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President Asia Pacific Weber Shandwick
As public relations professionals, we have witnessed the importance of effective crisis communications in shaping public opinion when it comes to major disasters. The failures highlighted by Hurricane Katrina are many and varied. Shortsighted environmental and urban planning left New Orleans particularly vulnerable to a major storm. The response effort was far too slow to get into action. And, throughout the process, rescue efforts seemed hampered by the bureaucratic red tape of multiple agencies and layers of government. For me, the most striking element of Katrina was the way that the news media, in particular television, brought these shortcomings into our living rooms in a highly emotional manner. The debate over the Hurricane Katrina response wasn’t being played out at the White House, or the Louisiana Governor’s mansion, or the New Orleans City Hall (which had been abandoned to the floodwaters anyway). The spotlight of world attention shone on the Louisiana Superdome and the New Orleans Convention Center, where thousands of people sought refuge from the rising waters amid appalling conditions.
One particular interview on Fox News Channel sticks in my mind: Michael Brown, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) was grilled on why no help was being given to the people at the Convention Center. When he started to say FEMA had only learnt of the Center situation a few hours earlier, the journalist angrily interrupted to point out that Fox had been broadcasting live images from the Center since the previous day – leaving Mr Brown with little to say. It was no surprise when not long afterwards Mr Brown became the first major administration casualty of Katrina when he resigned from FEMA. Time and again during the first week or so of the crisis, it seemed as if the news media were setting the agenda – and the rescue effort was struggling to keep up. To be fair, the failures of communication were but a small part of the overall failures of the Katrina response effort. But they played a pivotal role in influencing the opinions of people in American and around the globe. So, what could have been done better from a communications perspective in New Orleans? Given the sheer magnitude of the disaster, it’s always somewhat dangerous to make sweeping generalizations, but I would suggest the maxim of "CAP the Crisis" still holds true. CAP stands for: show Concern, demonstrate Action, and keep things in Perspective. CONCERN: While I’m sure everyone involved in the Katrina rescue effort was concerned for the wellbeing of those affected, this didn’t always come through in the coverage. Far too many politicians spent their time criticizing their counterparts – resulting in understandable accusations from the media of playing the "Blame Game". There were also accusations that officialdom was slow to respond because those worst affected were overwhelmingly poor and black and somehow deserved less "concern" than their fellow citizens. ACTION: images of rescue workers milling around waiting for orders, while people sheltered in desperate conditions a few city blocks away – or while dead bodies floated in the water just metres away – were dynamite for the news media. It was only when the Armed Forces swooped in with wave after wave of helicopters bringing relief supplies and evacuating victims that the tone of media coverage began to turn. PERSPECTIVE: As the media coverage showed, it was hard for many people to maintain perspective as the relief effort progressed. A single image of a dead person in a wheelchair, covered by a blanket, probably outweighed a dozen "good news" stories during the crisis. Additionally, the media were constantly chasing new angles to the story – and there were plenty to choose from! But my impression was that throughout the first critical week or so, no-one succeeded in articulating a "big picture" story of how the rescue effort was progressing. Compared with, say, the way the US Military explained their progress during the invasion of Iraq, the Hurricane Katrina communications seemed chaotic and uncoordinated.
When was the team established? October 2004. What are your team’s strengths? Our strengths are in consumer, pharma, advocacy, crisis management and government relations. What is your team’s background? The team's professional background is mainly in communications, marketing and a lot of account management. Who are your major clients and what are some recent highlights?
What is one of the biggest challenges the
team has faced?
How long did you stay in Japan?
Had you been to Japan before?
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