</a> from <a href="http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2014/04/18/what-twitter-got-wrong-during-the-boston-marathon-bombing-week/ZOYLJpEydYgJ8UYNUT674H/story.html">Boston.com</a> is a great round-up. From reports of third and fourth bombs to misidentified suspects and false arrest claims, it was a nearly impossible to separate fact from fiction during the hours immediately the event. After an event like Boston, people are scared. They'll believe just about anything even if it sounds ludicrous. "If they bombed the Marathon, why wouldn't they bomb something else, too?"<br />
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The information environment we live in today requires that you be in position to counter rumors, spread accurate information quickly and discredit lies about your company or organization. Here are three ways you can do that.<br />
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<b>Be Fast</b><br />
Perpetrators of false and malicious stories use the chaos in the wake of disaster to exploit people's sympathies. The damage done by those false stories is greatest in the early hours after a crisis when there is a vacuum of accurate information. If you start Tweeting right away about your organization and its response to the crisis, you can limit the impact of rumors and false information.<br />
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<b>Monitor</b><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_aGSP3TDjEv-rbGLTq9RBKW9fnffU9vpawGdus60fI_H2AOdekrFVsZSy78qKub_-bKOxtqCHNTj2H9Lc-youGYY61sv1fT7Oa4KfRrLFdoxobFMRhSwPfboanXY8n87EQsbTPOc96ZEt/s1600/iStock_000037928706Medium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_aGSP3TDjEv-rbGLTq9RBKW9fnffU9vpawGdus60fI_H2AOdekrFVsZSy78qKub_-bKOxtqCHNTj2H9Lc-youGYY61sv1fT7Oa4KfRrLFdoxobFMRhSwPfboanXY8n87EQsbTPOc96ZEt/s1600/iStock_000037928706Medium.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a>There are many great, free tools you can use to monitor social media in real time. I use <a href="https://tweetdeck.twitter.com/">TweetDeck</a> and I have used <a href="https://hootsuite.com/">HootSuite</a>. There are also monitoring services that you can pay for that will monitor your social media in real time and provide things like general trends and sentiment analysis. There are also more sophisticated services that will identify rumors and suspicious stories and provide actionable information to you in real time. A company that I'm part of, <a href="https://www.narrativetrack.com/">NarrativeTrack,</a> is one such company.<br />
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<b>Counter Rumors Repeatedly</b><br />
Think <i>voting in Chicago</i>, countering rumors and false information is something you need to do <i>early and often</i>. Remember, in a crisis people come to information from all directions and at different times. You want to be sure that the accurate information you possess is out there when people need it. You might need to put the same Tweet out every hour for the first few days of a major crisis, especially if false information or rumors start to gain traction with your stakeholders. If you want an example of what you should do on your Twitter account during the first hour of a crisis, you can read my previous post <a href="http://signalbridge.blogspot.com/2013/06/crisis-response-on-twitter-3-keys-to.html">here</a>.<br />
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The sad truth is that there is no way to stop people from exploiting a crisis with bad information. Rumors have been around since the beginning of time and social media means that whether it's fact or myths, whatever gets shared will travel at light speed.<br />
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Good luck to all the runners in Boston. <br />
<br />
Bill Salvin<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Bill Salvin is a NarrativeTrack board member and investor. He is President and Founder of Signal Bridge Communications</i></div>
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There's been plenty of news coming out of a small town in Quebec after a train carrying nearly 80 tank cars full of crude oil derailed and immolated much of the town. Authorities believe 50 people died in the derailment, explosion and ensuing fires. As of this writing, only 38 bodies have been recovered and authorities fear some of those still missing may have been vaporized.<br />
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The railroad, <a href="http://railworld-inc.com/images/MMA%20System%20Map.jpg">Montreal Maine & Atlantic</a>, is owned by a Chicago-based holding company called <a href="http://railworld-inc.com/">Rail World</a>. The chairman of the company is veteran railroad man Ed Burkhardt. PR experts and regular folks have been severely critical of Burkhardt's decision to stay in Chicago for the first four days of the disaster. His first visit to Lac-Megantic on day five went poorly.<br />
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<script src="http://player.ooyala.com/player.js?embedCode=RlY3Y2ZDrRxVuDS9mPqn18JrFP7XSeDj&height=244&deepLinkEmbedCode=RlY3Y2ZDrRxVuDS9mPqn18JrFP7XSeDj&width=434&video_pcode=xobms6AdYCCdgiz_Qwxh2JOYMmEU"></script><br />
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The videos of Burkhardt's press conference and interactions with media are full of examples of what not to do. If you want to get a tactical view of some of the basics, you can see this very rudimentary article about the <a href="http://www.ragan.com/Main/Articles/47014.aspx">"9 Lessons Learned."</a> Nothing is inherently wrong with the article except it doesn't diagnose the fundamental problem that led to the mistakes. If you have a disease, you want the doctor to treat the <i>disease</i>, not the nine symptoms it causes.<br />
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The fundamental problem with Burkhardt's communications is he is not focused on the audience. He's focused on himself. Here are some of the key quotes:<br />
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<i>"I can imagine myself being in that kind of situation and I also would
be grieving and I'd be very unhappy. I'd be very mad about the whole
thing so I certainly understand the need to vent. But there comes a point
where it's totally unproductive." Rail World, Inc. Chairman Ed Burkhardt, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/12/world/americas/canada-runaway-train">CNN</a>, July 13, 2013</i></blockquote>
Unproductive for whom? In this case, clearly Burkhardt means unproductive for him. Except the audience felt his presence would be very productive so that they could channel their anger to the person they felt responsible for the accident. My sense is that Burkhardt scheduled 10 minutes for people to vent and wanted to move on. Except in a crisis, the audience decides when it's time to move on.<br />
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<i>"I felt that my, that I was better trying to deal with insurance companies, contractors and the press from my office in Chicago rather than trying to do all of that on a cell phone in Megantic</i>" <i>Rail World, Inc. Chairman Ed Burkhardt, <a href="http://www.edmontonjournal.com/news/montreal/Edward+Burkhardt+arrives+M%C3%A9gantic/8641202/story.html">Edmonton Journal</a>, July 10, 2013</i></blockquote>
It was more convenient for Burkhardt to work in his office than on the street in Lac-Megantic. Understandable, but irrelevant. The audience's town was <i>on fire.</i> At one point more than <i>three dozen people were missing.</i> The audience doesn't care how inconvenient it is for <i>you</i> to work on a cell phone, they want the head guy on the ground so he can move heaven and earth to help them in their time of need. Burkhardt spent four days sleeping in his own bed, when most of the residents of the town were out of their homes.<br />
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There is nothing <i>more</i> important for the audience than <i>their</i> problems. There is nothing <i>less </i>important to the audience that <i>your </i>problems. Burkhardt wanted to set the record straight at a time when the audience had no interest in the record, let alone the errors in it.<br />
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<i>"I'm not a communications professional. I'm a manager." </i><i>Rail World, Inc. Chairman Ed Burkhardt, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/12/world/americas/canada-runaway-train">CNN</a>, July 13, 2013</i></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9FYiZhZsFhDqXlGXE3k4PXkIlTHZ8-vCAduJSefW6QM_EdDqlwH1oEhA7ePOdEXkjv6jxtLtWGT7tVBTDlTN-miS7XXcbGbkYM1m4rIEaCXfqbocVIRBIKqfoq_4kCSJNZfO6_1fegRlr/s1600/GettyImages_173229751.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9FYiZhZsFhDqXlGXE3k4PXkIlTHZ8-vCAduJSefW6QM_EdDqlwH1oEhA7ePOdEXkjv6jxtLtWGT7tVBTDlTN-miS7XXcbGbkYM1m4rIEaCXfqbocVIRBIKqfoq_4kCSJNZfO6_1fegRlr/s400/GettyImages_173229751.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The sad part is, Burkhardt said some very powerful things.<br />
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<i>"This is awful. It's absolutely awful and very
emotional to me when there are deaths and people out of their homes." </i><i>Rail World, Inc. Chairman Ed Burkhardt, <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2013/07/09/burkhardt-train-lac-megantic.html">CBC News</a>, July 10, 2013</i></blockquote>
Unfortunately, by the time he said them, no one was listening.<br />
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Bill Salvin<br />
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</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02884206525444434349noreply@blogger.com38tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542457057283640346.post-17937570185394890452013-07-07T02:42:00.000-07:002013-07-07T02:42:22.410-07:00Asiana 214: Crash Unfolds Across Social Media<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I've written before about the <a href="http://signalbridge.blogspot.com/2012/09/one-critical-factor-missing-in-most.html">importance of images</a> when a crisis breaks. When <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asiana_Airlines_Flight_214">Asiana Airlines 214</a> crash landed at <a href="http://www.flysfo.com/">San Francisco International Airport</a> yesterday, it didn't take long for social media, especially Twitter, to kick into high gear. One of the things that was very clear watching the information cascade was how quickly images of the event went viral. The images taken closest to the source (the wreckage) went viral fastest. All of the images like the one below were taken by passengers who had survived the crash and evacuated the plane. This is reality today. We document our lives even when they may be in peril.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEy9j525FsFh9HhQgMDlTKrl7PN7H9BDPZgrYLVM2pQNkiXhZVEE9FHfc_dtP9JOeD-Ozdk6DDGvRvrmNbyqpHNLV_6E7xcR54wSgs9tvmcMJwQDeafrgXC-UMy9ohOa1sn1uk_oOBBbbf/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-07-06+at+12.58.43+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEy9j525FsFh9HhQgMDlTKrl7PN7H9BDPZgrYLVM2pQNkiXhZVEE9FHfc_dtP9JOeD-Ozdk6DDGvRvrmNbyqpHNLV_6E7xcR54wSgs9tvmcMJwQDeafrgXC-UMy9ohOa1sn1uk_oOBBbbf/s400/Screen+Shot+2013-07-06+at+12.58.43+PM.png" width="375" /></a></div>
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A couple of thoughts here. First, astonishment at the people evacuating the plane carrying their bags. I know people do irrational things during a crisis, but, wow, just leave the luggage. Second, mainstream journalists covering breaking news have to come up with a better way to have situational awareness of what the rest of the world is seeing and adjust accordingly. For example, NBC and CNN both were reporting witnesses who said the plane "cartwheeled" and that the "wing broke off." I'm not an aviation expert, but from the picture below, that simply <i>can't </i>be true. I understand not speculating. I don't understand not using basic observational skills.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz0wGsABPOw6D8vlu2F4Fe6Wg21_kw2BijDAijTRZjIHenEt2TbykmxRCnGlThnVsRifVrVkrONQ7COFnnvbDWU4CrFoXaJiMCwQOuyNCIeUxbx2EskWd6a2gXgkxUm3-PYCLh2Bv3ypLM/s1600/abc_plane_crash_130706_704x396.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz0wGsABPOw6D8vlu2F4Fe6Wg21_kw2BijDAijTRZjIHenEt2TbykmxRCnGlThnVsRifVrVkrONQ7COFnnvbDWU4CrFoXaJiMCwQOuyNCIeUxbx2EskWd6a2gXgkxUm3-PYCLh2Bv3ypLM/s400/abc_plane_crash_130706_704x396.jpg" width="400" /></a><br />
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All crises are human events and nothing connects humans like social media. </div>
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Social media is also how people let their loved ones know they're ok after a disaster. Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg posted that she was supposed to be on flight 214, but switched to United. She apologized if people were worried. The man who posted the photo below did so from the emergency room where he was awaiting a CT scan. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxQGsC2ItqThIlLVEZeyh7xWjfCUFb47jN1cavJGgQG-gnfvdcXULvByQaGZ-UvmPAJfqoMezDtLigd1-BVA-9zys7DpOz8ddjB-IqPs7eaWmJIrev7fohYJqZ6htdnP41gqxFx2-zBSeO/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-07-06+at+10.15.47+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxQGsC2ItqThIlLVEZeyh7xWjfCUFb47jN1cavJGgQG-gnfvdcXULvByQaGZ-UvmPAJfqoMezDtLigd1-BVA-9zys7DpOz8ddjB-IqPs7eaWmJIrev7fohYJqZ6htdnP41gqxFx2-zBSeO/s400/Screen+Shot+2013-07-06+at+10.15.47+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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And once he posted the photo, the media angled for an interview. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBDB0Km34K7g0-gZ3EofIbBbwLbUpdrEdla0eLdJSlWSbcbLIkt2lsXhcaI2NirRb7UrkNC9xi1AFlGyEMURFg_hrKH28mCDogv5DDfht0WqBGyRKEc0fRiqn_BhhpupmUwxY6qoyIb6kY/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-07-06+at+10.15.10+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="85" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBDB0Km34K7g0-gZ3EofIbBbwLbUpdrEdla0eLdJSlWSbcbLIkt2lsXhcaI2NirRb7UrkNC9xi1AFlGyEMURFg_hrKH28mCDogv5DDfht0WqBGyRKEc0fRiqn_BhhpupmUwxY6qoyIb6kY/s400/Screen+Shot+2013-07-06+at+10.15.10+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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By the way, Mr. Levy was released from the hospital Saturday and he did the interview with CNN. </div>
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This is how a major crisis unfolds today: Overwhelmingly fast and intensely personal. We watch from our living rooms, computer screens or smart phones and feel as though we're sitting with the passengers, sitting on the field watching the plane burn. </div>
