24-Hour News Cycle? Not on a Blogger's Life

In both cases, it was the 'new media' that played the central role. It was bloggers who uncovered and then trumpeted Rather's mistake. And it was bloggers with video capability who broadcast and rebroadcast Imus's insensitive comment so that anyone from Rutgers women's basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer to my 14-year-old son could hear and see Imus embarrassing himself. Welcome to the new world of 'crisis management.' No longer do those trying to get control of a story have the luxury of a 24-hour news cycle. Try 24 minutes; heck, how about 24 seconds? Even daily papers are scooping themselves by breaking the big stories on their Web sites. So what does that mean for attorneys dealing with clients in crisis? It means that their clients had better have a crisis plan in place before they need it and that it needs to take into account both new and traditional media.

Traditional media is print (newspaper and magazines) and electronic (TV and radio). 'New media' includes Web sites, blogs, podcasts, e-mail blasts and V-casts for cell phones. Think of it this way: Traditional media was broadcasting. It reached lots of people at a time. New media is narrowcasting. Each vehicle reaches a smaller group of people, but in a more personal way. Essentially, it's closer to a one-to-one conversation.

How to Handle a Crisis

During a crisis, the goal is to shape and deliver the client's own message. All attorneys (and crisis managers) know that there are many sides to a story. When I'm working with an attorney, it's my job to deliver the client's side to the people who need to hear it: customers, prospects, vendors, members of the client's board, employees, local opinion leaders and the general public.

The good news is that the new media offers the opportunity to deliver that message right to the doorsteps of people who could use the information. The bad news is that the new media hurls information into cyberspace without brakes and with few controls.

Here are a few tips for getting out the client's version of the story:

• Have a crisis plan in place that includes the client's webmaster on the pre-appointed group of first responders cited in the crisis plan.
• Break the story as soon as possible via a press release and as a posting on the client's homepage. In the early days of a crisis, mistakes are bound to happen. Clients must remember to purge outdated or early incorrect info from their sites. Consider early remarks by the New Jersey police superintendent concerning the actions of Gov. Jon Corzine's state police driver. 'In some respects, you have the fog of war there in the beginning,' he said, having initially cited the driver's 'valiant attempt to avoid this catastrophe.'
• Track down influential bloggers and relevant industry Web sites, and add them to your client's media list for distribution of materials.
• Advise clients to have 'dark pages' created for their Web sites. Dark pages contain specialized information that might be needed in a crisis. Until activated, they don't link to a site. For example, airlines have dark pages on each of their aircraft. These pages include the layout and capacity of every model they fly. In the event a 757 crashes, the page with specs on that plane are immediately linked to the site and the URL is posted in any statements the airline releases.

Perhaps most importantly, break the client's news before others have the chance to frame the story. Issue press releases or statements as soon as possible to let people know that the company is on top of the issue. Even a restatement of the facts that are already public gives people a sense that the client is dealing with the situation. Silence does not.

Andrea Obston is the president of Andrea Obston Marketing Communications LLC and its subsidiary, Andrea Obston Crisis Management, which provide crisis planning and management, strategic marketing audits, brand development, media relations and training, and assistance with Web sites and Internet advertising. Based in Bloomfield, CT, she can be reached at www.aomc.com.

Amid the screaming and righteous indignation of the Don Imus incident, communications crisis managers were learning their own lesson. And it wasn't that TV networks, hit in the pocketbook, can get very moral (we already knew that); it was that speed really does kill.

Consider how long it took Dan Rather to be drummed off the air a mere two years ago ' 20 months. Twenty months from his infamous '60 Minutes' report to the time he walked out the door at CBS. Know how long it took Imus to get the boot after his dumb remark? Eight days.

The 'New Media'

In both cases, it was the 'new media' that played the central role. It was bloggers who uncovered and then trumpeted Rather's mistake. And it was bloggers with video capability who broadcast and rebroadcast Imus's insensitive comment so that anyone from Rutgers women's basketball coach C. Vivian Stringer to my 14-year-old son could hear and see Imus embarrassing himself. Welcome to the new world of 'crisis management.' No longer do those trying to get control of a story have the luxury of a 24-hour news cycle. Try 24 minutes; heck, how about 24 seconds? Even daily papers are scooping themselves by breaking the big stories on their Web sites. So what does that mean for attorneys dealing with clients in crisis? It means that their clients had better have a crisis plan in place before they need it and that it needs to take into account both new and traditional media.

Traditional media is print (newspaper and magazines) and electronic (TV and radio). 'New media' includes Web sites, blogs, podcasts, e-mail blasts and V-casts for cell phones. Think of it this way: Traditional media was broadcasting. It reached lots of people at a time. New media is narrowcasting. Each vehicle reaches a smaller group of people, but in a more personal way. Essentially, it's closer to a one-to-one conversation.

How to Handle a Crisis

During a crisis, the goal is to shape and deliver the client's own message. All attorneys (and crisis managers) know that there are many sides to a story. When I'm working with an attorney, it's my job to deliver the client's side to the people who need to hear it: customers, prospects, vendors, members of the client's board, employees, local opinion leaders and the general public.

The good news is that the new media offers the opportunity to deliver that message right to the doorsteps of people who could use the information. The bad news is that the new media hurls information into cyberspace without brakes and with few controls.

Here are a few tips for getting out the client's version of the story:

• Have a crisis plan in place that includes the client's webmaster on the pre-appointed group of first responders cited in the crisis plan.
• Break the story as soon as possible via a press release and as a posting on the client's homepage. In the early days of a crisis, mistakes are bound to happen. Clients must remember to purge outdated or early incorrect info from their sites. Consider early remarks by the New Jersey police superintendent concerning the actions of Gov. Jon Corzine's state police driver. 'In some respects, you have the fog of war there in the beginning,' he said, having initially cited the driver's 'valiant attempt to avoid this catastrophe.'
• Track down influential bloggers and relevant industry Web sites, and add them to your client's media list for distribution of materials.
• Advise clients to have 'dark pages' created for their Web sites. Dark pages contain specialized information that might be needed in a crisis. Until activated, they don't link to a site. For example, airlines have dark pages on each of their aircraft. These pages include the layout and capacity of every model they fly. In the event a 757 crashes, the page with specs on that plane are immediately linked to the site and the URL is posted in any statements the airline releases.

Perhaps most importantly, break the client's news before others have the chance to frame the story. Issue press releases or statements as soon as possible to let people know that the company is on top of the issue. Even a restatement of the facts that are already public gives people a sense that the client is dealing with the situation. Silence does not.

Andrea Obston is the president of Andrea Obston Marketing Communications LLC and its subsidiary, Andrea Obston Crisis Management, which provide crisis planning and management, strategic marketing audits, brand development, media relations and training, and assistance with Web sites and Internet advertising. Based in Bloomfield, CT, she can be reached at www.aomc.com.