In a society where every little issue is debuted on national news or social media, crisis arises quite often. When it comes to crises, those working in public relations must find a way to react appropriately. This week’s lecture covered top tips for handling crisis, and I’m hoping to tap into some of that advice for you all!
(Source: ComputerWorld)
So...what exactly is crisis in public relations and sports communications?
According to this week’s lecture, crisis is “any event or period that will lead, or may lead, to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society” (Vareberg 4:30). As you can probably tell, crisis is a broad term in public relations. Basically, any event or situation that has potential to disrupt an individual, group, or society is crisis. We often see crisis situations in the headlines such as oil spills, athletes using illegal substances or celebrities caught in scandals.
When it comes to sports crisis, there are many crises that can arise. A few popular to name are the Colin Kaepernick protests, the Tiger Woods’ sex addiction issue or Adrian Peterson’s negligent injury to a child felony. When these crises arise, it is often put in the hands of the public relations specialists to deal with. Let’s look at some things to keep in mind when these things happen:
Be Proactive
Always be prepared for crisis to hit and have active plans ready for different situations. You never know what type of crisis will hit, but you can be prepared for different scenarios that have arisen in the past.
Identify a Crisis Communications Team
Decide who will help you with your response and figure out who will be authorized to speak on crisis. You want a strong team work ethic, as well as a strong representative.
Nominate and Train your Spokesperson
Decide who is in authority and ensure they can remain calm in crisis. You want your spokesperson to have a good head on their shoulders and to represent the situation well.
Set Up Alerts
Monitor social media to stay up to date on crisis. You can often find news from other sources, as well as opinions and facts. Stay up to date to understand the situation.
Assess the Situation
Be sure to know and understand the situation and exactly what happened. Before you can respond to a situation, you must know exactly what happened. You cannot properly respond without a proper understanding of the crisis.
Communicate with Your Stakeholders
Stay up to date with your stakeholders. Always speak honestly about the situation and allow them to trust you.
Analyze the Results
Analyze your work to figure out what works for crisis response. This will help you learn how to respond to similar situations in the future. It will also teach you ways that you should not respond in the future. This can be very beneficial – trial and error.
The top tip to keep in mind that “The information offered is the information critiqued”
What we present to the media is what is interpreted. It is easy for situations to be misinterpreted – by everyone. This is why it is important to follow these tips when responding to crisis.
If you were presented with crisis as a big-time sports writer, how would you respond? Use this example: If you were working public relations for the NFL and someone on your team was accused of sexual assault (true or untrue), how would you respond to the media in an appropriate manner?
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Work Cited
Vareberg, Kyle. [Kyle Vareberg]. (2021, April) Week 15 [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NX2nNEgMyiE&ab_channel=KyleVareberg
I liked how you covered all of the bases when it came to dealing with crises. They're all crucial, in my opinion, in being able to deal with this kind of situation efficiently. To answer your question, I will want to present t with a cool and optimistic demeanor. I will emphasize that you must allow the due proceedings to play out and that as an entity, you would do everything possible to get to the bottom of the matter.
Hannah,
I liked that you covered all of the areas regarding handling crises. I think they all are very important in being able to handle this type of situation effectively. To answer your question, I would try and present a calm and confident presence for the player/team. I would stress that you have to let the legal process work out and that as an organization everything will be done to get to the bottom of it. Really good blog and question Hannah!
-Kurt Simmons
As a reader I really appreciate the layout of your blog post. I think if I were in public relations for a team and a team member was accused of sexual assault I honestly can say that I don't know what my reaction would be. First, I don't care for public relations. While I understand the purpose behind the department I don't believe in protecting companies or people who have no moral compass. However, if I was in a public relations department and I was tasked with addressing this issue there might be one of two things that happen. Either I would quit or I would address the situation in a calculated manner that gets the truth to the public.…
Hannah -
As a reader, I appreciate how you set up this blog so it was easy to understand what was what, and where it fit into the picture. If I were a sports writer presented with that crisis, I would talk with that athlete first, then the coaches and members of that organization. Have. plan set in place then release a statement about the incident as soon as possible.
-Clarissa Hilary