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I wonder how many companies and organizations are truly ready for what they will face when the tsunami of information crashes ashore. </div>
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Bill Salvin</div>
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</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02884206525444434349noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542457057283640346.post-87010435967038058622013-06-21T10:42:00.000-07:002013-06-21T10:42:49.261-07:00A Communicator's Worst Day: Communicating Fatalities<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6gSiN9FpBjG3FxIKrifz814qkUJzMTqRl1nf6oWai4H0SbYrPg9rCw2xqmUhltwnd1XhJdbuIt5Llhu2StysU-bf__4m_xNrejIOAq9gdpcEZqZB-kP7_B_QkN1CkNVEM7FsjmqOMVWdo/s1600/iStock_000012102250XSmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6gSiN9FpBjG3FxIKrifz814qkUJzMTqRl1nf6oWai4H0SbYrPg9rCw2xqmUhltwnd1XhJdbuIt5Llhu2StysU-bf__4m_xNrejIOAq9gdpcEZqZB-kP7_B_QkN1CkNVEM7FsjmqOMVWdo/s200/iStock_000012102250XSmall.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Nothing in the discipline of crisis communications is more important or more difficult than communicating to the public that people have died. This is also the place where I've seen many organizations freeze as the gravity of the situation weighs down the company. It's critical to get this right and there are two basic principles that you can apply if this sad duty falls on your shoulders.<br />
<br />
<b>Don't delay a formal announcement</b><br />
The news that a fatality has occurred should come from the company as soon as you know someone has lost their life. The only detail you need to release at this moment is the fact that an employee (or a contractor) has died. This is not the time to release names, details of the accident or any other specific information that can come later.<br />
<br />
You need to make this acknowledgement because it changes the nature of the story. For example, if you have a large plant that has an explosion, it will make news. Explosions are newsworthy as reporters love fire. But an explosion that kills someone is a completely different story with a vastly different impact on people. Given that all journalism is about how events impact people, you can see how a fatality changes the story.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQyNbKWr6BQzDIXI5jmUJgX5O_4ok_sHePqyametP_zpENof4z-knrwGtp8L_ZXAp5PAyjHjNnycbjZ_J6bWsRbO4D-9vqFKm7hRWaSwW7rMc-OZFeUqDTwmi2nmyPKShdZukKlpUY65pq/s1600/iStock_000019748450XSmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQyNbKWr6BQzDIXI5jmUJgX5O_4ok_sHePqyametP_zpENof4z-knrwGtp8L_ZXAp5PAyjHjNnycbjZ_J6bWsRbO4D-9vqFKm7hRWaSwW7rMc-OZFeUqDTwmi2nmyPKShdZukKlpUY65pq/s320/iStock_000019748450XSmall.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
If the job of the communications team is to help key stakeholders and the news media understand the context of an adverse event, this is <i>the </i>most vital piece of context to communicate. It is also an unfortunate reality that social media will be swirling with news of a fatality before you issue your announcement. If you delay, people will assume you're hiding something. The fact that social media or first responders may have communicated news of the death or posted photos does not release you from the obligation to make the announcement, too.<br />
<br />
<b>Don't ignore the obvious</b><br />
Is a medical examiner's or coroner's vehicle at your facility? If so, the media doesn't need to have you tell them someone's dead. Those trucks don't just drive around hoping to come across a corpse. If the coroner is there, someone's dead. Not confirming the obvious makes you look incompetent.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKkvW3-k6sDcWF0Xg-AXAYJBsFFh-t91UBEbcCgU5y8OYXdvza15_AjB1PjVsqbHPZ9Nc660vkjKSwlfDPnSva2iU9XuiZMNp8xSXFKTrwLQeKbv9LU3iogjv9_iPqj8w8bqFDgWzpYLlX/s1600/munchkin-coroner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKkvW3-k6sDcWF0Xg-AXAYJBsFFh-t91UBEbcCgU5y8OYXdvza15_AjB1PjVsqbHPZ9Nc660vkjKSwlfDPnSva2iU9XuiZMNp8xSXFKTrwLQeKbv9LU3iogjv9_iPqj8w8bqFDgWzpYLlX/s200/munchkin-coroner.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
I've seen crisis plans that require that a doctor declare death before an announcement can be made. In some US states, death isn't "official" until the coroner or M.E. declares it so. I've also seen companies treat this as some form of technicality so that they can delay communicating for as long as possible. I'm not sure why, maybe they're waiting for them to be "not just merely dead, but really most sincerely dead" before issuing the release. In these cases, time is not your ally.<br />
<br />
One more thing that's important for communicators to keep in mind when a tragedy strikes. In a lot of cases, the leadership of the facility has a personal relationship with the deceased. They're friends, they may play on the softball team together. Maybe they went to school together. If that's the case, then your leadership may be in shock and unable to rationally or quickly make the right call. Talk through this with your management ahead of time. Have clear protocols. Understand that people will be hurting. Get as much room to do what you need to do independent of approvals and stick to your plan.<br />
<br />
The goal of this post isn't to rush you into communicating. It's to prevent you or someone on your team from making an awful day worse.<br />
<br />
Bill Salvin</div>
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</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02884206525444434349noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542457057283640346.post-16573089993232827922013-06-03T21:27:00.001-07:002013-06-03T21:27:27.966-07:00Crisis Response on Twitter: 3 Keys to the First Hour<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Like it or not, <a href="https://twitter.com/">Twitter</a> is now the de facto place people go for breaking news. It is where the majority of journalists will find out about an incident at your organization. It is where people who saw, heard or felt the incident will let the world know of their experience. It's also the first place you need to post information on what's happened. Your response on Twitter during the first hour will set the tone for the rest of the response.<br />
<br />
I think there are three keys to success on Twitter during the first 60 minutes of incident response.<br />
<br />
<b>Within 15 Minutes:</b> <b>Acknowledge.</b><br />
<br />
Just one sentence will suffice. Here is the Tweet <a href="https://twitter.com/SouthwestAir">Southwest Airlines</a> posted shortly after one of its planes went off the end of the runway at Chicago's Midway Airport on April 26, 2011.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: #f5f6f7; color: #191c1f; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><i>“Gathering details regarding the event (at Midway) please standby for more info.”</i></span></blockquote>
Simple, clear, responsive. If you can get this first Tweet out faster, do it. 15 minutes is good. Ten minutes is better. And don't be afraid to send this Tweet out more than once during the first 30 minutes.<br />
<br />
<b>15 - 45 Minutes: Respond.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Is there a meeting place for employees? Have authorities been notified? Are you accounting for your people? Do you want anyone to do anything? Is there a phone number to call? As soon as you know what those actions are, let people know what's happening. This is how you establish yourself as a credible source for the entire response.<br />
<br />
<b><br /></b>
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<br />
This Tweet, sent about two minutes after the explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, was sent by well-known runner Josh Cox. Although he isn't an official from the Boston Athletic Association, he's a credible source who offered timely information during a crisis. (<i>Note: the timestamp on this tweet auto-converted to Pacific Time, 11:51 am. It was sent at 2:51 pm Eastern, two minutes after the explosions.)</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
The official Twitter account for the marathon sent out the first post-bombing Tweet came just under two hours after the event, at 4:47 pm Eastern time. It was a very helpful Tweet for runners and their families with the new location where people could meet up. This is exactly the kind of helpful information you can Tweet in crisis that is helpful to your stakeholders.<br />
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<br />
<b>45 - 60 Minutes: Empathize. </b><br />
<b><br /></b>
In most cases, you will have a pretty good idea that people have been injured or killed in an incident. You may not know any other details than there has been an injury or a death. But you can Tweet a general statement of empathy for those impacted by the event. Go beyond the boiler plate "<i>Our thoughts and prayers, blah blah blah..."</i> that has become devoid of any actual empathy. Express <i>genuine</i> emotion for those impacted by the event. What might just be a really long day at the office for you will be an event that will change some people's lives forever. Be worthy of that moment.<br />
<br />
This is just the first hour and just Twitter. You still have all the other tasks and responsibilities, too. Issue an initial statement within an hour. Update your website (with a dark site or a crisis response site like <a href="http://www.wittobriens.com/go/doc/2000/1579915/PIER">PIER</a>). Monitor what's being said on social media, get your team together, get connected with police, fire or other external agencies that are part of the response. There's a lot to do and it's likely you won't do it perfectly. That's ok.<br />
<br />
People won't remember the small imperfections, but they will remember a strong response during the first hour of a crisis. Twitter is key to getting out of the gate strongly and giving your company the best possible change to succeed throughout the crisis.<br />
<br />
Bill Salvin<br />
<br />
<b><br /></b></div>
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</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02884206525444434349noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542457057283640346.post-82149781500904721262013-05-19T17:43:00.000-07:002013-05-19T17:43:21.409-07:00Why Would Anyone Talk to a Reporter Today?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizlQkPdKSztg0y3U2esv142F0qJAdR1v-WJ6TjI4_xn8kjnMqHt1N0DMmq_ceUH5eGMgoIOhlcWnfiqmNbMMVOebv43pZIiWEXvMQOY_ikGH_NuKwH19iDV-rlqIWnih4tE74RTKnHJdpx/s1600/iStock_000007977234XSmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizlQkPdKSztg0y3U2esv142F0qJAdR1v-WJ6TjI4_xn8kjnMqHt1N0DMmq_ceUH5eGMgoIOhlcWnfiqmNbMMVOebv43pZIiWEXvMQOY_ikGH_NuKwH19iDV-rlqIWnih4tE74RTKnHJdpx/s320/iStock_000007977234XSmall.jpg" width="231" /></a></div>
I get that question a lot. Usually it comes when I'm conducting a media training session, teaching people how to talk with reporters. The question is getting harder to answer. <br />
<br />
Multiple <a href="http://www.imediaethics.org/News/3881/4_media_missteps_in_reporting_on_boston_marathon_explosions__photoshop___errors.php">major media outlets</a> (<i>CNN, Boston Globe, AP</i>) reported that an arrest had been made in the Boston Marathon bombings when no such arrest had been made. <i>The New York Post</i> wrongfully identified two people from a surveillance photo as suspects when they weren't. The paper also reported 12 fatalities early on, even though the number was three.<br />
<br />
These types of mistakes are partly the nature of breaking news. <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2150409.Hold_On_Mr_President">Sam Donaldson</a> wrote in a book many years ago that 50% of the information during a breaking story is usually wrong. Sam never tells us which 50% that is. Even knowing that the information in a breaking story changes, the media's initial coverage of Boston was an embarrassment to the profession.<br />
<br />
CBS News anchor Scott Pelley weighed in recently with a speech in which he says journalism's "house is on fire" and "we're getting the big stories wrong, over and over again."<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="252" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1AyCD_lcl1Q" width="448"></iframe><br />
<br />
According to Gallup, <a href="http://www.gallup.com/poll/157589/distrust-media-hits-new-high.aspx">60% of the American public has little or no trust in news media</a>. Audiences and readership have been declining, as trust in media has been eroding. In the same survey, 30% of people surveyed told pollsters they had abandoned a media outlet because it no longer provided information they found useful.<br />
<br />
I realize there is a big dose of self-interest in this post. I make my living teaching people to communicate with journalists. That doesn't mean the three reasons below are less valid. There is still value in talking to reporters.<br />
<br />
<b>Mainstream media is the feedstock for social media.</b> The Pew Research Center's <a href="http://stateofthemedia.org/">Project for Excellence in Journalism</a> has, for the last decade, issued a <i><a href="http://stateofthemedia.org/2013/">State of the News Media</a> </i>report. The 2013 report shows that 15% of adults get most of their news through their social networks. The big number is that more than three-quarters (77%) of those people follow links to full news stories. What this tells us is that even those people who rely on social media to be informed, will still go to mainstream media to get a more complete picture of stories that are important to them.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAbEgLlRBvhK73CUqJBljtEouXfsE-oq3L_tvB7wRuhJrGMBAdUC7-EQx9IzqhWSYFsKjqpOWWMa51dqT-Cjv707S5nPfnG0COIlB7OwkqJDxRitqZ0V1kHcL61Ef0Z0MbP0y1yifxBi8o/s1600/iStock_000019540865XSmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAbEgLlRBvhK73CUqJBljtEouXfsE-oq3L_tvB7wRuhJrGMBAdUC7-EQx9IzqhWSYFsKjqpOWWMa51dqT-Cjv707S5nPfnG0COIlB7OwkqJDxRitqZ0V1kHcL61Ef0Z0MbP0y1yifxBi8o/s200/iStock_000019540865XSmall.jpg" width="200" /></a><b>Social media is perceived as less credible than traditional media.</b> <br />
A study in <a href="http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/mediawire/181553/study-people-view-information-on-twitter-as-less-credible-than-on-news-websites/">Communication Quarterly</a> showed that tweets from <i>The New York Times,</i> were viewed less credibly than either short or long online stories from <i>The Times</i> even though all three contained the same information. While this is true now, it is likely to shift as social media becomes even more ingrained in our daily lives.<br />
