Media Management in Crisis Communications

Introduction:

What do the 2010 British Petroleum spill, the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines flight MH 370, and the financial crisis of 2008 have in common? They were all unexpected crises that rocked the world and created seemingly insurmountable Public Relations (PR) challenges for the organizations involved. This course provides participants with the opportunity to identify how a crisis can impact an organization and what should be done to mitigate its effects. The course focuses on how to prepare the communication function to respond rapidly and effectively in the event of a crisis to be able to manage perceptions in the media and online.

By attending this course, you will learn best practices in crisis communication management, situation analysis, risk assessment, crisis team formation and responsibilities, protocols, and resources to be used such as crisis manuals and communication tools.

Targeted Groups:

Managers, Supervisors, and Team Leaders of Public Relations sections as well as any staff member who may be involved in managing communication and media issues during a crisis.

Course Objectives:

At the end of this course the participants will be able to:

Identify the different types of crises and their aspects
Learn how to recognize and prioritize the issues that are most likely to affect corporate reputation during and after the crisis.
List the various principles of crisis communication
Devise crisis management processes aimed at mitigating potential crises in their organizations
Demonstrate the benefits of using the media in a crisis
Evaluate and prioritize the dimensions involved in crisis communication management
Analyze and interpret results achieved through crisis communication management

Targeted Competencies:

Evaluate your organization's risks and vulnerabilities
Verbal and non-verbal communication
Influencing audiences
Motivating subordinates
Organizing and leading projects
Crisis managemet
Media management

Course Content:

Unit 1: Introduction:

Definition of a crisis
Overview of communication
Various types of crises
Key aspects of a crisis
Evolution of a crisis

Unit 2: Principles of Crisis Communications:

Setting your clear objective
Responding quickly
Accepting responsibility
Appropriate messaging
Profiling your audience
Showing and maintaining credibility
Coordinating with others
Continuous monitoring

Unit 3: Crisis Management Process:

Pre-crisis phase
Crisis Management Plan (CMP)
Crisis Management Team (CMT)
The spokesperson's role
Crisis event phase
Initial response
Reputation repair
Post-crisis phase
Lessons learned
Follow up with communication

Unit 4: Crisis Communication and Media:

Media and communication
Media as a partner in crisis response
Social media and crisis communication
Social media as a beneficial tool or a challenge
Dynamic use of social media in crisis communication

Unit 5: Dimensions of Crisis Communication Management:

Standard operating decisions dimension
Victims management dimension
Trust and credibility dimension
Behavior dimension
Professional expectations dimension
Ethical dimension
Lessons learned

Unit 6: How to Measure your Results in a Crisis:

Measuring outputs
Measuring impact
Measuring outcomes

Public Relations