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“Having a general understanding of the different types of crises helps government communicators anticipate and plan for the type of crises that may affect their organizations” (Lee et al 2012, 104).
Assess the following crisis:
You are the Public Information Officer (PIO) for Hopewell County, Florida. A county employee has been arrested for Internet pornography using government computers. The story is about to be broken by a regional TV station on its website and during the 6 p.m. news. Your office has also received inquiries from local news outlets. It is 2:30 p.m. and the County Manager has asked for your recommendations on a communications response. What do you do?
In your discussion response:
Identify the type crisis
What crisis response strategy(ies) do you recommend?
Rationalize strategy from course materials.
Who should be the “face” in the media for this particular crisis? +500 WORDS
This crisis is an ethical violation, which is a type of reputation crisis. It involves illegal activity committed by a member of the organization and could have negative effects on public opinion and brand trust if not handled appropriately.
The most important step in responding to this crisis situation is to act quickly and respond proactively with a clear message. The PIO should work with the County Manager to craft a response that clearly communicates the county’s position on the issue, expresses remorse for any harm done, outlines immediate steps taken or being taken to address it, and establishes ongoing measures or management processes that will be implemented in order to prevent similar issues from occurring again in future.
It can be helpful for government communicators to use Johnson & Kaye’s (2004) four stage approach when preparing for such crises: Contain, React, Respond, Recover. Containment includes taking quick action within your own organization such as suspending or disciplining any involved staff members before further information about them becomes public knowledge; Reacting involves communicating internally about what has happened among relevant stakeholders; Responding means expressing regret concerning the incident while also providing factual information so that public speculation does not arise; Recovering is making sure all necessary steps are taken towards restoring trust both internally among stakeholders and externally among citizens through activities like community outreach programs (Lee et al 2012).
In terms of who should be the face in media for this particular crisis, ideally it should someone who appears honest and trustworthy yet looks competent enough to handle difficult situations. This person could be either an elected official overseeing county operations or another high-level executive such as County Attorney/Manager whose job title conveys authority but at same time suggests impartiality since it signifies legal advice related duties rather than political ones.