<br />
<b>Mainstream media is more accountable than social media. </b>It's hard not to feel as though mainstream media are making more mistakes and caring less about making them. However, most mainstream outlets will correct faulty stories. Also, information on social networks is not often <a href="http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/179435/the-dilemma-of-perishable-content-in-social.html#axzz2TbJ8fat3">indexed for public search engines</a> and, therefore, is of little value beyond the moment. That doesn't mean you stay out of social media in a crisis; just as mainstream media content drives social media use, the reverse is also true. The website <a href="http://www.breakingnews.com/">Breaking News</a> has a whitelist of more than <a href="http://blog.breakingnews.com/day/2013/02/21">300 mainstream media Twitter feeds</a> that pop up immediately in front of its editors. The site describes it as the largest news-tipping network on Twitter.<br />
<br />
There you have it. Three reasons why talking to a reporter is still valuable. But what of the media? Any advice for them? Sure, two words.<br />
<br />
Suck less.<br />
<br />
Bill Salvin<br />
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</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02884206525444434349noreply@blogger.com44tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542457057283640346.post-86193310646026966252013-03-31T20:12:00.000-07:002013-03-31T20:12:13.206-07:00The Tyranny of Numbers<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Reporting numbers is generally a straightforward task. Facts are facts, after all. Time after time, though journalists get them wrong. Whether it's because they are racing to get the story first or they are sloppy with their math there is an essential truth of preparing people to talk with a reporter:<br />
<br />
Journalists get numbers wrong. A lot.<br />
<br />
Even simple numbers are misreported. Like someone's age. Legendary music produce Phil Ramone died this past weekend. He was 79. Or 72. Or 82.<br />
<br />
<br />
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If you are reading this, you've listened to music that Phil Ramone had a hand in getting from a recording studio to your ears. Frank Sinatra, Barbara Streisand, Stan Getz, Paul McCartney, Paul Simon, Bob Dylan, Tony Bennett, Billy Joel and dozens of others including my personal favorite <a href="http://www.shelbylynne.com/">Shelby Lynne</a>. </div>
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<br /></div>
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According to most of the stories, the man won 14 Grammys. Or 15 if you actually count the number listed in an <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/APa94cbdd33a28434098c997886919ed1d.html?KEYWORDS=phil+ramone">Associated Press</a> story. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New York Times, 3.31.2013</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhelYd0cCSYx_ulIR6oWecyYbVRuBuukWZU0211bOIu-r-K8iXq41khH79MTJPNcX00t1Uz86N-Y7-3zKcgm6U6SLjgdu5RnA9YdjdnqivGuyilt-Ew0ZWVz2BMtcbyk3c_-HT6lW0i1WJN/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-03-31+at+5.59.26+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="56" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhelYd0cCSYx_ulIR6oWecyYbVRuBuukWZU0211bOIu-r-K8iXq41khH79MTJPNcX00t1Uz86N-Y7-3zKcgm6U6SLjgdu5RnA9YdjdnqivGuyilt-Ew0ZWVz2BMtcbyk3c_-HT6lW0i1WJN/s400/Screen+Shot+2013-03-31+at+5.59.26+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis_PG7jTGaAalixfLA8y4Jaq4DZ68VfrfdudFuRDQvToUiN3kakq6ED4F3NhgJxWhloxeW1KZnFpefCOWzclfKAJerjU-QSDfSiFfnACqpLod57QoG_uKEyMPmGxQlDjGTz4hHz4IS6QrW/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-03-31+at+6.28.55+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="60" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis_PG7jTGaAalixfLA8y4Jaq4DZ68VfrfdudFuRDQvToUiN3kakq6ED4F3NhgJxWhloxeW1KZnFpefCOWzclfKAJerjU-QSDfSiFfnACqpLod57QoG_uKEyMPmGxQlDjGTz4hHz4IS6QrW/s400/Screen+Shot+2013-03-31+at+6.28.55+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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What the clips above tell us is that the <i>The New York Times</i> is at least as accurate as <i>East Idaho News.</i><i> </i></div>
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<i><br /></i></div>
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When you have numbers that you want a journalist to get right, here are a few tips. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaqd0QO_n0Ocf3sOSpSNJ4Sy0q4SPb-GTzzB69t3iI47OwfJccwaFOZsujzt0QX4sXLzDE7XZUHBuzmAwMzgZ1ceczb23-MtZTLU0pqBL2hFF7ICh9uwa-x3NI73V8E_NvvHwkwo4KTZy7/s1600/1100855_SMJPG_4JL21957L4373935F.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaqd0QO_n0Ocf3sOSpSNJ4Sy0q4SPb-GTzzB69t3iI47OwfJccwaFOZsujzt0QX4sXLzDE7XZUHBuzmAwMzgZ1ceczb23-MtZTLU0pqBL2hFF7ICh9uwa-x3NI73V8E_NvvHwkwo4KTZy7/s200/1100855_SMJPG_4JL21957L4373935F.jpg" width="200" /></a><b>Repeat numbers early and often.</b> One of the best news directors I've ever had assigned me the same story three days in a row. When I asked him why we were doing the same story again, he told me, "Because it's important. So we'll tell them, tell them again and then tell them some more so they get it." That's good advice. Don't just tell the reporter a critical number once and hope they get it. Tell them several times so they know it's important. </div>
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<b>Give reporters a fact sheet.</b> A lot of journalists like to conduct their interviews casually and therefore don't take as accurate of notes as you might think. Giving the reporter a fact sheet gives them something to refer back to later on in the newsroom. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Correct the record.</b> When a reporter gets a number wrong in a story about you or your company, it's ok to call or email them to correct the record. Since stories will live on forever online, it is helpful if they live on correctly. </div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>Remember journalists are human.</b> Humans make mistakes. This means you should do everything in your power to help journalists get the numbers right when the story is is about you or your company. </div>
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<br /></div>
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None of those tips absolve journalists from their responsibility to get things right and double check their facts. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Reality, though, dictates that your reputation is better off in your hands than in the hands of someone who has to do math on deadline.</div>
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Bill Salvin</div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
</div>
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</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02884206525444434349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542457057283640346.post-13703187484202287162013-01-16T03:20:00.002-07:002013-01-16T03:20:59.941-07:00After All Else Fails, Lance Armstrong Tries Doing the Right Thing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDOBHuOtdx2uAMW5oGcClFYRIPFA0TpeHL23BnqTKd6Dc7Na0Ra8SUcuH91N8A2KoTfkecptY3Ej9oAnVhmlulNg9o7kIbMZv4NKKxbGpuzlgIoP6z875421ccOS6HZFywheJXYdgCNBEL/s1600/iStock_000022332698XSmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDOBHuOtdx2uAMW5oGcClFYRIPFA0TpeHL23BnqTKd6Dc7Na0Ra8SUcuH91N8A2KoTfkecptY3Ej9oAnVhmlulNg9o7kIbMZv4NKKxbGpuzlgIoP6z875421ccOS6HZFywheJXYdgCNBEL/s320/iStock_000022332698XSmall.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The big PR news this week is <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-400_162-57563952/lance-armstrong-admits-doping-to-oprah/">Lance Armstrong's interview with Oprah</a>, in which, he confesses to using <a href="http://www.oprah.com/own-oprahs-next-chapter/Lance-Armstrong-on-Oprahs-Next-Chapter">performance enhancing drugs</a> to win all those Tour de France titles. Armstrong's goal is to have his lifetime ban from the US Anti-Doping Agency reduced or eliminated. According to the <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324734904578241801441261928.html?mod=WSJ_hp_mostpop_emailed">Wall Street Journal</a>, Armstrong believes competing in events like triathlons will provide him a steady stream of income now that all those lucrative corporate sponsors have dumped him.<br />
<br />
There are three keys to successful image rehab after scandal. First is that the confession has to be authentic. In this case, it feels like the expedient thing for Armstrong to do. There is a disingenuity to all of this that feels smarmy.<br />
<br />
Second, the confession has to come with an apology to those hurt or impacted. I've not seen the Oprah interview, but Armstrong did apologize to employees of the <a href="http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/lance-armstrong-visits-livestrong-foundation-apologize-staff-192432594--spt.html">foundation that he created</a>. The apology, however, came without any admission of guilt. This feels a bit like the apology of a five-year old, more upset at getting caught than for what he was caught doing.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXxovpIXFTnAo7z9QkDNaO5nEav5x-sgAfTraeID7U-fl-oDZNfxvokJRygjy6ux0mA6UxwB62uSX_YBw6cuOErejzD5Q_LqDuKYvx_cDyO6Y5H7mD6KGAINjVt1t0CO5A9Olj1151gqJY/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-01-16+at+3.05.48+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="157" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXxovpIXFTnAo7z9QkDNaO5nEav5x-sgAfTraeID7U-fl-oDZNfxvokJRygjy6ux0mA6UxwB62uSX_YBw6cuOErejzD5Q_LqDuKYvx_cDyO6Y5H7mD6KGAINjVt1t0CO5A9Olj1151gqJY/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-01-16+at+3.05.48+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
The third requirement is to back up the confession and apology with meaningful actions. How is Armstrong going to make this right? He has spent the last 15 years demonizing anyone who actually told the truth. He ruined people's lives and reputations by deploying the Armstrong Attack Machine. How much of his sponsor money will he pay back? Will he pay back the $500,000 he won from accusing the <a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/more/news/20121223/lance-armstrong-libel-suit.ap/">Sunday Times</a> of libel for reprinting doping claims? The Times, by the way, is suing to get its money back. It will win.<br />
<br />
I've heard the argument made that if you look at the history of the Tour de France, you find that, since 1968, more than 80% of that race's champions have had their titles taken away because they cheated. It would appear that everyone cheated in cycling's biggest race. If that's true, Armstrong could make the case that the playing field was truly level and that not only was he the best cyclist, he was the best doper. However, we all learned very young that just because everyone is doing it, that doesn't make it right. That's also the same time we learned that there was a possibility that all our friends might jump off the Brooklyn Bridge, which was weird because we lived in Wisconsin. I digress.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdNPIMRPd2G94IuNqQsdUgi2XDUmbq5q1nSaatBb2V4CpKaFXVPwzdYoAZ8DvzwWU4krhjG4sYvn95u0D6TbIyiaDBtmo4yXuXPbVZTEIX8e5IcEJ6naL3HTmAmy73jv-gypECDdxPi4Om/s1600/lance.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdNPIMRPd2G94IuNqQsdUgi2XDUmbq5q1nSaatBb2V4CpKaFXVPwzdYoAZ8DvzwWU4krhjG4sYvn95u0D6TbIyiaDBtmo4yXuXPbVZTEIX8e5IcEJ6naL3HTmAmy73jv-gypECDdxPi4Om/s200/lance.jpg" width="200" /></a>People invested a lot in Armstrong's facade over the last 15 years. He had millions of supporters through it all, even when the USADA stripped him of his titles and banned him for life. Now that everything that he's accused of appears to be true, a lot of us feel stupid for having believed and defended him. He was such a convincing liar that the default view for many people will now be: Lance Armstrong's lips are moving = Lance Armstrong is lying.<br />
<br />
I'm glad he confessed, I just don't think he did it because it was good for the soul. I think he did it as a means to an end. One of his books was titled "It's Not About the Bike." His image will be rehabilitated when he realizes that this isn't about him either.<br />
<br />
Sadly, I don't feel like he's there yet.<br />
<br />
Bill Salvin</div>
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</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02884206525444434349noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542457057283640346.post-85446127333454982752013-01-06T13:10:00.000-07:002013-01-06T17:41:37.032-07:00Cinemark's Box Office PR Fail<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Well, that didn't take long. I wrote about the <a href="http://signalbridge.blogspot.com/2013/01/the-year-ahead-in-crisis-comms.html">Year Ahead in Crisis Comms</a> less than a week ago and already one of the four things I predicted has, sadly, come to pass.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaMhM9A23JrgyN-hoX6pLjdHJl4EWwo-Q9r7_IksKZhtIw3dsf8DuOUrReeUjeD2JUgcHHVSnWZLq3sI4YxW-mtQj7XjwUCxEWDZ9Xz7nHLNx8-NaiuzIxnF2UFtNyNELp0YaiDKSnvPyP/s1600/iStock_000021033522XSmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaMhM9A23JrgyN-hoX6pLjdHJl4EWwo-Q9r7_IksKZhtIw3dsf8DuOUrReeUjeD2JUgcHHVSnWZLq3sI4YxW-mtQj7XjwUCxEWDZ9Xz7nHLNx8-NaiuzIxnF2UFtNyNELp0YaiDKSnvPyP/s320/iStock_000021033522XSmall.jpg" width="213" /></a><a href="http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=192773&p=irol-news">Cinemark USA</a>, the theater chain that owned the movie theater in Aurora, CO, where 12 people were killed and dozens wounded by a gunman last summer, sent invitations to victim's families inviting "them and a guest" to a remembrance and a movie. The invitations arrived two days after Christmas according to <a href="http://www.mediabistro.com/prnewser/pr-fail-cinemark-invites-families-of-aurora-shooting-victims-to-theater-reopening_b53790">PR Newser</a> and <a href="http://www.azcentral.com/community/ahwatukee/articles/20130103colorado-massacre-dad-victim-spurns-theaters-invite.html">other reports</a>.<br />
<br />
