Assessing the Damage: Practitioner Perspectives on the Valdez
1989; Public Relations Society of America; Volume: 45; Issue: 10 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
0033-3670
Autores Tópico(s)Public Relations and Crisis Communication
ResumoAssessing the Damage If oil had to be spilled, the timing could hardly have been more propitious for activists, politicians and the news media. Environmental groups were looking for focus. The environment was moving up to the tops of political agendas, both international (the Paris Summit was pending) and domestic. The media, increasingly better prepared to deal with environmental stories, was ready to aggressively cover the story. All three united to interpret the situation--and to benefit in the process. Public relations people understand that timing is by definition the main uncontrollable factor in environmental incidents, and that it is therefore critically important to have everything else in place, especially the spokesperson. That's why there are disaster/emergency communication plans. Working the plan is the rest of the story. Here are the points that come into play: * The CEO makes or breaks the public relations outcome. Our conversations with public relations people kept returning to one point: Environmental incidents of this magnitude put the focus of public opinion directly on the executive who personifies the company and will communicate for He or she must be credible, concerned and wholly committed--and must be immediately presented to the public via the media. Exxon's chief executive, Lawrence G. Rawl, drew heavy fire for failing to inject himself more forcefully, or with the appearance of greater force, into the news coverage immediately after the accident. Since conditioned consumers now more than ever expect to hear from the corporate persona, the longer they wait, the faster the opportunity to present the company's side melts. From Marriott to Iacocca to Kiam to Perdue, the head of the company looks the consumer in the eye and says, in effect: I'm responsible. I'll see that you get a good product (or service). If there's a problem, I will take care of it. Corporate ad and public relations campaigns have made the CEO the authority figure, the person you can trust. TV news has reinforced this conditioning. The medium's requirement in a story of this stature is for a close-up of the persona, saying what the company is doing and how it feels. This requirement grows with the story's duration. Paradoxically, however, the corporate CEO's credibility--the ability to convey a dominant view--shrinks as time goes by. In the Valdez situation, there was a disconnect--a vacuum that created confusion, mistrust and a field day for other spokespersons. If they didn't already know, CEOs now have very clear information on what to do and what to aovid in an emergency. Get in on the story fast and personally. Show your concern in personal terms. If there's a focal scene of tragedy, go there immediately. Lay out the immediate action plan. Pull your product out of circulation if public interest dictates. Make sure somebody personally sees or calls key opinion leaders--and make some calls yourself. Become the corporate person or, if you absolutely can't handle it, delegate all of this to your second in command and don't second-guess his or her public performance. Not easy, but it has been done. Not comfortable, but neither is the reticent and reactive role. Demanding personal accountability The bottom line is that the consequences for violating environmental laws can become personal in the extreme. The authorities are stepping in. CEOs are being required to personify companies in environmental issues. Edwin E. Tuttle's story is a good example; it is even scarier than Lawrence Rawl's. So far, Rawl has merely had to appear before Congress and report on what he is doing and how he feels about Tuttle, CEO of Pennwalt, was ordered recently to stand in person before a federal judge and plead guilty on behalf of his firm for spilling 75,000 gallons of carcinogenic chemicals into a stream feeding Puget Sound. …
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