News media and crisis

1. News media and crisis

2. Order of the presentation • The effect of news media on voters • The relationship between news media and politicians • Crisis and crisis management • Crisis communications and spin

3. News media and voters The effect of news media on voters • The agenda-setting effect • The amount of time spent • Vividness • Lead stories • The priming effect

4. News media and voters Shanto Iyengar and Donald Kinder (1987) • Sequential experiments • Six sequential days • A questionnaire about the “agenda” on the first and the last day • The most important problems facing the nation • The performance of the president • Requested not to watch news on TV during the week • Have seen edited evening’s national newscast • For example, one group of viewers watched a newscast enriched with items on defense and no items on pollution and the economy • Assemblage experiment • One meeting • The questionnaire was only given at the end • Were told that they will see a representative collection of news story taken from the three networks • Time series tests

5. News media and voters Agenda-setting effect Sequential experiment

6. News media and voters Importance rating of problem • The rating is a composition of four different questions • Most important problems facing the nation • Personal concern • Deserve additional government action • Frequency with which they talked about each in every day conversation

7. News media and voters Sequential experiment

8. News media and voters Assemblage experiment

9. News media and voters

10. News media and voters Persistence

11. News media and voters Time series data What is the causality?

12. News media and voters Interestingly, the real data (like energy prices) did not have any effect! The only exception was with respect to unemployment

13. News media and voters Kind of news: vividness • Why would vivid have a stronger effect? • “The death of a single Russian solider is a tragedy. A million death is a statistic” • Josef Stalin • Nisbett and Ross: people are often persuaded by information that is distinguished primarily by its perceptual prominence. In doing so they become victims of a vividness bias, giving inferential weight to information in proportion to its vividness. • Reuven Frank, former president of NBC’s news division: “the highest power of television journalism is not in the transmission of information but in the transmission of experience.” • Experiment: toxic waste disposal site and the high incidence of childhood leukemia in Massachusetts community. • Vivid: after a stormy interview with the mother of one of the stricken children, her son looks innocently into the camera and expresses the hope, obviously faint, that he will soon be able to play with his friends • Results – no evidence for the vividness bias. If anything it actually decrease the agenda-setting effect • Two possible reasons • Method problem • The viewer might blame the victim (more so in the case of unemployment)

14. News media and voters Kind of news: lead stories • Why would a lead story have a stronger effect?* • It signals the importance given by the editors • the viewer is still focused and concentrate • Results • Strong support both in terms of immediate response and in delayed tests

15. News media and voters The priming effect • Hypothesis: by calling attention to some matters while ignoring others, television news influences the standards by which governments, presidents, policies and candidates for public office are judged • In other words, the focus of the news media will affect the weights that voters place on the various elements in their choices • The rationale: following our analysis of voters ignorance and use of short-cuts, news media make some elements in the choice more accessible • The analysis: respondents were asked to rate the president’s performance on a variety of issues such as “maintain strong defense” and also general performance • The scholars estimated the effect (coefficient) of each variable in a regression where the dependent variable was the general performance • The coefficient reflects the weight of the variable – as in our analysis

16. News media and voters Priming effect: Results • Responsibilities: these scholars have had another interesting finding. If the news media “connect” a problem to the government, the weight of such a variable in evaluating the president (and the candidates) increases

17. News media and voters The effect of news media: summary • The news media is a critical player in determining the weights that voters place on the various elements in their choices • Furthermore, there is also evidence that the media is responsible for the perception of the candidates • Example: George Bush and the economy in 1992 • Thus, affecting the news media reports should be a central element in any PMS

18. News media and politicians Media and politicians • What are the big changes in the last decades?* • Politicians have less time to express themselves • Sound bites shrink from more than 40 seconds in 1968 to less than 10 seconds in the 1980s • Journalists are more involved. They build their own story, tell it in their words, and warp up the item much more often than in the past. The celebrity is the journalist and not the politician • Why? What is the source of this change?* • Journalists have better technologies and they know how to use them • The politicians are weaker (and perceived as less trustworthy) today than before Vietnam and Watergate • “They started”: The candidates adopted such hi-tech “image making” approach in their campaigns and the reporters followed (and tried to demonstrate to the public the “real” candidate) • The result* • We observe more tension between politicians and journalists. Each side is trying to overcome the tactics of the other • We observe more negative reporting from the press and this means that the entire political arena is more negative (more fuel in the cycle of negative politics)

19. News media and politicians Managerial implications* • Have a prepared list of sound bites • Tie your message into the story of the reporter • By-pass the news media • Clinton 1992: talk shows, MTV, and similar programs • More soon…

