October 28, 2008
Recently in Crisis Communications Category
October 22, 2008
Breaking News... Shoots at Western Kentucky University Reported, Lockdown Canceled.
WKLY reported that at 12:30 PM Central, Western Kentucky University issued a text alert stating: "An armed man has been reported on WKU South Campus. Please stay clear of this area."
Although details are still coming it, it appears that the lockdown was lifted. Please continue to keep WKY in your thoughts and let's hope for a peaceful resolution.
October 21, 2008
The Economy, Research, and Your Audiences
Last month I wrote a blog entry on communicating with your donors through an uncertain economy. This month I want to expand beyond just donor relations and really start to get to the heart of the matter. Most of my suggestions below are a classic crisis communications model, which begins by segmenting your audiences.
CASE President John Lippincott issued a statement on October 14th that talked about the "impact of the economy on fundraising strategies." I think it is worth your time to read his statement, particularly as he discusses the need to "redouble your efforts" and "reframe your conversations" with alumni. I couldn't agree with him more, but I want to add a very important point. Communications with all audiences need to be honest, but they also need to be data driven. If you have performed qualitative and quantitative research with alumni and donors in the past, make sure you infuse your current messages in the way and with the words that they want to hear from you. If you haven't done research with these audiences, now is the perfect time to assess their expectations of you in a good economy and in a bad.
Next, I want to ensure that you aren't forgetting about prospect and current students. My daily news clips from Inside Higher Ed remind me each morning that public and private institutions are slashing budgets and are subject to vulnerabilities in the current economy. What are you doing to communicate with prospective and current students to reassure them and their parents that they will still receive a quality education at your institution? Don't let them assume where those cuts will occur, or if your institution is financially sound. And, again, if you have performed research previously, use the data when you draft your messages to create the greatest calm.
Of greatest importance are your internal audiences-- your faculty and your staff. If you are experiencing budget cuts, make sure that they hear about areas impacted from YOU and not from the newspaper or secondary sources. Even if the news is hard to swallow, people appreciate honest in difficult times. And, be sure to talk about how the institution will survive and provide a timeline for the changes, if possible.
In no way shape or form do I believe we are in crisis mode, but remember the best crisis communications responses help institutions prevent crisis mode.
September 24, 2008
Federally Mandated Crisis Planning... Now What Do I Do?
If you haven't seen the coverage in Inside Higher Ed or through other sources, you really should pay attention to the Higher Education Opportunity Act.
Inside Higher Ed is drawing attention to the Act's "provision mandating that campuses must make public their policies for responding to campus emergencies such as terror attacks and weather catastrophes." Pair this with proposed legislation, "which passed the House of Representatives on an expedited basis last week and may be 'hotlined' in the Senate to allow quick passage without debate, would require all postsecondary institutions to 'assess campus safety on an annual basis" and "develop an emergency response plan to prepare for emergency situations, including natural disasters, active shooter situations, and terrorist attacks....'"
Did you break out in a cold sweat because 1) you don't have a crisis plan, 2) your plan hasn't been tested, 3) you aren't sure of the strength of your crisis plan, or 4) all of the above?
If you are wondering where to start, visit our resources page on our website. We have sample crisis plans, presentations on crisis responses, and white papers that you might find helpful. CASE has a website dedicated to crisis management, and turn to ACE's HENA for legislative information. If you want to talk to someone, remember that you don't have to be a client to send me an email or give me a call. Happy planning!
September 23, 2008
How Crisis is Communicated Abroad
Not sure if everyone saw the horrible news, but there was a shooting on a campus in Finland today that left 10 people dead including the gunman. I'm going to follow the story, because I am curious to see how the shooting will be covered by the local media and I am curious to see how the college leadership will portray forward movement. You might want to watch the story, too.
September 17, 2008
Another Round of Crisis Examples
It must be time for me to post an entry in which I talk about topics in the news that can be used to quickly test crisis plans during cabinet meetings, because in the past three days I've receive a couple of emails pointing out some perfect examples of "what where they thinking?"
- Did you hear about the priest who is accused of selling cocaine out of his office in the Catholic student center at the University of Illinois? No, unfortunately, that's not the beginning of a joke. Rev. Christopher Layden faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted of all charges.
- East Stroudsburg University's chief fundraiser is charged with using "scholarships, gifts and other financial offers" to "several former and current students who claim they were victimized." Five current and former male students say the gifts "came attached to unwelcomed touching and other physical contact." In addition to the investigation into the alleged misconduct, additional investigators are performing "[a}n analysis of the federal forms filed over the past decade reveals inconsistent payouts of endowed scholarships." Each of these situations can be used as a crisis plan run-through, with both together serving as a great table-top drill.
