ABSTRACT
In this chapter we will look at the sometimes overlooked, sometimes trivial but nonetheless important area of crisis management. This chapter addresses what types of issues the sports communicator may have to deal with, how they can be dealt with, and what can be learned from each situation. One thing the communicator should always consider and always keep in mind when an issue arises is that in many cases the crisis is sometimes only as big as those involved. In many cases, an internal issue only becomes a public one because someone chooses to make it so. We are all aware that in this business none of us are solving hunger or curing cancer. We are working in a services industry, a very fast growing and exciting industry that does involve billions of dollars. That being said, there are some very serious issues that this industry can get involved with that need extreme care, thought, and caution. The 24/7 nature of news and media today also may seem to bring both more immediacy to an issue and may bring more attention to a potential crisis with the media, but even though more people will hear about something short term, unless it is a sustained story, the “crisis” usually passes quickly to the outside world. It is also important to maintain the chain of command in the crisis, and make it clear who will speak on issue and who are the decision makers. Many times the publicist is directly involved but not at the top of that chain. It is important to keep the chain clear and equally as important is the necessity to surround the decision maker with the right information so that the choice made is clear. While some may see social media as a creator of crisis-when individuals tweet or post thoughts without thinking about what they are saying or who they are speaking on behalf of-social media can also be a great resource in a crisis in getting out clear and useful information. Although the use is growing, only 25 percent of companies encourage their employees to use social
media channels to share messages about the company, but in a crisis that shared accurate information can be critical. Twitter’s paid sponsored followers for example, can be one of the best crisis resources, as it will help very quickly identify thousands of followers who can help amplify the information spread with Twitter’s targeted follower acquisition strategy. Of course that type of social use is also evolving for the positive, using best-case scenarios of everything from natural disasters to man-made threats. There are several kinds of crisis situations we will look at:
• The physical plant crisis-escape plans, security, blackouts, bomb threats, etc.