I wasn't able to find the full text of the Cinemark letter to families, but family members responded with a <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/dnc/ci_22296310/letter-families-aurora-theater-shooting-victims-cinemark">letter</a>, which The <i>Denver Post</i> reprinted.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span id="http://www.mediabistro.com/prnewser/pr-fail-cinemark-invites-families-of-aurora-shooting-victims-to-theater-reopening_b53790">"This disgusting offer that you’d</span><i><span id="http://www.mediabistro.com/prnewser/pr-fail-cinemark-invites-families-of-aurora-shooting-victims-to-theater-reopening_b53790"> <i>“like to invite you and a guest to a special evening of remembrance on Thursday, January 17 at 5 PM”</i> </span></i><span id="http://www.mediabistro.com/prnewser/pr-fail-cinemark-invites-families-of-aurora-shooting-victims-to-theater-reopening_b53790">followed by the showing of a movie and then telling us to be sure</span><i><span id="http://www.mediabistro.com/prnewser/pr-fail-cinemark-invites-families-of-aurora-shooting-victims-to-theater-reopening_b53790"> <i>“to reserve our tickets”</i> </span></i><span id="http://www.mediabistro.com/prnewser/pr-fail-cinemark-invites-families-of-aurora-shooting-victims-to-theater-reopening_b53790">i</span><span id="http://www.mediabistro.com/prnewser/pr-fail-cinemark-invites-families-of-aurora-shooting-victims-to-theater-reopening_b53790">s wholly offensive to the memory of our loved ones.</span><i>" </i>-Letter to Cinemark from families of victims</blockquote>
This falls into the <b>"Lack of Compassion"</b> category from my Year
Ahead post. The community has been supportive of reopening the theater
and it is appropriate to let the families know that the reopening is
near. ,
but the language in quotes below reads like it came from the promotions
department. This isn't the first insensitive letter Cinemark has written about the disaster. The CEO wrote a letter to Aurora Mayor Steve Hogan in September about plans to reopen the theater.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>“We pledge to
reconfigure the space and make the theater better than ever." -</i>Tim Werner, Cinemark USA CEO (<a href="http://www.aurorasentinel.com/news/century-16-redesign-plans-unveiled/">Aurora Sentinel</a>) </blockquote>
The problem with the theater wasn't that it was a substandard place to watch movies, but that 12 people were murdered while watching a movie there. "Better than ever," seems like one of those throwaway phrases from a CEO who doesn't really have his finger on the pulse of the story engulfing his own company.<br />
<br />
Cinemark is in a very tough spot. The crisis happened on their property, but it wasn't caused by the company or its employees. Aurora's mayor asked the company to reopen the theater. Reopening is the right thing to do. But, how they are communicating is not only amateurish, it's adding to people's suffering. Stop it. <br />
<br />
The learning point for communicators is this: People impacted the most get to decide when the crisis is over, not the company. Twelve people were killed and 58 wounded in Theater 9 of Cinemark's Century 16 multiplex in Aurora.<br />
<br />
No amount of remodeling or renaming will ever change that. <br />
<br />
Bill Salvin<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
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</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02884206525444434349noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542457057283640346.post-74228625981957039042013-01-02T15:38:00.000-07:002013-01-06T17:42:01.832-07:00The Year Ahead in Crisis Comms<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ChfrBOhurKQFR4UB3WuM4GcQeRJ9hDvpqCadCdixPuiibZoS6eBcYXaYxc8NvTHjHgbn2aEmYc6yjLYKd_pf3MEsBB6R0XcLYjb0qVt6IwinZ6UIiRerUlY2iC-v9B8LfRiWlpg-33Ss/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-01-02+at+3.21.20+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="87" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ChfrBOhurKQFR4UB3WuM4GcQeRJ9hDvpqCadCdixPuiibZoS6eBcYXaYxc8NvTHjHgbn2aEmYc6yjLYKd_pf3MEsBB6R0XcLYjb0qVt6IwinZ6UIiRerUlY2iC-v9B8LfRiWlpg-33Ss/s400/Screen+Shot+2013-01-02+at+3.21.20+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
In the coming year, we will see companies in crisis. The companies that do well will have prepared for a crisis. Not necessarily the one with which they have to deal, but prepared nonetheless. The companies that do poorly, the ones many of my fellow crisis bloggers and I will write about, will have understood that a crisis can strike, but chose to not prepare. Here are a few mistakes we're likely to see in 2013.<br />
<br />
<b>Siege Mentality</b><br />
You can tell a company that has succumbed to a siege mentality when they respond with "no comment" when asked about the disaster du jour. Even though "no comment" = "guilty" in the public's mind and has been that way since the 1970s, you will still see "professional" communicators using that phrase. When they do, their story moves on without them. Crisis response is not for the faint of heart. Ensure your bosses know what and how you will communicate in a crisis. The less they are surprised, the less likely they are to head to the bunker to ride the storm out.<br />
<br />
<b>Lack of Compassion</b><br />
When you're in a bunker waiting for the storm to pass it is easy to miss the people suffering. All crises are human events, and companies that ignore the human element are doomed to failure. The companies that fail ignore those they've hurt. Their reputations will suffer in direct proportion to the degree to which they ignore human suffering.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAS6NX0Cp8zgWVY0JGRokxDfV_-QbjB8Sqzl4pY4SN3vHXD-HIYJUOKcu7z9mddrsxcoodfSsuHjNtCg_LY9SSeXk-dW_Vzbw2tIMxsYKjD20anNP29GCnfC-GuMTwbIgzwmwym6-2cPji/s1600/COLOURBOX1456135.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAS6NX0Cp8zgWVY0JGRokxDfV_-QbjB8Sqzl4pY4SN3vHXD-HIYJUOKcu7z9mddrsxcoodfSsuHjNtCg_LY9SSeXk-dW_Vzbw2tIMxsYKjD20anNP29GCnfC-GuMTwbIgzwmwym6-2cPji/s200/COLOURBOX1456135.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
<b>Rely on Old Media</b><br />
We are living in a time when a serious corporate crisis can have a beginning, middle and end on social media. Traditional media are stretched to the limit and a good part of the world gets news from friends through social networks. The companies that focus on traditional TV, radio and print will miss the chance to talk directly to the stakeholders that matter most in an adverse event. Best to have a plan to monitor and engage across multiple networks and platforms. Test it before a crisis so you know it works.<br />
<br />
<b>Saying Something Stupid and Being Stunned at its Disclosure</b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi8E4pLSjQDA4wSrh2CVY2lO71bbYoGEMRvBKAHiwTpQr9jOCfeEuA5sd_6Pni7fnyWkCBi9lOEb6-GBVXJX6puQ-Jp486cahoeiR4D2iOTsHgVFwPimahx-46yEsclr3qxFFbMKmO3AZ0/s1600/iStock_000012736008XSmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi8E4pLSjQDA4wSrh2CVY2lO71bbYoGEMRvBKAHiwTpQr9jOCfeEuA5sd_6Pni7fnyWkCBi9lOEb6-GBVXJX6puQ-Jp486cahoeiR4D2iOTsHgVFwPimahx-46yEsclr3qxFFbMKmO3AZ0/s200/iStock_000012736008XSmall.jpg" width="192" /></a>It is not surprising that human beings stick a foot in their mouths when things are going badly. Those that make the worst gaffes are those that likely have had the least training. The stress of a crisis leads them to make silly mistakes that will overwhelm anything positive the company has done to respond to the disaster. Way back in the 1990s, a Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said that "once I commit something to paper, I consider it compromised." That's about 20 years ago, before the Internet, before social media and before YouTube. Don't let down your guard. If you don't want something disclosed, don't say it.<br />
<br />
In my best case scenario, As we begin the New Year, I wish you a crisis-free 2013. Since best case scenarios are as common a Chicago Cubs World Series victory, I wish you a successful response so that you don't endure the crisis only to be an object lesson for others.<br />
<br />
Bill Salvin<br />
<br />
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I've been thinking a lot about a company's responsibility to communicate in a crisis especially as it relates to images. Images are everything today. In fact, <a href="http://www.crunchbase.com/person/bob-lisbonne">Bob Lisbonne</a> wrote a guest post for <a href="http://techcrunch.com/">TechCrunch</a> about the <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2012/09/08/just-picture-it-the-imagesphere/">Imagesphere</a> and two stats jumped out at me.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: helvetica, arial, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; text-align: left;"><i>"People post more than 300 million photos a day to Facebook alone, and 70% of all actions on social media involve images." -Bob Lisbonne</i></span></blockquote>
Just look at the <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/marketshare/2012/02/15/the-rise-and-rise-of-pinterest-and-our-love-of-digital-curation/">rise of the social site Pinterest</a> where the <i>only</i> thing on the site are visuals. Pinterest hit 10 million monthly unique visitors faster than any independent website in history. We love taking pictures and we love sharing pictures.<br />
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Most crisis plans don't provide for a process for gathering, clearing and disseminating "official" company images during adverse events. Your next crisis, like it or not, will be visual. This is the new reality.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsYlcUOPPQEmQtJXJXFKOIlFfxnO2VTn8F1aYRNRgV7ha48Amz1O9y0ZPaAR46SINQ-rxBg6np7D_e83kG90988wo_72ce4FKbiUDrkbC1YallkIP97uBUWr2Le2cNsRYS-Y0KWNWeF6Po/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-06-30+at+4.33.42+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="120" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsYlcUOPPQEmQtJXJXFKOIlFfxnO2VTn8F1aYRNRgV7ha48Amz1O9y0ZPaAR46SINQ-rxBg6np7D_e83kG90988wo_72ce4FKbiUDrkbC1YallkIP97uBUWr2Le2cNsRYS-Y0KWNWeF6Po/s200/Screen+Shot+2012-06-30+at+4.33.42+PM.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm the naked King of the World!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Earlier this summer an incident in Scottsdale, AZ involved a naked carjacker. Plenty of photos surfaced from people who were in the area at the time. It's the classic "citizen-journalist" story. This story is made for people who carry smartphones. Right now in the US, there are more than 110 million smartphones. Seriously, if you've got a camera in your pocket how do you not snap and post a pic of the naked car jacker?<br />
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That's how images come out during a crisis. Regular people who witness the event, employees who work where the event happens and even emergency response personnel are the sources of the first images of a crisis. There is a bedrock tenet of crisis communications that other people will weigh in on your story so you have to get information out to the public quickly. If that logic applies to words, it has to apply to images, too.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyL2iQs_P05-wyYK9fK0ZhbMq5xms_j36pPHeMBjZMHCgDzK37sNg5H2dWkeNtFsK6BkAPnJrs26Ea7rmjfSyYuvlQpoez1dc7pxmIJ-TwMvT3owXc8khGgppSERgMvalivcGNLTsdv1_a/s1600/iStock_000019540865XSmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyL2iQs_P05-wyYK9fK0ZhbMq5xms_j36pPHeMBjZMHCgDzK37sNg5H2dWkeNtFsK6BkAPnJrs26Ea7rmjfSyYuvlQpoez1dc7pxmIJ-TwMvT3owXc8khGgppSERgMvalivcGNLTsdv1_a/s200/iStock_000019540865XSmall.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Social media means everyone is a publisher today, including your company. You have a timeline for issuing your first statement about an incident, but do you have a timeline for releasing an official image?<br />
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Do you have a process for getting that image through approval and onto your website or company Facebook page? Do you have a photographer?<br />
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I think about the challenges working with lawyers to get a statement out and I shudder to think what that process will look like when it comes to putting out pictures of something that has gone wrong. This has to be worked out in advance.<br />
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<b>What needs to be in your photo policy?</b><br />
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<b>1) Clear standards to maintain the credibility of the imagery.</b><br />
People are already skeptical of companies during a crisis and an altered image will be called out quickly. Just ask <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/mobility/smart-phones/nokias-lumia-920-phony-images-damage-cre/240006983">Nokia</a>. The company used images and video to show how awesome it's new smartphone is for taking pictures and videos. Except the images and videos weren't taken by the new smartphone. The <a href="http://www.nieman.harvard.edu/reports/article/102347/APs-Policy-Banning-Photo-Manipulation.aspx">Associated Press</a> has a pretty clear photo policy: "The content of a photograph will NEVER be changed or manipulated in any way."<br />
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<b>2) If a photo or video is altered in anyway, post how it was altered.</b><br />
Most of the policies I looked at allowed for alterations that were common when photos were developed in darkrooms. Cropping seems to be acceptable as does burning (darkening) and dodging (lightening). The goal is to preserve the authenticity of the image.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM-qtDTGjbaBTeimD7qikfjg4opr5QzaifYUpeQqhw0ii9dNzHYWz6tNGvlgYeyvWD01sDR6Whxieex4zbHqH-rK15rGdAF-Mmw4Hr8NxPwn6iHVZofRLwjtxKmG7ZAGqVUIrYcgilCNr7/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-09-22+at+3.31.40+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="51" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM-qtDTGjbaBTeimD7qikfjg4opr5QzaifYUpeQqhw0ii9dNzHYWz6tNGvlgYeyvWD01sDR6Whxieex4zbHqH-rK15rGdAF-Mmw4Hr8NxPwn6iHVZofRLwjtxKmG7ZAGqVUIrYcgilCNr7/s200/Screen+Shot+2012-09-22+at+3.31.40+AM.png" width="200" /></a>A client asked me about using <a href="http://instagram.com/">Instagram</a> given the popularity of the photo sharing app. I said no. A crisis requires trust and credibility and an app designed to change the look and feel of a photo isn't going to help in a crisis. I just don't see an upside for a company in making the big disaster look like vacation photos from the 1970s.<br />
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There's a lot to sort out here and communicators need to think this through. Unlike the guy on top of the car above, we don't want to be caught with our pants down.<br />
