Every Safety Director that I know
lives in dread of a school bus accident.
The thought of one of their trucks getting tangled-up with a school bus
is a nightmare, regardless of which driver is “at fault.” Every employee of your company, from the
C.E.O to each of your drivers, is a compassionate human being. No one wants to see a child hurt. Worrying about a school bus accident can make
you, a dedicated and professional Safety Director, an unhealthy insomniac. In
order to get some sleep (after reviewing your truck driver hiring practices),
you should develop your own company’s media plan.
You say that you’re too small of a
company to have a fancy “media plan”? Hopefully, you will never need such a media
plan. But, if a noteworthy crash happens
on your watch, you (as the Safety Director) will likely get pushed into the
media spotlight. Being prepared and
being empathic might determine if you retain your job after a noteworthy
accident.
A media plan doesn’t have to be complicated or outsourced to a
high-priced media consultant. Simplicity
is the key for you to remember your plan and then to implement it. A media plan has one purpose with five
distinct components.
Purpose:
The purpose of your media plan is to professionally identify your
company as a safe and committed group of people. The media must tell a compelling story very
quickly. All media--television, radio, newspaper and internet news--works off
of the same newspaper article structure:
Who, What, When, Where and How.
The 5 component of your plan:
Regardless of the media outlet (television, radio, newspaper, internet),
all media works under the standard news structure of Who, What, When, Where,
and How of the story. Therefore, you can prepare your media plan to provide information
on each of these five components:
Who
#1 -- Talk with your
C.E.O. and all Department managers about your plan. Make certain that they all know the identity
of your media representative. Typically,
the C.E.O. or the Safety Director is the natural choice for this important
responsibility. Make certain the other
company employees know that they should NOT interact with the media and that they
should direct the media to you.
Who
#2--When first
talking to the media, identify your company without giving the name of your involved
driver. Your driver should be protected,
at least initially. Have information on company’s
history and safety record ready to impart.
What --Provide ready the basic details of
the facts of the loss without inflammatory language. Know the type of accident it was (i.e.
rear-end, overturn, t-bone) and exactly how many vehicles were involved. Do NOT speculate on the number of people
injured or killed.
When –Much like the component of “what”,
the “when” involves more details of the accident facts including at what time the
accident occurred.
Where --Details of exactly where the
accident occurred and possibly the name of any hospitals where the accident
participants were transferred.
How—Do NOT guess or speculate as to the
cause of the accident. Resist the
temptation to tell everything you know.
You can honestly answer questions without divulging the preliminary contributors
to a crash until a full investigation is completed. You should be prepared to say: “We are not prepared to comment on the cause
of this accident. We are working
directly and actively with law enforcement officials to do a full
investigation. It would be irresponsible
for us to comment on the cause of the accident until all factors are fully
investigated. We are aware that in many
serious accident situations, in many cases the first reports prove to be inaccurate.”
The basis of your initial statement
should be a sincere care and concern for the accident participants and their
families. You could refine this basic
outline of your media statement: “The employees of ABC Trucking are shocked and
saddened by this tragic accident. We
offer our thoughts and prayers to all the accident participants and their
families. We are diligently investigating all the facts of this accident. Additional details should be available
shortly.”
Remember: you do not have to answer
every media question in order to prove that you are a professional. I recommend
that you tell your media contact that you have a statement, but do not have
answers to all of his/her pending questions. Don’t say “no comment”, but do not
get enticed into speculation. Recognize
that there could be some uncomfortable pauses in the questioning. Don’t feel pressured to keep talking.
If you have sufficient time,
coordinate your initial media contact with your defense counsel and your
insurance company. These entities typically recommend that your company say
nothing. However, a prepared statement
of empathy and concern might be in your best interest.
As always, my hope and desire is to provide you with practical advice. Let me know if there are some topics you would like to have covered. In the meantime, if there is anything we can do for you in North Louisiana or Northeast Texas, don't hesitate to call. ************************
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