Dealing With the Media During a Spill Emergency

Crisis Communications Planning and Openness With the Press Can Help You as Spill Generator Keep Your Reputation Untarnished

  By Tom Moses
  Spill Center President

  GOOD PR DOESN'T JUST HAPPEN, especially in a crisis situation. But that's
  when you need it most. Truck accidents are big news when they tie up traffic for
  hours while emergency crews deal with diesel fuel and hazardous chemicals leaking
  from the vehicle. The public relations challenges of such an environmental release
  should be considered an important part of the spill generator's response to the
  incident. Advance crisis communications planning can go a long way toward keeping
  your company from coming off as the bad guy after a spill. To help in your planning,
  the Spill Center® has developed these guidelines for dealing with the media during
  spill emergencies that occur on the road or at one of your facilities.

  Organize crisis communications team. Appoint a company spokesperson whose
  job will be to gather all available information (who, what, where, when, how, and
  what's next) on each incident and handle news media inquiries. The Spill Center will
  notify this person in addition to other key company officials when it activates the
  company's Emergency Spill Contingency Plan during a spill emergency.

  The spokesperson should be accessible around the clock and be prepared to go to
  the scene of an incident involving a company truck, facility or employee as quickly as
  possible when required. All media calls for information should be directed to the
  spokesperson. Additional team members should be assigned the task of notifying the
  company's other stakeholders, including employees, customers, community leaders
  and the families of any victims, about the incident.

  General information about the company should be prepared in the form of a back-
  grounder that can be kept on file and distributed to reporters at the time of an incident.
  Include details about the size of the fleet, the company's good safety record, community
  service and other positive information that helps position the company as a responsible
  and upstanding corporate citizen.

  Control information by becoming the primary provider. What if your company
  spokesperson arrives on the scene before media people? He should first offer assis-
  tance and company resources to the fire chief or other authority in charge. As soon as
  he has assessed the situation and gathered the facts, he should call the local broadcast
  news stations and newspapers to advise them that he is available to provide information.
  That establishes him as the company contact and presents the company as willing to
  cooperate with the media. The spokesperson should promise to keep the media updated
  - by phone or fax - whenever he receives new information about the incident. He should
  keep the following guidelines in mind when dealing with the press:

• Honesty is the best policy. Attempts to cover up an incident or provide incomplete

or incorrect information can come back and bite you if a reporter finds out the full
story from another source. By being open and responsive, you control the informa-
tion, since the reporter doesn't feel the need to look for other sources to learn about
your company - sources that might provide inaccurate or slanted information.
 
• Prepare for interviews. Make notes listing points you want to make during inter-

views, and volunteer them, even if the reporter does not ask the right questions.
Speak slowly and in short sentences, allowing the reporter to take notes. Avoid
using industry jargon that the reporter might not fully understand or could misinterpret.
 
• Keep your promises. When you don't know the answer to a reporter's question,

admit that you don't know and promise to find out and get back to him. Just make
sure you do. Nothing irritates a reporter more than waiting for someone who has
promised to call back, then doesn't.

• Return all calls quickly. Newscasts and press runs don't wait. Return calls as soon

as you can. First priority should be to radio and TV reporters, since they typically are
working under tighter deadline pressures for updates than newspaper reporters.

• Two words to avoid. Never say "No Comment" to a reporter. That can be interpre-

ted in several ways (all negative), namely, that you have something to hide, that you're
not interested in being cooperative, or that you are not concerned.

• Do not speculate. Avoid making off-the-cuff or off-the-record remarks to a reporter.

Do not speculate about the cause of the accident or who is to blame. Do not estimate
monetary damages or provide information on insurance coverages. Explain that it is
company policy not to divulge those kinds of details.

• Caution on victims. Do not release the names of people who died or were injured as

a result of the incident until their next of kin have been notified, preferably in person.

• Keep it positive. Inform the press if your driver has a long accident-free record and

about any efforts the driver took to contain the spill and stop the leak before emergency
response personnel arrived on the scene. Acknowledge any negative information that
might have emerged about your company and provide details on what is being done to
remedy the problem or situation.

• Put people first. Spare no expense in providing for victims of the incident - paying

for hotel rooms, meals, transportation and picking up other costs. Your actions in this
regard will not go unnoticed by the press and will show that your company puts people
before property. Let the press know about your acts of goodwill and the efforts you
made on behalf of victims and their families.
 
• Environmental Concern. Inform the press about the actions taken to clean up and

restore the spill site to its original condition. That portrays your company as a good
corporate citizen who is concerned about the environment.

  Keep the situation in proper perspective. Your spokesperson should not minimize the
  importance of an incident involving a spill, regardless of how minor, since people are naturally
  defensive when it comes to safeguarding the environment and their own welfare. But neither
  should he make more of a situation than it warrants. He should always explain the situation fully
  to reporters so that the incident does not get blown out of proportion. When appropriate, explain
  the non-volatile nature of the spilled materials or other mitigating factors that lessen the incident's
  impact on the environment and public safety.

  The Spill Center's 24-hour Hotline can be an excellent resource when an authoritative explan-
  ation or information about the spill is needed. In addition, CMA's CHEMTREC®, the Chemical
  Transportation Emergency Center, can be contacted for technical information about hazardous
  materials. Keep the phone numbers of these expert sources listed in your Crisis Communications
  Plan. By having a strategy and by following these media guidelines, your company will be in a
  better position to keep its good name from being tarnished as the result of bad press reports
  based on incomplete or incorrect information.

  This paper is provided by the Spill Center as a service to subscribers.

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