<br />
Bill Salvin <br />
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</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02884206525444434349noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542457057283640346.post-80500044739875344352012-08-25T15:49:00.000-07:002012-08-25T15:49:08.205-07:00"Thank you, Mr. Armstrong"Most people over a certain age know precisely where they were when Neil Armstrong walked on the moon on July 20, 1969. I don't because I was three at the time. I do remember the night in 2004 when I got to shake his hand. It was an awards gala where Armstrong was being given the National Space Trophy by the <a href="http://www.rnasa.org/2004files/winner2004.html">Rotary National Awards for Space Achievement</a>. Oddly, the first man to walk on the moon was the 18th recipient of RNASA's annual award.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQKaVmBs78wtiSPiiRQVntFdRMYFVw7DTT7kd_wl1J1_jcJi-chK4N460QOTm1IJ3kt5ubB01JKhbutNNKOXFUO8shvK4QdgFxFcRJUXrrV7FWFzAKYqzFexi1OmHclrhOD84wFo8mUWgy/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-08-25+at+1.58.23+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQKaVmBs78wtiSPiiRQVntFdRMYFVw7DTT7kd_wl1J1_jcJi-chK4N460QOTm1IJ3kt5ubB01JKhbutNNKOXFUO8shvK4QdgFxFcRJUXrrV7FWFzAKYqzFexi1OmHclrhOD84wFo8mUWgy/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-08-25+at+1.58.23+PM.png" /></a></div>
It's a fairly rare occasion for me to be speechless, but when I shook his hand all I could muster was a near-breathless, "Thank you, Mr. Armstrong." <br />
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I was one of probably 500 people who shook his hand that night and one of millions that shook his hand in the 43 years since he walked on the moon. He was a reluctant and gracious celebrity. With so many frivolous people famous for nothing other than attracting attention to themselves, it's easy to forget that one of the most famous men in history wished for nothing more than to be left alone to teach and live in the small Ohio town where he grew up. <br />
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We've gotten dulled to the incredible technology that we surround ourselves with every day. Most of us take more computing power to the gym than Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins took to the moon.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKO1xmDh9KQxUoRLDx8OrtiVWkIFRacYsyIxOrOGODFlgeGzYOy_zOGTGeYEDH4M14eieRWb-zW0unvkTuUfCi8eN1DuRWZMCwAgko5kQU6s49pJuUgPSfX5qSVr79uyQzlQob6oF9mVDT/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-08-25+at+3.25.18+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="162" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKO1xmDh9KQxUoRLDx8OrtiVWkIFRacYsyIxOrOGODFlgeGzYOy_zOGTGeYEDH4M14eieRWb-zW0unvkTuUfCi8eN1DuRWZMCwAgko5kQU6s49pJuUgPSfX5qSVr79uyQzlQob6oF9mVDT/s200/Screen+Shot+2012-08-25+at+3.25.18+PM.png" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NASA photo</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Armstrong was passionate about engineering and unhappy that <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/">NASA's</a> human spaceflight program seemed adrift, with no American rockets left to carry Americans to space and none on the horizon anytime soon. No one could take Armstrong's title of "First Man" from him, but he understood that America could very well lose its place as the world's foremost country for space exploration.<br />
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Times are turbulent now, but not any more so than the late 1960s. We went to the moon during all of that generational upheaval and there's no good excuse for why we don't have the world's most audacious human space program. Space programs employ thousands of really smart people who get that way with a great education. Those are just two benefits of space exploration. <br />
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Rovers are really cool and NASA's <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/msl/index.html">Curiosity</a> mission to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars">Mars</a> is a great achievement. All things being equal though, footprints beat tire tracks.<br />
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When you look up at the <a href="http://earthsky.org/tonight">moon tonight</a> remember that 12 men from Earth left footprints up there. Most importantly, remember to say, "Thank you, Mr. Armstrong."<br />
<br />
Bill Salvin<br />
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</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02884206525444434349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542457057283640346.post-34512111475129183232012-08-23T11:20:00.000-07:002012-08-24T07:37:49.134-07:00All Gaffes are Not Created EqualI've been thinking a lot about gaffes lately and the fear people have about making them. Luckily, Missouri Republican Senate candidate <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/story/2012-08-22/akin-missouri-ballot-month-rape/57216686/1">Todd Akin's</a> comment about "legitimate rape" gave me what I needed to make the point I've wanted to make. All gaffes aren't equal and most aren't even memorable.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwqtAqgse-kB9B8q0vWgH0RfE0mEUk5iX2RzetwRxoUC4mLhSHBRuuVOsFlKjuSm3PzZbiQXDh2cm0YCOiz_SFAzZq6xHfwr2NWrewLy1M1WUQGiQlpn_tYoQFkhzCTN7nnVWEBE9P7bZv/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-08-22+at+8.52.06+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwqtAqgse-kB9B8q0vWgH0RfE0mEUk5iX2RzetwRxoUC4mLhSHBRuuVOsFlKjuSm3PzZbiQXDh2cm0YCOiz_SFAzZq6xHfwr2NWrewLy1M1WUQGiQlpn_tYoQFkhzCTN7nnVWEBE9P7bZv/s320/Screen+Shot+2012-08-22+at+8.52.06+PM.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Was it something I said?"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Gaffes are memorable for the humanity (or lack of it) revealed.</b><br />
Akin's claim that a woman has a built-in kill switch to stop pregnancy during rape resulted in nearly universal condemnation. Besides being wrong about the physiological facts, his comments trivialized rape and blamed women for either lying about their assault or secretly wanting to get pregnant. <br />
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For the majority of people Akin's comments revealed all they needed to know to make a judgement. His double-digit lead in the polls evaporated overnight. Technically, Akin's comments aren't even a gaffe because he meant to say what he said. When you heard it you had the sense that he really believed it. In doing that, he rendered a useful service rare among politicians: he let the good people of Missouri know what he really thought. <br />
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Let's move away from politics. Not everything is a Freudian slip. Sometimes people just misspeak. I media train people every week and the fear making a mistake looms large in nearly every training room where I work. People beat themselves up for making the smallest mistakes and they believe they've failed if they weren't perfect.<br />
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<b>No interview is ever perfect</b><br />
I've done around 3,000 live newscasts, both television and radio, in my life. None of them were perfect. Some were awesome. I mispronounced my own name in one of them. Most were not memorable. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7r6PIniril3fCeEUCW0O2IijQ2_gLY9uSj7mMYErs-GsnIVYvQPOwk0uOBqNFb1lWq0ntezFpDMmbjmADnNMluBjEDVbnykhYRoUUwvh7khIJ6CxcsupkxoxvYMUfZ0Zuqzbgupz_Ltqy/s1600/50279_SMJPG_8YW60002XU521930Y.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7r6PIniril3fCeEUCW0O2IijQ2_gLY9uSj7mMYErs-GsnIVYvQPOwk0uOBqNFb1lWq0ntezFpDMmbjmADnNMluBjEDVbnykhYRoUUwvh7khIJ6CxcsupkxoxvYMUfZ0Zuqzbgupz_Ltqy/s200/50279_SMJPG_8YW60002XU521930Y.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Thousands of people are interviewed every day and, in reality, there are very few truly epic gaffes. News is disposable by its nature. So is your interview. Fear of making a mistake shouldn't keep you from doing an interview, it should motivate you to get trained and to practice before agreeing to it.<br />
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Since you're likely to make a mistake, focus on techniques to correct them when you make them.<br />
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<b>Three tips to fix your "gaffe"</b><br />
The first thing you can do when you realize you've misspoken is to stop talking. If you stop talking, the reporter has no news. Stop. Tell the reporter you've lost your train of thought and then re-start. <br />
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The second thing you can do is ask the reporter to ask you the question again so you can give a better answer. In most cases, a reporter will give you the chance to clarify your answer if you are honest about the fact that you weren't happy with your first go at it. They get a good story with good information from you.<br />
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The third tip to keep you from being gaffe-tastic is to use a pause. So many people think they have to begin speaking the microsecond a reporter's question ends that they stop thinking. Let the reporter ask the question. Listen to the whole thing. Take a breath and begin your answer.<br />
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Those tips can help keep your routine interview from becoming a viral video.<br />
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The other thing that can help is not citing as "fact" information that can be refuted by reading a middle school health textbook.<br />
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Bill Salvin<br />
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</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02884206525444434349noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542457057283640346.post-45325502730081695332012-07-14T19:04:00.001-07:002012-07-14T19:04:19.315-07:00Penn State's Crisis is NOT a Crisis Communications Failure<br />
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<span style="color: #262626; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As much as anything else, crisis
communications requires courage. Leaders must be able to, with limited or
incomplete information, make the right decisions, even if they are
difficult. <a href="http://www.psu.edu/">Penn State’s</a> leaders, specifically Joe Paterno, Graham Spanier,
Gary Schultz and Tim Curley, failed abjectly in their responsibilities as the
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Sandusky">Jerry Sandusky</a> scandal came to light in 1998 and 2001.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The <a href="http://thefreehreportonpsu.com/">report</a> by former federal judge and
<a href="http://thefreehreportonpsu.com/">FBI Director Louis Freeh</a> is gentle when it says the four leaders at Penn State demonstrated “callous indifference” to the victims of Jerry Sandusky. The actions of Joe Paterno
and others at the highest level Penn State is inexplicable. </span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px;">They knew about
Sandusky’s activities (the extent to which is in dispute) and did nothing about
it except to give him a nearly $200,000 retirement payout, an <i>emeritus</i> title and
unfettered access to Penn State facilities. It's what they thought was the "humane" thing to do. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH126X24lubJT3wiXBYdFqqjdjV8QCML4xTDhZ0UUgHnfdroL_tbnOs8rUfXgduFn0TSjlKR_hSpNC0UuHLVOxfnWtigvAI4x_AX3yhJJRKnaKRF_vDKy9LdOC2MbVJfs4vkeKkxAQzqq0/s1600/freeh_report_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH126X24lubJT3wiXBYdFqqjdjV8QCML4xTDhZ0UUgHnfdroL_tbnOs8rUfXgduFn0TSjlKR_hSpNC0UuHLVOxfnWtigvAI4x_AX3yhJJRKnaKRF_vDKy9LdOC2MbVJfs4vkeKkxAQzqq0/s200/freeh_report_cover.jpg" width="153" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #262626; font-size: 11pt;">The report highlights an obsessive
desire to avoid bad publicity. Legacy, reputation and public adoration for an
icon </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">were<span style="color: #262626;"> more important than protecting children from a serial
predator.</span><span style="color: #0f49bc;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://blog.braudcommunications.com/?p=285&goback=%2Egde_114852_member_133767339">Gerald Braud</a> wrote a <a href="http://blog.braudcommunications.com/?p=285&goback=%2Egde_114852_member_133767339">great post</a> about
what should have been done from a crisis comms </span></span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">perspective,<span style="color: #fb1615;"> </span><span style="color: #262626;">and he’s absolutely right when he lists the actions Penn
State should have taken. But this isn't a crisis communications failure. It's a leadership failure. </span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #262626; font-size: 15px;"><span style="color: #262626; font-size: 11pt;"><br /></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #262626; font-size: 15px;"><span style="color: #262626; font-size: 11pt;">It's not as if the communicators ever got close enough to make a recommendation about how to proceed. Senior people covered it up. You can't blame the </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #262626; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">field-goal<span style="color: #262626;"> kicker for the loss if he never gets on the field to try and win the game.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px;"><span style="color: #262626; font-size: 11pt;">I also believe that if the
communicators <i>did </i>know about what was going</span><span style="color: #fb1615; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 11pt;">on, they likely would have<span style="color: #fb1615;"> </span><span style="color: #262626;">been unable to
convince their leaders to do the right thing or have been complicit in the
chosen course of action. I know that’s cynical, but they all drink the same
water in Happy Valley.</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #262626; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;"><span style="color: #262626;">
<span style="color: #262626; font-size: 11pt;">Several people have asked
me how Penn State can rebuild its reputation. </span></span></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px;">I'll write more about that in the days ahead. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px;">The way ahead is straight
through. Get all the facts out and make changes so this doesn’t happen again.
