Crisis Communications Media Policies and Procedures

Select Media Centre

• Select a place to be used as a media centre.
  • It should be some distance from offices of the crisis communication team, spokesperson and emergency operations centre to ensure that media are not in the middle of the action if they happen to take the wrong turn or have to pass by those offices or areas on the way to the restrooms.
  • If there is a visual (a fire or rescue operation) don't make the media center in such a remote site that they can't see what is going on because they may not show up and if they do you will loose their confidence and it may appear that you are hiding something.

Select Locations

• Locations for interviews and press briefings will be decided by the crisis communications team.

Change Rules of Engagement

• Don't change the rules that you already have established for the media.
• If the media are currently required to be escorted then during a crisis they should be required to be escorted.
  • These things should be considered and preparations made now to find people who can escort media during a crisis.
  • If they are not required to be escorted now then don't require them to be in a crisis.
• If there are special circumstances that would require them to be escorted such as a safety hazard, they should be advised of this up front.
• Any change in the way the media is dealt with during a crisis may change the views of the reporter. It is important that they feel that you aren't trying to hide anything.

Engage and Manage Reporters

• Reporters may ask to speak to staff or at an organization who are involved with or have been affected by the crisis.
  • It is best to restrict all interviews to the primary spokesperson, back-up spokesperson or technical expert.
  • Controlling the interview process is key to managing the crisis.

However, remember that reporters have the right to interview anyone they want to and if they don't get the answers they want from you they will get them somewhere.

• They are all after the scoop.
• They all want a different angle than the reporter standing next to them.
• They will try for that scoop with you. If the possibility is there to provide them with what they want, consider it very carefully. All media should be treated equally.
• What is given to one (such as access to an area effected by the crisis) should be available to all media.

Source: Crisis Communication Plan: A PR Blue Print http://www3.niu.edu/newsplace/crisis.html#3