Few media feeding in recent years has been more frenzied than
the response to the sex scandals that have engulfed the Catholic
Church. It was also an unfortunate example of what happens when an
institution does not have consistent message points in place in
preparation for, and throughout a crisis - message points that,
despite the size and complexity of the institution, must cohere
from Rome to Boston to Dublin.
Here is a sample of the kind of effective messaging that one
Order of the Church used - and that helped the Church avoid
virtually all of the negative media surrounding the scandal.
"Our hearts go out to all victims of sexual abuse, and we are
fully available to anyone who has been victimized. We will
cooperate fully with civil authorities as they undertake their
investigations, and we will impose all appropriate punitive
measures on our end, including dismissal from the Order. We are
likewise profoundly concerned with the victimization of innocent
people falsely accused of such horrifying misdeeds. Just as it is
difficult to imagine the pain of sexual abuse, so too is it
difficult to imagine the horror of being wrongfully accused of such
a misdeed."
"We have every intention of fully cooperating, in the most
vigorous possible investigations, with both civil and
ecclesiastical authority. If we uncover misdeeds, we will take all
appropriate punitive measures, including summary dismissal from the
Order. If individuals are found to have been innocent, it is our
hope that you will join us in exonerating these people as zealously
and as persistently as they have been accused and
investigated."
"There have been significant examples in the recent past of
clergymen falsely accused. Because allegations of misdoing are now
so rife, and highly publicized, we must be doubly vigilant to
protect innocent clergy who may be accused - especially as, in this
atmosphere, disturbed individuals, or malevolent individuals, may
see an opportunity to lodge false but damaging allegations."
Primary Tools
The first step in avoiding or minimizing a media crisis is for
the PR and legal teams to work closely together in developing just
such message points to support the evolving strategy. These are the
points that you really must get across in no uncertain terms. They
are the distilled essence of what you want to say to the world and
what you want the world to believe.
They communicate the organization's key position on all the
basic issues confronting the organization in the current crisis,
without sacrificing legal, market share, or credibility points.
Room for Feeling
Some message points ought to be delivered - not argumentatively
- but passionately. Imagine a businesswoman who, after three
decades of unimpeachable professional integrity, is suddenly and
unjustly accused of stealing. To be effective, the message point
refuting the charge should be delivered with the simple conviction,
dignity, and power that anyone would expect of someone in this
position. (See sidebar).
This businesswoman can thus underscore simple, declarative
points with restrained but palpable emotion. For example: "Not once
in thirty years has anyone accused me of impropriety. Not once has
anyone brought such allegations to my attention privately.
Suddenly, I am being publicly accused of impropriety. I am
profoundly disappointed that someone would choose to make these
allegations in this manner."
The content of the message point includes two forceful elements:
past innocence, and the odd fact that no one brought the situation
to her attention except in a sudden, public context. It thus shifts
the moral burden back onto the shoulders of the accuser.
And, there is clear room for strategic emotion. Reporters are
human, and they are usually impressed by passion if it is measured
and intelligent. Note that, in the message point, the repetition of
the phrase, "Not once in..." "Not once has..." allows for real
emphasis in the delivery. It is a rhetorical device that
communicates logic combined with righteous force.
You may need to craft message points that acknowledge a painful
truth that you simply cannot talk around. Especially in a business
context that does not involve malfeasance, but does involve a
serious economic setback, be straight with the journalist.
Finally, no matter how bad the crisis, there may always be an
opportunity to deal with it in a way that accentuates a positive -
so much so, perhaps, that the ultimate effect of the media crisis
is to enhance your reputation to an extent where it's even stronger
than before the crisis began.
How Messengers Stay On-Message
Ideally, your message points will dominate and influence the
perception of the interviewer both during the interview and
afterward. At the very least, they will be credible enough to make
it more difficult for reporters to publish negative facts and
opinions about you without feeling the need to add some balance or
equivocation.
Your spokesperson needs to practice the message points
continually - preferably in front of a camera -- until they are
able to enunciate them without sounding as if you've memorized
them. The more a part of their consciousness these message points
become, the better they will be able to use them to buttress their
response to a broad array of questions.
In all interviews, spokespersons should repeat message points.
By going back to them, they virtually force reporters to include in
their coverage your most important points.
Second, they are matter-of-fact: as simple and declarative as
possible. Spokespersons obviously do not want to be argumentative
or defensive or exhortatory. The key is to stay on track, not to be
carried away by emotion or conviction.
Richard S. Levick, left, is the president and Larry Smith the
director of strategy for Levick Strategic Communications. This
article is excerpted exclusively for PR NEWS from their new book,
"Stop the Presses: The Litigation PR Desk Reference," available for
free this fall at [email protected].