- Inside Higher Ed reports that students at Clarion University of Pennsylvania held a protest against "a new ban on smoking anywhere on state-owned college or university campuses.... When university officials handed these students yellow cards warning them of possible fines, some students put tobacco on the cards, rolled them up, and smoked them, too." Okay, I have been on my best behavior because the previous two situations are very serious. This one, though, made me laugh. First of all, yellow cards? Is there going to be a penalty kick? And, let's hope the administration used natural yellow paper, or the carcinogens and chemical compounds in the paper when smoked might be higher than in the tobacco!
August 22, 2008
Fresh Air and Lockhart
Driving home from the airport yesterday I tuned into NPR and heard a rebroadcast of Fresh Air with Terry Gross. Terry was interviewing one of President Clinton's press secretary, Joe Lockhart. Just to jog your memory, he was the White House Press Secretary during the Clinton impeachment hearings and the Kosovo bombings. The interview was conducted in 2001, but I didn't realize that until the end of the conversation because I was captivated by what Mr. Lockhart was saying.
Regardless of your political preferences, if anyone has ever been tasked with messaging through a crisis, you should be interested in his insight. I found myself living each moment with him as he described it and relating it to my own experiences.
One key takeaway... he describes the need for a sense of humor, the potential for that humor to be misunderstood and his willingness to take that risk. I can empathize with all three parts completely, but I think the overall point is important. You take your eye off of your communications goal once you start to taking the crisis you are handling or your workplace too personally or too seriously. You need an outlet even when you are messaging through the direst of situations and stories. Remember that there is a place and a time for humor, but sometimes humor is what keeps you sane and able to meet the task at hand.
-- Teresa
August 11, 2008
Never make a promise you can't keep
It is not uncommon for me to be asked during a crisis response if an institution should say they will not allow the incident to be repeated, or even promise there will not be a repeat event. My advice is... unless you can control all elements of the situation, don't do it. Instead, explain the situation clearly, say what you are doing to address the situation and explain that you are creating protocols to prevent something similar to happen. But, stop yourself from jumping off that cliff. You will lose significant credibility should the incident be repeated or your language is vague enough to come back to haunt you.
Examples abound in higher education, but I was struck by an example in yesterday's newspaper.-- the Department of Agriculture jumped off that cliff:
"Federal authorities last month assured consumers that a meat plant linked to nearly 50 illnesses caused by tainted ground beef had made enough changes after a recall to ensure that its products were safe. Less than a month later, the same processor has recalled 1.2 million pounds of other beef products that might have sickened more than 30 people."
In this situation, only the ground beef processing portion of the plant had the new protocols put in place. The meat "sold to retailers and other companies that planned to further process the meat" was not covered by the improved safety measures. This is where the Department of Agriculture could have used some help. Don't use vague language in your response, and if you say something is safe be sure you can back up your words. People don't have time to research what you are or are not including in your response, so keep it simple and truthful.
We all understand that bad things happen, but nobody appreciates when they feel they are receiving a story that has been "spun."
August 5, 2008
When it hits the fan...
At first I laughed when I read about the City of Denver, host of the 2008 DNC, passing a "new law that prohibits people from carrying certain items if they intend to use them for nefarious purposes." These "certain items" are described in the article as "chains, padlocks, carabiners and other locking devices. It also prohibits the possession of noxious substances. Two of the most frequently used examples of a noxious substance are a bucket of urine and a 'feces bomb.'"
Of course, some believe this is silly and a waste of time. But, I think it is important for the city to think through all of the possible situations the police and event organizers might face.
Applying this concept to campuses, I always create a "what if" list for institutions that are making announcements that might be controversial. Think through which audiences will support or oppose you, and brainstorm all of the tools opponents have at their disposal to cause harm or negative press. Is there anything you can do in advance to prevent these outcomes and is there any way you can meet with the opposition in advance to allow for a peaceful event or message release?
When brainstorming with clients, the first "what ifs" often involve blogs, opponent press releases, mass emails, etc. Often I make us return to the obvious, like "certain items intended for nefarious purposes." Remember that you can cause just as much damage (albeit different) and receive more press with a 'feces bomb' than with a blog attack. Be prepared for both.
