When you enter the field of public relations, you have to go into it expecting a crisis. These are events where the organization you represent has a conflict in the public eye.
How will you respond?
That’s the million-dollar question. That’s why you’re
gainfully employed! As a public relations representative, your job is to do all
you can to disseminate information to the organization and general public –
ideally in a positive light.
Sometimes, that just won’t be the case, and it’s our
job as public relations specialists to compose messages that are true and
accurate.
But what is the right approach to crisis communications?
There are many
tactics floating around online about what you should and shouldn’t do in
the world of public relations – especially tactics for negative public
relations. Some, like Forbes, argue public relations specialists should outline
protocols for internal and external communications, or quickly spread all
relevant information on your channels.
From a military perspective, we are not in the business
of making money or making a profit. We are in the business of providing timely
and accurate information to our internal and external audiences – from a public
affairs standpoint. The only thing a military communicator is trying to gain
for their organization by doing their job is recruitment. There are not quotas
we need to hit as military communicators. We don’t need to reach sales numbers.
When faced with an accident or incident in the
military, you must first understand the differences between the two.
An accident is a lack of intent. This is a result of
carelessness, ignorance, and sometimes equipment failure. Accidents can cause
death, injury, or loss of property. While serving as a military communicator,
you will likely run into a few accidents amid the life of your contract, unfortunately.
An incident is characterized as either planned or
unplanned. Generally, incidents are intentional, but they can also be unintentional.
An incident can lead to serious consequences, so they should never be taken
lightly.
So, how do we as military communicators typically spread
our messages to our internal or external audiences amid an accident or incident
(aka crisis)? For starters, your public affairs office will almost always begin
the flow of communication by releasing an accident/incident news release.
News releases are customary in the world of military
public affairs, especially as a means for initiating communication with the
public or military community. Our goal is to provide maximum information with
minimum delay. A news release in the military is designed to build credibility.
The information you are writing about can’t be withheld or avoided. It must be
released in a timely and accurate manner.
A good rule of thumb is, if you’re honest when the
news is good, you’ll have the media’s trust when it’s bad!
A news release can also satisfy mass appeal. Think of
it this way: when people hear sirens, they want to know what happened. A news
release is the medium for you to tell your internal and external audiences what
happened. They can be released on your unit website and posted on social media –
sometimes accompanied with multimedia if it is appropriate.
In the military, you also must realize that these incident/accident
news releases are a public service. We as armed forces members serve the
American people! Thus, we must serve them in this career field of public
affairs by informing them of newsworthy events, such as a crisis.
While you must write the news release, you also must
abide by some guidelines for news releases.
You must already have a plan in place before the accident
or incident occurs, which your supervisors will likely already have mapped out.
Next, you will have to safeguard classified information first, then release classified
information afterword. Finally, you will have to respect appropriate jurisdictions.
A crisis can get messy, and sometimes, many different state/local entities or
private sector organizations can get involved. As military communicators, we
must stand firm, but also be respectful during a crisis.
There is also vital information that military
communicators must understand when releasing information about individuals in
the service. On an initial release, you are authorized to report the number of
dead, how they died, and where they died. Due to Department of Defense policy,
you cannot release the names of the deceased until 24 hours after the next of
kin have been notified.
As for injuries, you can report the number of injuries,
their condition, and where they are now. If someone is missing, this will be
the last piece of information you include behind if someone is dead or injured.
You can report where the service member was last seen and also the search and
rescue recovery plans.
Military communicators are allowed to attend briefings
by someone in charge of the response or investigation into an accident/incident.
While at the briefing, you should always take thorough notes, ask questions to
clarify essential information, and contact the subject matter expert later to
obtain more details for your follow-up release.
The structure of an initial release is critical when
trying to adequately convey messages during a crisis. Your goal is to release
the information within one hour after being notified about the accident or
incident. The initial release supports the military’s policy of maximum
disclosure, minimum delay. This first release will typically have thin or inconclusive
details because information has still yet to become available that soon after
the incident/accident. Note that a short initial release is not a bad thing!
Just give out as must authorized information as you can!
A news release follows journalism standards of writing
a lead as the first sentence. This is the most crucial information to start off
the story and hook the reader to keep reading more and obtain more information
on the crisis. If there is a death, that will always be the lead emphasis. If there
are no deaths but injuries, that would become the lead of the news release.
The following paragraph is where you can provide the
D.o.D’s policy statements, such as their zero tolerance for drunk driving or
how you cannot release the names of the dead until after family has been
notified. These statements satisfy why you can or cannot release certain information.
Above all, remember this: how well you respond can
help or hurt the trust relationship of between military communicators and the
reporters who depend on us for information.
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