Managing a media crisis

Course summary

Reputation is one of the most important assets any organisation has. It can take years to build, but can be lost overnight. This highly participative course will help you put in place crisis management procedures and develop the media handling skills that will help your organisation emerge strengthened rather than weakened by a crisis.


Course outline

Over the day, you will cover:

• preventative measures - how to avoid a media crisis
  • communication risk analysis
  • risk management
• developing good relationships with journalists
• recognising the danger signs - what types of incident can turn into a full blown crisis
• developing a crisis management plan
• putting in place a critical incident team
  • who should be on it
  • the skills they need
• training your critical incident team
• the importance of good internal communication
  • communicating with your board, your staff, your other stakeholders
• protecting vulnerable staff and customers
• acting swiftly, and accountably
• understanding the media agenda
• message development - demonstrating that you are concerned, capable and taking action
• rebuttal processes
• keeping good records of media contact
• handling hostile media interviews with skill and confidence
  • staying calm under pressure
  • ensuring you don't speculate
  • giving your audience confidence in your ability to get on top of the crisis

Who is this course for?

The course is for PR professionals, managers, emergency planning personnel and others who want to develop their skills and confidence in the area of media management in a crisis.

The course combines high quality information from professionals who have been there and done it, plus practical exercises, case studies, checklists, and creative discussions. It includes undertaking media interviews with video feedback.



What will this course help me do: learning outcomes?

This course will help you recognise the specific risk factors for your organisation, and take action to prevent a media crisis. However, if a crisis hits, it will give you the confidence and skill to handle it well so that your organsiation emerges stronger than before.