Handling Media Emergencies

No matter how thorough and careful of producer you may be, you will undoubtedly encounter a situation during your career that triggers what I’ll refer to as a “Media Emergency” - that is, an incident which has enough public importance that the news media sees fit report it. I use the term “importance” loosely - artist cancellations, weather incidents, high-profile resignations, even controversial remarks by the performing artists can all send the media to your doorstep with little forewarning. When such an incident occurs, it’s critical that you have measures in place to deal with both the media’s inquiries and your staff’s response to them.

Develop a comprehensive emergency communications plan - You should never wait until a media emergency occurs to determine how you will respond. By doing so, you risk losing control of your messaging, providing unintentional misinformation, and possibly making the situation worse. Just like preparing for a physical emergency, you should have a detailed plan developed on how to respond to different types of media situations. This plan should outline your points of contact, response procedures, and information disclosure rules.

Have one designated point of contact - Decide before an incident occurs who will speak on behalf of your organization, and direct all media inquiries to that person ONLY. Doing so will ensure a consistency of reporting, and help avoid creating message “conflict” within your own organization. I recommend that this person not be the chief producer or venue manager if at all possible. In the event of an emergency, their focus should be on offering whatever assistance and resources are needed by investigators and employees, not on handling the media. I have found marketing personnel to be particularly suited to the task, as they are usually trained in handling media inquiries and likely have existing media relationships. Which brings us to...

Build media relationships before they’re needed - Make efforts to build a strong relationship with your local media outlets before a “media emergency”. In the event of an incident, you’re much more likely to secure “neutral” reporting (in most cases, forget about favorable) if you’re on familiar and friendly terms with the reporting outlets.

Make sure your staff knows what to do - if an incident occurs during your event, it may only be a matter on minutes before the media is knocking at your door. Make sure ALL event staff are trained in, and aware of, your media policy, and that they are directing all inquiries to your designated media contact. It’s also important to remind them that....

No comment is one - Never say the words “no comment” to a reporter. Although your intentions may not be brusk and evasive, it may come off as such to reporters. If you’re not at liberty to speak on a situation, simply say that they’ll need to talk with your designated media contact, and make an effort to reach that person as soon as possible.

These tips are admittedly written from the perspective of the media being a hostile entity - that is, one that actively seeks to paint your organization in a negative light. To be fair, this is not always the case - most news organizations are decidedly fair in there investigation and reporting of incidents, regardless of who’s involved. However, the media today (especially television) has become reliant on human interest and borderline sensationalism to attract viewers. Their primary objective is no longer to simply report the news without bias or commentary. Rather, their role of most modern news agencies has become to repackage the facts in such a way as to confirm what their target audience already believes. Mind you, no professional news organization will blatantly misrepresent the facts of the case. However, the tone and language of the actual reporting can make a difference in the public’s perception. So as long as the public sides against business whenever an incident occurs, the media’s reporting will reflect that. All the more reason to be prepared for their arrival.