The facts are going to be ugly and painful, but it is the only way through.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYhZhqO-9ECmykrK3D260g5hxO4kBI0UUS2ytVgpTCCrByIZp73o9feGKnChkrguxOsFwFZT-iviBslR2GNODVRO7B4RH0vGdyhvkAnffXHaqSF8C1KAGDbjLkr-sJ73JBkb413oct8mte/s1600/Penn+State+Abuse+Reminders.JPEG-0e086.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYhZhqO-9ECmykrK3D260g5hxO4kBI0UUS2ytVgpTCCrByIZp73o9feGKnChkrguxOsFwFZT-iviBslR2GNODVRO7B4RH0vGdyhvkAnffXHaqSF8C1KAGDbjLkr-sJ73JBkb413oct8mte/s200/Penn+State+Abuse+Reminders.JPEG-0e086.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px;">Hindsight is always perfect. The
Paterno family insists that the coach didn’t know the extent of what was going
on. It’s the same defense the university president, the senior VP for finance
and the athletic director are using. Except leaders aren’t paid to have
perfect hindsight. Leaders are paid to make difficult decisions with imperfect
facts. </span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #262626; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 15px;">The Freeh report makes clear they had enough information to stop the abuse 13 years before Sandusky's arrest. Instead,
they let idol worship and fear lead them to a catastrophically wrong choice.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #262626; font-size: 15px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">
</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When they got a report that Sandusky
raped a ten-year old boy in the Penn State locker room, they chose football.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #262626; font-size: 11pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Bill Salvin</span></span></div>
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</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02884206525444434349noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542457057283640346.post-62426897359595435642012-06-23T15:21:00.000-07:002012-06-23T15:21:09.308-07:00Two Quick Tips to Better PresentationsReading columns by former Ronald Reagan speechwriter <a href="http://online.wsj.com/public/page/peggy-noonan.html">Peggy Noonan</a> is a special joy. Her way with words is understated, focused and powerful. I'd give my left arm to write like that, and not just because I'm right handed. Her most recent <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304898704577480853621956184.html">column</a> offered two great nuggets that people who give speeches and presentations should take to heart. The first one seems so simple.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"People like to listen if you're saying something interesting."</i></blockquote>
Being interesting means losing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_buzzwords">buzzwords</a>, telling stories and conveying passion for the topic. If <i>you're </i>not excited about the topic, why should your audience be? A PowerPoint slide is not nearly as interesting as a well told, relevant story.<br />
<br />
Gary Vaynerchuk tells the story of how he came to believe in the power of social media, and he's worth listening to because it's <i>interesting</i> to hear. He uses no slides. It's captivating and worth your time even if some of the language is NSFW.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/lcqCAqZtedI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
The speech takes a while but, as Ms. Noonan says, it takes some time to build a story that supports a great idea. I listened because Vaynerchuk's talk conveyed a great idea.<br />
<br />
The second great tip in Peggy Noonan's column is about focus.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"A speech about everything is a speech about nothing."</i></blockquote>
What that means for most corporate types who use <a href="http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/11.09/ppt2.html">PowerPoint</a> is no back-up slides. If you have to use back-up slides, you don't know your audience and you don't have a clear point for your presentation. If you can do your presentation with no slides, please do.<br />
<br />
Focus is everything. It's what grabs people's attention, it's what captures their imagination and it's what moves them to action. Tell your audience exactly what you want them to know, believe and do. Don't just hope they get it. If you can't pinpoint that for your audience, you leave it to <i>them</i> to decide what's important and what they can ignore. It's likely a good percentage of them will ignore what you think is most important.<br />
<br />
Two simple, but powerful tips: Be interesting. Be focused.<br />
<br />
It's the only way you'll ever be memorable.<br />
<br />
Bill Salvin<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02884206525444434349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542457057283640346.post-2803660729087761122012-06-05T09:10:00.004-07:002012-06-05T09:40:23.252-07:00Three Questions Communicators Want to Ask AttorneysAttorneys have been part of my career ever since I became a
journalist. I’ve interviewed lots of them in nearly every kind of situation.
I’ve also dealt with them on the PR side of things in every crisis to which
I’ve responded.<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj38Nb0MnbagD3JLkeQYnpFZ1rjLmNBxiPCjQi3wgT8GdZJMQnmlject-xVhMIv_Up7qY-vTBRnI6_9IRKTW16b75zzkLPKk1qS8QnM_liYuPYfZwLMRrbFi38dNtC04RXphb0gYV1IRtuZ/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-06-04+at+8.45.00+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj38Nb0MnbagD3JLkeQYnpFZ1rjLmNBxiPCjQi3wgT8GdZJMQnmlject-xVhMIv_Up7qY-vTBRnI6_9IRKTW16b75zzkLPKk1qS8QnM_liYuPYfZwLMRrbFi38dNtC04RXphb0gYV1IRtuZ/s200/Screen+Shot+2012-06-04+at+8.45.00+AM.png" width="143" /></a>I’ve worked with spectacular attorneys, who had just the
right advice at the perfect time and probably saved the response. I’ve also
worked with attorneys I wouldn’t enjoy being handcuffed to if we made
a cross-country buddy movie. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Crisis communications is a team sport, and communicators are
going to have to work with attorneys. Both have important roles to play. With
that as a background, I thought I’d highlight the three common questions
communicators ask about attorneys. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">1. Why are attorneys so slow when it comes to approving statements in
a crisis? <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Most communicators I have worked with in a crisis can get an
initial statement written in less than five minutes. Then they cool their heels waiting for legal approval while the media beg for
information and others post about the crisis on social media. Communicators know
attorneys have to get comfortable with the statement. We wish it didn't take them longer to approve
a statement than it takes us to write it. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
Solution? Make sure the attorney understands what is going to be in your initial statement <i>before </i>the crisis strikes. Get the attorney comfortable with the template you'll use, then stick to it when you deploy it. You will shave precious minutes off your response time. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">2. Why do attorneys wordsmith instead of providing legal review? <o:p></o:p></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhw2NJt4HrAN4_FtqVH6ryAYHIInioodsYwK81dVcqa09aoztsKLxgyh6SgT6f5RFlpULdu50u-Ry1pGmVzhVQxEFGEG8bP-vnBZMM6dQo5yHiBZ9Fh8AcTjRz3ttfHaSqsReSo48iWIno/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-06-04+at+8.53.26+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhw2NJt4HrAN4_FtqVH6ryAYHIInioodsYwK81dVcqa09aoztsKLxgyh6SgT6f5RFlpULdu50u-Ry1pGmVzhVQxEFGEG8bP-vnBZMM6dQo5yHiBZ9Fh8AcTjRz3ttfHaSqsReSo48iWIno/s200/Screen+Shot+2012-06-04+at+8.53.26+AM.png" width="200" /></a>We take a statement for legal review and it seems everyone
wants to be a writer. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Attorneys don’t like <a href="http://www.legalcrisisstrategies.com/2010/09/articles/crisis-management/communication-and-credibility/">adjectives
and they do not like words that convey emotion</a>. At least, that’s what <a href="http://www.mwe.com/Cecilia-R-Showalter/">Cecilia Showalter</a> wrote in a
2010 post on communications and credibility. It’s a worth a read for the common
ground we share. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since all crises are human events, all crises have an
emotional component. Communicators are taught to be empathetic with those
impacted by a crisis. If you remove all words that contain emotion, you come
across cold and unfeeling. How will that help anyone when the lawsuits get
filed? <o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
Solution? Work with your attorney to spell out how your company will express regret for an incident. Attorneys don't like when you say "I'm sorry" because it is considered an admission against interest. Really good lawyers will help you craft a statement that is both empathetic and legally sound. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">3. Why do attorneys seem to lack a sense of urgency in a crisis?</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAegtW6wcloE9pihcm5LHcsxYkxw6U4RZPwuw0frp_JtxBPQ4dP-c34Edd0Ohg5go0N-zuY_HrpkoxQOc7LfZVPSwNpNE8wlMMXFMz8-tBxvZij2H3XEyb5yR0kvzLFMVA8h0goEgyYe7_/s1600/Twitter-Oops.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAegtW6wcloE9pihcm5LHcsxYkxw6U4RZPwuw0frp_JtxBPQ4dP-c34Edd0Ohg5go0N-zuY_HrpkoxQOc7LfZVPSwNpNE8wlMMXFMz8-tBxvZij2H3XEyb5yR0kvzLFMVA8h0goEgyYe7_/s200/Twitter-Oops.png" width="200" /></a><br />
<blockquote style="font-family: Helvetica;" type="cite">
<div style="-webkit-line-break: after-white-space; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; word-wrap: break-word;">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Times;">
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
Communicators have told me they feel attorneys focus attention on small, unimportant things in a crisis. This perception may come from the different focus attorneys and communicators have in those early hours. There is a balance between short and long-term priorities that can be the heart of the attorney-communicator challenge. </div>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I've seen attorneys worry about approving a Tweet taken from an approved news release. To a<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ce221e;"> </span>communicator, this<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #ce221e;"> </span>wastes time and energy for no tangible gain. We worry the attorney is more concerned about the deposition in two years than the crisis right now. Worrying about a Tweet helps no one, and can cripple a response with a culture of perfection. You don’t have to be perfect in a crisis. You just have to be good.<br />
<br />
Solution? The best advice is always the simplest. Don't meet your new in-laws at the wedding and don't meet your attorney after the fire starts.<br />
<br />
Crisis communications is a team sport. A communicator has to worry about a hundred things to succeed in a crisis. Worrying about your relationship with your attorney shouldn't be one of them. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Bill Salvin</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02884206525444434349noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542457057283640346.post-28028072723861738682012-05-25T09:13:00.000-07:002012-05-25T09:35:02.572-07:00Three Crisis Comms Tactics Better than SpeedPR folks and crisis communicators spend a lot of time talking about how fast companies have to be in order to survive a crisis. Getting out of the gate fast is critical to success. But fast isn't the only thing a company has to be to weather a <a href="http://signalbridge.blogspot.com/2012/03/6-words-to-better-crisis-communications.html">PR storm</a>. In fact, fast isn't even the most important thing a company needs to be in a crisis.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjurUOQ2wBpiuIhoFIapqzrKEX5eAn0iBVojhTD8lk_4O7gI1caMI7OTVUnYkUUgzHNkYRIXJfgjzbKXLneegR_6LFWttE-rIlpb0X544o2fpQZl1p6BNpRcjTPdMEeG2Z4Ok4kCIH1Fkwu/s1600/2012-indy-500-logo_100388713_m-350x271.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjurUOQ2wBpiuIhoFIapqzrKEX5eAn0iBVojhTD8lk_4O7gI1caMI7OTVUnYkUUgzHNkYRIXJfgjzbKXLneegR_6LFWttE-rIlpb0X544o2fpQZl1p6BNpRcjTPdMEeG2Z4Ok4kCIH1Fkwu/s200/2012-indy-500-logo_100388713_m-350x271.jpg" width="200" /></a>The <a href="http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/indy500/">Indianapolis 500</a> is this weekend and speed thrills, but it doesn't often win.<br />
<br />
In the last 101 years (96 races), only 20 drivers won the pole position went on to win the race. Another quirky stat, 19 times the driver that had the pole position wasn't the fastest driver to qualify (Indy 500 rules give the pole position to the fastest driver on the first day of qualifying.) You have to be more than quick to succeed.<br />
<br />
Getting back to crisis comms, there are three important tactics that can be more determinative of success than speed.<br />
<br />
<b>Consistency</b><br />
