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You should prepare a plan on how to deal with the media if a crisis hits. The crisis management plan should include who needs to be involved in internal decision-making, how to formulate a key message, a list of appropriate media outlets and names to contact, who should talk to the press, and when and how often to meet the press.
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Crisis situations can be: |
dealing
with hostile media; disasters; bad reports |
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about
the reputation of the organization; or if your organization is involved in controversial issues, etc.
If you know that you are doing something that is perceived as controversial (e.g., organizing sex education in schools, undertaking activities against human trafficking etc.), organize the discussion yourself. That enables you to stay in control. Put an interview in the papers, on the radio or on TV, announce what you want to do and ask for reactions. Open your doors wide, be the first to announce what has happened, show commitment and report on what you have done. In other words: control the events before they control you.
Most of us are either regularly or occasionally dealing with hostile media. The reasons for the hostility need to be identified: media can be hostile towards you because they are not well informed and sometimes media are intentionally hostile to you. Some media are hostile to your work and your organization or purpose, because of the special interests of their owners, religion or bias. In most cases, you are wasting your time trying to convince them. Evaluate whether or not it makes sense to give them an interview. Try to counteract them with positive coverage in other media. |
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A few things to remember: |
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Answer one question at a time; |
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Pick the questions you want to answer; |
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Finish your answers even if interrupted, use “as I was saying” to continue; |
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Answer negative questions with positive words; |
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Stick to real situations or events; |
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DO NOT get caught in hypothetical “what if” discussions; |
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Avoid accepting other people’s facts or figures, but do not get into an argument over their validity, simply say I am not aware of those figures, and remind the audience of the facts you present. |
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