Crisis Communications

Sanjana HattotuwaSenior Researcher, Centre for Policy

Alternatives

Preparing for the impossible

• Develop communications strategies

• Develop scenario planning with worst case scenarios

• Have designated personnel to handle crisis communications

• Build media awareness at all levels and operational

frameworks of the organisation

Why crisis communications matters

• Current operational context in Sri Lanka

• NGO hostile media, government

• Panic exacerbates the problem, as does a lack of

planning

• Lives may be at risk

• Fallout can affect entire sector

Common Sense Guidelines

• Anticipate

• Acknowledge

• Articulate & Communicate

• Do the right thing, and be seen to be doing it

• Be aggressive & open

• No “no comment” (gives the impression that you

have something to hide)

Common Sense Guidelines

• Monitor media - esp. what’s important in your work (how

it is reported, by whom, how often, qualitative as well as

quantitative, ask around, read online as well as

mainstream)

• Engage with journalists - but not with a view to buy them.

Careful, honest discussion.

• Remember - off the record usually doesn’t work in SL!

• Media reports - CPA (PCI), FMM media reports, market

research

Common Sense Guidelines

• Try to understand, then respond.

• No knee jerk reactions, no set pieces, no stock comments

• Train personnel - the media WILL get answers, make sure they are

YOURS

• Brief partners and stakeholders, keep them in the loop as much as you

can

Media: Friend or Foe?

• Neither - they are impartial, and have to be

• In reality, they are not impartial

• Media is intensely oppositional

• Media shapes public opinion - “terrorists”, “pariah”, “LTTE

sympathiser”, “NGO crow”, “Dollar crow”, “unpatriotic”, “traitor”

• Regular interaction with media as opposed to response driven

interactions - put situation reports, updates on work, personal

reflections, positive human interest stories

• Engage! (and keep a record of all interactions…)

First 24 hours

• Create an operations centre - hotline, key personnel, equipment,

access, lines of communication, trust and independence

• Understand the issue, recognise the positions - address the issue

• Gear up partners to respond, and encourage them to issue statements

and activate their own PR, media strategies

• Keep in mind the vernacular media - translation vital, and needs to be

accurate

First 24 hours

• Communicate:

– Core values (vision, mission)

– History

– Reputation (partnerships, collaboratives)

– The reasons behind the action (why it is important)

– Safeguards taken and due diligence measures

– Key message

– Admit any wrongdoing AND what measures will be taken for redress,

within what time frame, and led by whom

– Contact details (tel / mobile / fax / email / webpage)

Do you respond at all?

• Will it blow over?

• Crisis vs. bad / negative publicity

• Respond accordingly - response based on media

monitoring, consulting partners, and media /

communications team within the organisation

More resources

• Voices of Reconciliation programme:

– Crisis Communications resources:

http://voicesofpeace.lk/?q=en/node/366

– Access to a Voice: Communications Planning for Civil Society and

Community-Based Organisations, a comprehensive handbook on

communications strategies for NGOs, CBOs and CSOs, can be found here -

http://voicesofpeace.lk/?q=en/Accees

– New media - Groundviews - www.groundviews.lk (blogs) and VOR Radio -

radio.voicesofpeace.lk (podcasts)

Thank you