In the early days of a crisis, the pace of work required of communicators is overwhelming. As the workload shrinks (and it can shrink rapidly if someone else has a crisis that's more dramatic than yours) make sure your team's production stays high. You don't have to Tweet every three minutes, but you do need to keep the people impacted by the crisis in the know. Crises have a way of circling back around for a second or third wave. Staying consistent helps you maintain a credible place in the comms environment.<br />
<br />
<b>Clarity</b><br />
Most crises are complex events, yet people crave simple explanations for what's happening. Keep your messages as simple as possible so that your key audiences never have to struggle to figure out where your company stands on what's happening. The clarity bonus is especially important as others weigh-in on your adverse event. Conspiracy theories abound in a crisis. Conspiracies require complexity to survive. Clarity is the conspiracy killer, so keep it simple.<br />
<br />
<b>Honesty</b><br />
This is the single most important tactic you have in a crisis. It's human nature to want bad news to turn to good in times of great stress. If it wasn't, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000424/">Hugh Grant</a> wouldn't make movies. Facts are unfavorable to your company's reputation in a crisis, but don't try and convince people that those facts are anything other than what they are. If you spend less time trying to convince them of something that's not true and more time communicating your response, you will have a greater, more lasting impact over the arc of the crisis.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzv7olCvqmVxDETyh7F1zhZFfvbMh0O2a96LT2HPEXc1imFW2Ze3YzuUrcel2uj-MrsLMizo6G6ZSKN87d7hobqLWlvP26c_v4ujG0y87d16ALT87YnYev1czYCc9AtzPfKHlirRRLRu6c/s1600/iStock_000014992091XSmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzv7olCvqmVxDETyh7F1zhZFfvbMh0O2a96LT2HPEXc1imFW2Ze3YzuUrcel2uj-MrsLMizo6G6ZSKN87d7hobqLWlvP26c_v4ujG0y87d16ALT87YnYev1czYCc9AtzPfKHlirRRLRu6c/s200/iStock_000014992091XSmall.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
I'm advocating a complete response, not just a fast response. Crisis communicators need to know what the drivers at the Brickyard know. You can be fast and still fail.<br />
<br />
Bill Salvin<br />
<br />
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</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02884206525444434349noreply@blogger.com57tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542457057283640346.post-88187328716814818442012-05-16T01:06:00.000-07:002012-05-17T00:50:19.027-07:00The Wrong Expectation of Crisis CommunicationsA lot of people (me included) spend time judging the performance of corporate folks mired in a crisis. It's a very tactical type of analysis that help us better prepare our clients in case something terrible happens to them. The better and harder we train, the better we will respond is the thinking.<br />
<br />
What's bugging me is that the word "better" seems to be synonymous with "perfect". You will never be prefect when communicating in a crisis.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijPs7T5hbPpf1qf0CCk7j6IcqCujzn9tp_dX981pNI7ICX5pH_GIWvDWQE_V1zsKndAmuis_8keC4F4zyTn5eV_rYGwIoBVg6-zClvXnViaCeSRyoKTynxEDpPSRocxNIsTR4QRPZy3tOM/s1600/120514_jamie_dimon_facts_reuters_328.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="108" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijPs7T5hbPpf1qf0CCk7j6IcqCujzn9tp_dX981pNI7ICX5pH_GIWvDWQE_V1zsKndAmuis_8keC4F4zyTn5eV_rYGwIoBVg6-zClvXnViaCeSRyoKTynxEDpPSRocxNIsTR4QRPZy3tOM/s200/120514_jamie_dimon_facts_reuters_328.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reuters Photo via Politico</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Let's take the current fiasco engulfing J.P. Morgan Chase and its CEO <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jamie_Dimon">Jamie Dimon</a>. The short story is that the bank made some trades to protect itself from other trades. It didn't work out and the bank lost about $2.3 billion so far. More losses are coming, but the bank expects to be profitable for the quarter and for the year. J.P. Morgan Chase has plenty of money left. No bailout required.<br />
<br />
Here's what J.P. Morgan did, best as I can piece together.<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/deals/2012/04/13/j-p-morgan-a-london-whale-hes-more-of-a-shrubbery/">Denounced</a> the trades by the trader known as the "London Whale" as a "tempest in a teapot" when disclosed by the Wall Street Journal in April.</li>
<li><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304070304577396511420792008.html?mod=WSJ_hp_LEFTTopStories">Disclosed</a> to the government and in a conference call to investors that the trades were a mistake and that the bank had lost more than $2 billion.</li>
<li><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20120515-713013.html">Apologized</a> to investors at the company's annual meeting and called the trade "flawed, complex, poorly conceived, poorly vetted and poorly executed. This should never have happened. I can't justify it. Unfortunately, these mistakes were self-inflicted."</li>
<li><a href="http://www.jpmorgan.com/cm/cs?pagename=JPM_redesign/JPM_Content_C/Generic_Detail_Page_Template&cid=1320494762818&c=JPM_Content_C">Announced</a> management changes that cost three high-ranking J.P. Morgan executives their jobs.</li>
</ul>
<div>
I think J.P. Morgan has responded as well as it could to this crisis. I'm sure Mr. Dimon would like back his comment about the trades being a "tempest in a teapot". Once the magnitude of the problem became evident, J.P. Morgan's choices became both limited and poor. A crisis <i>always </i>means you are choosing between lousy options.<br />
<br />
For example, on May 10, JP Morgan's choices were simple: disclose the trading losses or not. There is a right choice there, but it's not a great choice, as you have to tell the world and your investors that your bank has lost more than $2 billion dollars in a matter of days.<br />
<br />
Even when you respond as well as you can, the bottom line is that you are still communicating in a hostile environment about an adverse event. I say hostile environment because people pile on in a crisis. Just look at the calls for banking reform by politicians of every stripe. JP Morgan's misfortune isn't a real event for them, it's a poster child for their own agenda.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzCXI2iLZnGzywN6JLxb5zcJ4nN43oG19iA-iHgLOWhvUikGGUsrsaYXc8SfXf0yTTt2HPgslrNo4M4AZLq6J8ry_33H2HQUCsSFxoTv4QDFIDA1bBOf1mYXbr2dLWNSBEFu8B_7fVnT_c/s1600/220px-Moby_dick434.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzCXI2iLZnGzywN6JLxb5zcJ4nN43oG19iA-iHgLOWhvUikGGUsrsaYXc8SfXf0yTTt2HPgslrNo4M4AZLq6J8ry_33H2HQUCsSFxoTv4QDFIDA1bBOf1mYXbr2dLWNSBEFu8B_7fVnT_c/s320/220px-Moby_dick434.jpg" width="208" /></a>As counselors during a crisis, we have to make sure that we set the expectations properly. All crisis communications are done in a negative environment. You can't be perfect. I've anchored about 3,000 live newscasts in my life and I've never been perfect. I had one newscast where I mispronounced <i>my own </i>name.<br />
<br />
If you want perfection, perhaps you could board the <i>Pequod</i> and help Captain Ahab search for his version of the London Whale.<br />
<br />
For the rest of us? Let's just strive to be better.<br />
<br />
Bill Salvin</div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.bloglines.com/sub/http://www.signalbridge.com/blog.htm">
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</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02884206525444434349noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542457057283640346.post-19238687044345292782012-05-05T15:20:00.001-07:002012-05-16T19:16:41.755-07:003 Reasons Traditional Media Still MattersSocial media use is growing fast and it's changing how people consume news. But there's still life in traditional media. The real choice for corporate communicators isn't putting resources in either traditional media or social media, but rather how do you get the right balance so that your company gets covered broadly and the stories have the most impact.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="78" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwVq6kn8p6HRTTD-7Clif6BmTr4zvAFf-ekYKJV-CU8a_PmiTrpgzByyDaDQfRqalhlraJpPubORov88nj4DyYuK2TgdzWs7qN1OJ-DDEq3rJiOr8a9-gzGU3zK2SW4NSqyQKti3aA1E3f/s320/Screen+Shot+2012-05-05+at+11.56.27+AM.png" width="320" /></div>
<br />
<a href="http://mashable.com/">Mashable</a> had a really cool info graphic from Schools.com about people's use of social media for news consumption. The title <a href="http://mashable.com/2012/04/18/social-media-and-the-news/">"How Social Media is Taking Over the News Industry"</a> was a bit hyperbolic, but as with all good headlines, it got me to read (in this case, click). As I processed the information, it got me thinking that there are three reasons traditional media still matters.<br />
<br />
<b>#1: Traditional media is where the audience is.</b><br />
Most people still get their news from TV and newspapers. As a news source, TV comes in at about 60%, newspapers about 30% and about 29% for social media and roughly 19% for radio. (The numbers don't equal 100% because typically people are able to pick more than one source for their news.) You're still going to need trained individuals to do traditional media interviews, and you are still going to have to build and maintain relationships with reporters who cover your industry. Social media comes in ahead of radio, but even in 2005, the Pew Center for People and the Press reported that internet news came in ahead of radio (24% vs. 22%).<br />
<br />
<b>#2: Traditional media has credibility.</b><br />
This survey shows that nearly half of the people polled say they have heard breaking news on social media that turned out to be wrong. The race to be first makes for sloppy reporting. What good is immediacy if the information is incorrect? Not that traditional media doesn't blow the story sometimes, just less often than social media.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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</div>
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</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<b>#3: News isn't driving social media growth.</b><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimjJCUCT9riU3pV1YTX5B0f8qAkSPUQOmrbTrEf8Qg3aM1fLGK5K-QCf1MqVHl3Eu90WTOhB0Veb1DhmafnZshpPXlevmR6W7RBiR3u5X0_vdJUbdsMLbAWPWuJ326qFJsknAku11Oe0Kv/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-05-07+at+8.56.26+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimjJCUCT9riU3pV1YTX5B0f8qAkSPUQOmrbTrEf8Qg3aM1fLGK5K-QCf1MqVHl3Eu90WTOhB0Veb1DhmafnZshpPXlevmR6W7RBiR3u5X0_vdJUbdsMLbAWPWuJ326qFJsknAku11Oe0Kv/s400/Screen+Shot+2012-05-07+at+8.56.26+AM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
Since 2009, traffic to news sites from social media has grown 57%. Sounds impressive. But Facebook has grown about 400% since 2009 and Twitter about 800%. If social media were really taking over, shouldn't the growth in links be a lot higher? Sure, more people are linking to news from social media, but news certainly isn't driving social media growth.<br />
<br />
Social media lets you hold onto your current audiences by connecting with them in new ways. You can also build new audiences with tools that allow you to connect with people you've ever reached before. That's the true power of social media in corporate communications.<br />
<br />
Any communication tool that allows you to better connect with your key audiences is worth your attention. No matter the technology, though, communication remains, at its core, a <i>human </i>interaction.<br />
<br />
Bill Salvin<br />
<br />
<i>Note: This post has been updated to correct a statistic in the graph on user growth. The original post listed Facebook user growth from 2009-2012 as 800%. It is 400%.</i><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.bloglines.com/sub/http://www.signalbridge.com/blog.htm">
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</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02884206525444434349noreply@blogger.com31tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542457057283640346.post-38618931434328413132012-04-23T09:58:00.001-07:002012-04-23T09:58:40.614-07:00Simple is Good. Not Always Better<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQMRUAAbXRyMxxZdYWi8eyUtRM1GpeQv66K_KsMnQn0Q945zd5MvFgtvTRMLADjweSLFPMzlr2mnaDe-aioz0aL5st2zekxcNCS1I1VGWALdd_4F2pplMz4APgFINKi3-whIBXK10ydVRf/s1600/CLIPART_OF_81948_SMJPG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQMRUAAbXRyMxxZdYWi8eyUtRM1GpeQv66K_KsMnQn0Q945zd5MvFgtvTRMLADjweSLFPMzlr2mnaDe-aioz0aL5st2zekxcNCS1I1VGWALdd_4F2pplMz4APgFINKi3-whIBXK10ydVRf/s200/CLIPART_OF_81948_SMJPG.jpg" width="160" /></a>A crisis comms plan has to work. That's the standard for success or failure. My mentor and friend, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/When-Balloon-Goes-Up-Communicators/dp/1412097452">Bob Roemer</a>, says a crisis comms plan has to be simple enough so that the most junior member of your staff can execute the plan solo, if needed. Great advice from a great crisis guy.<br />
<br />
That's why a recent post on <a href="http://www.prdaily.eu/PRDailyEU/Articles/11382.aspx">Ragan's PR Daily Europe</a> page really rubbed me the wrong way. It shows insurance giant Chubb's crisis plan and praises its simplicity. Here's the plan as shown on the page under "Here's an outline of Chubb's Protocol":<br />