July 31, 2008
University of Iowa Football Investigation
The Associated Press ran an article in yesterday about the University of Iowa's hiring of "a St. Louis law firm to investigate the University of Iowa's handling of an alleged sexual assault by two former football players."
Having served for the governing board at the University of Colorado during a well publicized football scandal, I offer one bit of advice to the governing board and board staff at the University of Iowa-- have a plan in place for what you are going to do with the information from the investigation and then follow that plan to the letter. Don't allow yourselves to be swayed by public input, emotion, or innuendo, but instead make your decisions based upon facts. If you find yourself questioning what to do with the information, read your oath of office or your charge as a board and then lead your university.
July 15, 2008
"Monument to Me"
The Washington Post reported today on House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel's writing "letters on congressional stationery and has sought meetings to ask for corporate and foundation contributions for the Charles B. Rangel Center for Public Service at the City College of New York, a project that caused controversy last year when he won a $1.9 million congressional earmark to help start it. Republican critics dubbed the project Rangel's 'Monument to Me.'" He has also secured "two Department of Housing and Urban Development grants totaling $690,500 to help renovate the college-owned Harlem brownstone that will house the center."
His fundraising goal is $30 million for an academic center, which will house his papers upon his retirement. It isn't the fundraising goal that The Post reports as receiving scrutiny (we all can appreciate $30 million isn't what it once was); the fact that he is "soliciting donations from corporations with business interests before his panel" is drawing ire from his peers and watchdogs.
Colleges
and universities should fully embrace gifts and pork, but you need to have a
communications plan in place when the details are scrutinized. If CUNY is
onboard with the Center, then they need to provide details regarding the
academic impact of the Center and the ways in which it will advance the
institution. And they need to help
the public understand why the scrutiny is misplaced, if it is misplaced. Otherwise, the "Monument to Me" will continue
to be a lightning rod and distraction for Rep. Rangel and CUNY.
July 7, 2008
When Games are Deadly
I suggest administrators test their institution's crisis plan in August as a reminder to their campus of roles, responsibilities, policies and procedures related to a coordinated crisis response. When asked for sample crises to test I recommend common campus occurrences, with IT hacks and binge drinking incidents rising to the top of this list.
Unfortunately, in my line of work I have known the details of various on-campus drinking tragedies, and I am always saddened by the human side of the story. My heavy heart returned while reading today's AP story.
May each of your campuses be spared from such heartache this fall, or at the very least may you have a plan in place to provide resources to your campus and to comfort adequately those impacted.
June 30, 2008
Response Tactics Before and After A Blog Attack
Tom Hayes forwarded an article to me about how to defend your institution after it has been attacked on a blog. The article, "8 tips for countering a blog attack on your business," by Christopher Elliott, is worth reading.
If you are going to implement any of his ideas, make sure you track who is saying what about your institution online. For me, the easiest and cheapest way to do this is with Google News Alerts. Be sure you select "blogs" on the drop down menu for the "type" of news. When you enter the "search terms" field for each alert, make sure you search the terminology bloggers use to reference your school. I don't call my alma mater by its full name, but I use its initials and (it's true!!) its athletics mascot. Perform a quick online search and see how your alumni refer to you, and use those phrases as well as your formal name as search fields.
I think one of his interviewees said it best when providing advice for those being attacked online: "Don't get angry or become unprofessional. And don't take it personally." If you only remember one thing from this article, let this be the part that resonates.
June 13, 2008
Think Dry Thoughts
Please help me in thinking good thoughts for those impacted by the flooding in Iowa and the midwest. Some of the people nearest and dearest to my heart are in the area under a weather advisory currently. Thanks :).
June 10, 2008
When a resignation isn't...
Wow. I just read the AP story about the former Mississippi State baseball coach's public outcry over the hiring of his replacement. The University chose John Cohen over former coach Ron Polk's assistant coach and Polk's preferred candidate, Tommy Raffo.
The story quotes Polk as saying, ""Now he's got me on the war path and all I can do is hurt him [AD Greg Byrne].... I'm going to do everything I can to make his life miserable." True to his words, Polk "vowed to remove his name from the stadium and the school from his will." In addition, "Polk said he will personally take down the banners that display his name and number. He also will use his influence to scuttle a number of support programs, such as the foster parent program and the Dugout Club."
When Polk resigned he didn't mean he was resigning from caring about Mississippi State.
It is important to remember the emotional ties to our colleges and universities and the raw emotion that accompanies turnover, but it is also vital to turn the corner and start the next era of success after change.
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This page is a archive of recent entries in the Crisis Communications category.
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