Monday, October 20, 2008 Editorials: Keeping the lines open
INFORMATION access lies at the heart of people’s confidence in a functioning democracy.
The power of the news media to ferret out information reassures citizens that they will always have access to information crucial for their welfare. Enterprising journalists and investigative reporters continue to bring to light information that was either withheld or manipulated to protect vested interests.
But how can the public’s need to be informed be met during emergencies or crises that test even the news media’s field-tested skills and experiences in getting accurate and timely information?
Public fiasco
The June 21, 2008 sinking of the mv Princess of the Stars was not just a tragedy that reportedly left only 56 of 864 passengers and crew surviving.
It also began as a fiasco during which the news media, the public and even government authorities were scrambling for information as to what actually happened, what was being done, and what still needed to be done.
The dearth of updated, substantiated and relevant information added to the psychological trauma endured by families whose relatives boarded the ship; some even say the information breakdown botched the rescue of what could have been more survivors.
In the ensuing controversy, finger-pointing occurred. Vessel owner Sulpicio Lines Inc. was accused by grieving families and journalists as not releasing information. Other parties countered by accusing some newspapers and broadcast entities of sensationalizing the tragedy and releasing unverified information.
For instance, some reporters’ strategy of interviewing and quoting security guards manning the Sulpicio offices was criticized as sowing more confusion and anger among the public. Critics questioned why media workers did not zero in on company spokespersons authorized to release information.
Putting out the fire
Lessons for improving the working relations between the news media and news sources to benefit the public during crises were focused on during the Sept. 25, 2008 forum, “Putting out the Fire: Good Communication in Crisis Management.”
One of the fora organized during the 14th Cebu Press Freedom Week observed on Sept. 21-27, the talk involved practitioners of corporate communications and journalism, as well as future journalists and other interested members of the public.
During the main presentation, Judd Salas, Aboitiz Transport Services corporate communications manager, emphasized that it is a good corporate strategy to put in place a process of instantly channeling accurate information that’s needed for a company executive to declare a crisis.
Admitting that crisis management in the corporate setting is “top-driven,” Salas observed that the crisis management team, which includes the corporate communications unit, needs the “first three hours” after a crisis has been declared to relate with other institutional counterparts. Then the priority is to deal with the institution’s constituencies: “employees, customers, shareholders, communities, media, suppliers, government and others.”
He said that “mastering the communications flow” in the event of a crisis implements what has been agreed upon within the corporate entity and written down in a crisis management manual.
In turn, Salas asked media partners to “trust” public relations (PR) professionals to release accurate information, given sufficient time to gather this from authorized sources. “Let’s work together for fair reporting.”
Consider media deadlines
Giving reactions to the PR perspective was a panel composed of media and PR professionals, Ma. Jane C. Paredes, Connie E. Fernandez and Leo Lastimosa.
Paredes, Smart communication senior manager, said media should give a window of time for a company to conduct its internal fact-finding on the crisis. Top management executives should be brought into the picture to lessen the dissonance of the information given to the media and the public. It is ideal if there is one corporate representative authorized to release such information, she said.
But she also emphasized that a company should give the news media access to its official spokesperson, a view echoed by Fernandez and Lastimosa. Both journalists said that, given the public’s need to know in a crisis, a corporate communications team should work to enable the media to meet the 3 p.m. newsroom deadline for news stories.
Communication lines giving access to company spokespersons should be kept open 24/7 during a crisis. Based on the mv Princess of the Stars tragedy, the mobile phone emerges as the most convenient gadget for instant updates and follow-ups.