<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #191c1f; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;"><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Plan</span></b></span><br />
<blockquote>
• Identify and prepare for potential issues.<br />
• Communicate with the customer service and legal teams.<br />
• Get the facts and prepare statements. </blockquote>
<b>Monitor </b><br />
<blockquote>
• This covers traditional and social media.<br />
• Respond and correct the record. </blockquote>
<b>Respond </b><br />
<blockquote>
• Get in front of the story.<br />
• “No comment” is a last-ditch response.<br />
• Accurately convey your side of the story. </blockquote>
The problem here is that it leaves too much room to think. Thinking is one of the last things you want people to do in a crisis. People respond how they are <i>trained, </i>and in the absence of a solid training program, this set of guidelines will drive the company towards disaster.<br />
<br />
Let's take the "Monitor" section. Yes, you need to monitor traditional and social media. You may want to tell your people <i>how</i> as there are myriad ways to do that. Some are more effective and faster than others.<br />
<br />
Next up, "Respond and correct the record." Great advice. Except that it's not really possible today. I was one of several <i>hundred </i>communicators BP used during the <a href="http://www.bp.com/sectionbodycopy.do?categoryId=41&contentId=7067505">Deepwater Horizon/Gulf Oil Spill</a> Response. One day, June 17, 2010, there were 27,000 stories published in traditional and social media worldwide. There weren't enough people to correct the record and there won't be for your crisis.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvF2l7QWkNsezRIOvhSRjBdPiXJqEc8tFEhU-ra6LUxE2Yt-31BVPDHorjsxtC1G0tbQqRu0k4dfdaWxyx8PHmuD9BNNVtZk7qgUKdx894upMiWs2MolXbNzBxZx1Elx37hzOzf2-t_JJf/s1600/210341_SMJPG_793931483B5406604.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="259" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvF2l7QWkNsezRIOvhSRjBdPiXJqEc8tFEhU-ra6LUxE2Yt-31BVPDHorjsxtC1G0tbQqRu0k4dfdaWxyx8PHmuD9BNNVtZk7qgUKdx894upMiWs2MolXbNzBxZx1Elx37hzOzf2-t_JJf/s320/210341_SMJPG_793931483B5406604.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Let's move along to the "Respond" section. Big fan of responding. This saves your bacon in a crisis. So, "Get in front of the story." is worth some discussion. How exactly? 50% of people in the US have smartphones and can post photos to the web instantly. I talked about this in <a href="http://signalbridge.blogspot.com/2012/03/6-words-to-better-crisis-communications.html">"6 words to better Crisis Communications."</a> Getting in front of the story is great if you're responding to a crisis in 1985. In 2012, it is a waste of time. Your employees or those impacted by the crisis will post, text, tweet or upload to Facebook or other social media before you're notified you've had a problem. You've got better odds of winning <a href="http://www.powerball.com/pb_home.asp">Powerball</a> than getting in front of the story.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://crisis.groundfloormedia.com/">Gil Rudawsky</a>, the author of the Ragan post, wrote that he's slogged through 100-page crisis plans and that simple is better. He's half right. Simple is better. Your crisis plan doesn't need to be 100-pages, but it does need to be more in-depth than Chubb's 54 words.<br />
<br />
Bill Salvin<br />
<br />
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<br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.bloglines.com/sub/http://www.signalbridge.com/blog.htm">
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</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02884206525444434349noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542457057283640346.post-27347300560624167542012-03-12T18:20:00.001-07:002012-05-16T19:17:08.088-07:006 Words to Better Crisis Communications<br />
One of the most common things PR people say when counseling clients on a crisis is to "get in front of the story." Here's the problem: there is no more getting in front of a story. Smart phones with cameras + social media = a story that is off and running before, in many cases, you're notified of the problem. This graph shows more people have <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-putting-global-mobile-in-context-2012-4">mobile phones</a> than have drinking water or electricity. Speed is still important and has to be a component of your crisis plan, but it can't be the <i>goal</i> of your crisis comms plan.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVrbOCt5rmXuHNvGtFxVGoX0X9NDzJhENevrjB3jXEfvKfLOw81OvVCIIHBpkFseMcde7HntsM39nxRY_DhpuOaKmLbwMyl9V2TX9oXzME5VZ7btgZ1RSJOeN_IjtshEqteLiE1znqDqeP/s1600/1060166_SMJPG_8FS636375F622011T.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVrbOCt5rmXuHNvGtFxVGoX0X9NDzJhENevrjB3jXEfvKfLOw81OvVCIIHBpkFseMcde7HntsM39nxRY_DhpuOaKmLbwMyl9V2TX9oXzME5VZ7btgZ1RSJOeN_IjtshEqteLiE1znqDqeP/s200/1060166_SMJPG_8FS636375F622011T.jpg" width="200" /></a>I've written many posts about crisis communications in today's saturated information environment, but it's taken time to get my thoughts down to their essence. It came to me last week when I was working with a client to refresh a crisis comms plan that had not been updated in about four years. The potential for this client's specific crisis still exists, but the environment in which it will unfold is completely new.<br />
<br />
The new plan we devised has two directives that guide all communications activities both before and after the event cooks off.<br />
<br />
First, when possible.<br />
Most credible, always.<br />
<br />
<i>Everything </i>communicators will do flows from these six words.<br />
<br />
<b>First, when possible.</b><br />
Success here means you must have structures and procedures in place to facilitate a fast response. At a minimum, this means monitoring social media, on-going media training of spokespeople, and creating, updating or revising your crisis communications plan. It means making sure people inside your organization know who to call in the PR department when an adverse event strikes. Does your communications staff have the authority to issue brief initial statements? Can they send Tweets or issue website updates to confirm an event has happened without three layers of legal being involved? Are your procedures clear enough so that the most junior person on your staff can succeed during the initial response?<br />
<br />
<b>Most credible, always.</b><br />
To achieve this, you have to have a robust presence in traditional and social media. Your website has to be a hub for information you publish about yourself. You have to be connected with the operational parts of your business so that you can explain complex subjects clearly, concisely and quickly, if need be. You have to have a program to train subject matter experts that can provide critical context during a crisis. You have to be ready to be relentless in your communications during a crisis, especially when it comes to correcting misinformation or refuting rumors.<br />
<br />
The best thing to me about this approach is that it forces planning, preparation and practice to enable success. It requires communicators do more than maintain a stash of 5-Hour Energy in their desks.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm9sJAoWPfxMKCR23SmLqfLMAUvGDYZp1HV1aXPf74G9z8mfHwuuT_lxyheMKuhOCqzWjCxktnt3YJYJNiAagYAFpQ4_uDUj8q4RVlNssJtygxnZuyJSlc8povdsjnitMyELwoeCojmLYc/s1600/5-Hour-Energy-Drink-Amazon.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm9sJAoWPfxMKCR23SmLqfLMAUvGDYZp1HV1aXPf74G9z8mfHwuuT_lxyheMKuhOCqzWjCxktnt3YJYJNiAagYAFpQ4_uDUj8q4RVlNssJtygxnZuyJSlc8povdsjnitMyELwoeCojmLYc/s200/5-Hour-Energy-Drink-Amazon.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
If your senior leadership says your crisis plan has to get you "in front of the story," make sure you tell them that a crisis plan built to get "in front of the story" is built to fail.<br />
<br />
Bill Salvin<div class="blogger-post-footer"><a href="http://www.bloglines.com/sub/http://www.signalbridge.com/blog.htm">
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</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02884206525444434349noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-542457057283640346.post-27107261458087955922012-02-19T21:47:00.003-07:002012-02-20T20:30:51.502-07:00So Much for "Don't Be Evil"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbHolHAkcdI0_ylTG6Bu7YbYrX7IYO-25ttMB3LXMLWp1lI34HhlIujHgkzkwxH_ORSLCtcZ9FKaU1VSwY4QoOGe8UXPvxJhfzYnfQrv7ov_fSX7SW1yLBcwxcFCkHNKDoHbdEvPE1EfGi/s1600/google-is-evil-300x270-1314103412.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbHolHAkcdI0_ylTG6Bu7YbYrX7IYO-25ttMB3LXMLWp1lI34HhlIujHgkzkwxH_ORSLCtcZ9FKaU1VSwY4QoOGe8UXPvxJhfzYnfQrv7ov_fSX7SW1yLBcwxcFCkHNKDoHbdEvPE1EfGi/s200/google-is-evil-300x270-1314103412.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
Google is in a bit of a PR pickle right now. As with most PR pickles, it is a self-inflicted problem brought on by unethical behavior. Google's poor communications aren't helping.<br />
<br />
Google's trouble started when<i> The <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204880404577225380456599176.html">Wall Street Journal</a></i> ran a page one story on the company's clever coding that allowed them to work around default security settings on the iPhone's main browser, Safari. Safari's default settings block third-party tracking software from being installed. Safari would only allow cookies if the user "interacted" with a site, like filling out a form. Google created code that sent an invisible form to trick Safari into thinking the user was interacting with an ad.<br />
<br />
Google issued a statement to the WSJ denying anything nefarious in their practices.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 21px;"><i>"The Journal mischaracterizes what happened and why. We used known Safari functionality to provide features that signed-in Google users had enabled. It's important to stress that these advertising cookies do not collect personal information."</i></span>- Google, Inc. Statement in <i>The Wall Street Journal</i>, February 17, 2012</blockquote>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
The catch here is that Google claimed it wasn't doing what it was doing. Therein lies the heart of the company's problem. Their actions do not match their words.<br />
<br />
The quid pro quo of the internet is access to information for privacy. The more information we get, the more of our privacy we relinquish. In theory, users are supposed to have control over how much of their privacy they give up and to whom.<br />
<br />
Let me run down the PR challenges Google faces here. The quote above really boils down to:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"We figured out a way around Safari's security settings and didn't tell you. Since we didn't collect personal information you shouldn't worry about it." </i></blockquote>
Later on, Google told the Hill's Technology Blog <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-valley/technology/211565-google-draws-more-scrutiny-after-accidental-tracking-of-apple-users">Hillicon Valley</a> that the tracking was "inadvertent and had been removed." The <a href="http://opinion.latimes.com/opinionla/2012/02/googles-embarassing-safari-exploit.html">Los Angeles Times</a> has an extensive piece on the privacy breach.<br />
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One of the key tenants of crisis communications (and in case you're wondering, Google, you have a crisis here) is that your operations and your communications have to work in order to successfully navigate a crisis. On the communications front, Google is going to have to choose between this being inadvertent or being ok. So far they've said both of those things.<br />
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Operationally, Google created a code that exploited a weakness in the Safari browser and placed that code into ads. This was not done by accident. Even though I'm not a programmer, I'm pretty sure that code didn't write itself.<br />
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Google failed operationally by installing the code, and they are failing PR-wise by not having a coherent, believable story about how and why this happened. The most telling detail for me is that Google disabled the offending after <i>The Wall Street Journal</i> raised the issue. Removing the code is the right thing, but the way this looks is that the only reason we aren't being secretly tracked by Google is because it got caught.<br />
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I'm a PR guy. Google needs a better story. If your goal is don't be evil, perhaps the truth is a good place to start<br />
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<i>Update: Apparently Google tricks Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser, too. See <a href="http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/02/google-tricks-internet-explorer-into-accepting-tracking-cookies-microsoft-claims.ars?clicked=related_right">here</a> for details. It appears Google's actions weren't so much inadvertent as totally deliberate. </i><br />
Bill Salvin<br />
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