20. Crisis management Crisis • “I always view problems as opportunities in work cloths” (Henry Kaiser) • Crisis according to Webster: “turning point for better or worse”, “decisive moment”, “crucial time” • Crisis management is the art of removing some of the risk and uncertainty to allow you to achieve more control over your own destiny Source: Fink 2002

21. Crisis: Order of presentation • Crisis defined • Anatomy of a crisis • Crisis forecasting • Crisis intervention • Crisis management plans • Manual • Team • Isolating the crisis • Crisis Communications (spin) • The communicator • Seven rules

22. Crisis management Crisis defined • Any prodromal situation that runs the risk of • Escalating in intensity • Falling under close media or government scrutiny • Interfering with the normal operations of business • Jeopardizing the positive public image presently enjoyed by a company or its officers • Damaging the company’s bottom line in any way • The best thing is to stop it before it start escalating • Actually you do it daily (you do not notice it because it become part of your routine) • Did you bring two pencils to school on the day of a test? Source: Fink 2002

23. Crisis management Anatomy of a crisis • Prodromal • The easiest stage to deal with the crisis • Sailors at sea and storm. If they can, they will head for shore • Acute • This is the stage that most people refer to as the “crisis” • If the sailors cannot head to shore, they can at least find the best location to be at (far from hidden reefs, for example) • Chronic • The clean-up phase • A time for recovery and healing (The patient is still ill) • It can linger (almost) indefinitely • A survey (Fortune 500 CEOs) found that companies without crisis management plans suffered lingering effect of as much as 2.5 longer than those who have had such a plan • Resolution • The patient is well and whole again Source: Fink 2002

24. Crisis management Source: Fink 2002

25. Crisis management Hollywoodgate • Early 1977 Cliff Roberson received an IRS 1099 form from Columbia Pictures which showed that the actor had been paid $10,000 by the studio in 1976 • David Begelman, the head of the Columbia studio endorsed the check… • He said that he will handle it, and Alan Hirschfield (the CEO) allowed him • June 6, 1977: he told Roberson that the responsible is a young person in Columbia who was already fired… • Roberson had additional questions • Hirschfield still did not fire Begelman • An internal investigation found additional similar cases • The media got into the picture followed by government and law enforcement • The management of the studio was not functioning • The price of Columbia stock grew anemic • Hirschfield’s reputation and his wife • Investigation into all the studios etc Source: Fink 2002

26. Crisis management Crisis forecasting • A team that examine all the time: “what can go wrong” • …and how will it affect you? Source: Fink 2002

27. Crisis management Crisis intervention [1] • A CEO of a manufacturing company with several antiquated, unprofitable, plants located in small towns in the industrial Northeastern US • You have to close one of them. The overhead per month is $1 million and you have decided to close it in six months from now • There are 500 workers • You intend to announce it one month before the closing • The result is clear • Unions • News media • Your home • Government Source: Fink 2002

28. Crisis management Crisis intervention [2] • Alternative 1 • Announce in the first month that you will close in one month • Discuss with union and government and agree to additional five months • Alternative 2 • Meet with unions and government before you announce • Then announce (with the unions and government at your side) that you will close in five months and you will spend $1 million on various ways to smooth the transition of workers into new jobs… • Ethical? • Think about the workers and their ability to plan ahead… Source: Fink 2002

29. Crisis management Crisis management plans: manual • Be prepared • Do you remember where the flashlight is when there is a power failure? • Certain key decision should be mechanical • Contingency planning: manual, a blue print • “Plan in the broadest possible terms, and get detailed when brush strokes don’t cover enough of the canvas” • For example, letting workers know not to come tomorrow to work (a phone bank) • Hotline • P&G (toxic shock syndrome crisis – Rely tampon): used it regular 800 number • J&J (Tylenol crisis): a special 800 number • Airline name and photographers • Have a kit with all the data that might be relevant to potential crisis • This will allow you to be proactive Source: Fink 2002

30. Crisis management Crisis management plans: team • A team for each type of crisis • And additional names of people that can be relevant • Always have the communicator in each team • Spokesperson • CEO? • The Hyatt Regency Walkway Collapse (Kansas City, Missouri – 1981) 110 people were killed: a structural engineer is the best spokesperson • Crisis simulation workshop • The Pentagon calls them “war games” • Video tape the spokespeople Source: Fink 2002

31. Crisis management Isolating the crisis • Like in the case of disease an important ingredient of CM is isolating the crisis • In the example of Alan Hirschfield • He could have delegated the task of dealing with the crisis to someone else, which would have freed him up to run the studio • He could have delegated the task of running the studio to someone else for a short time, while he dealt with the crisis • Crisis sometimes rage out of control because of a CEO who feels that he or she is indispensable • In the cases of J&J (Tylenol) and P&G (Rely) the firms isolated the crisis Source: Fink 2002

32. Crisis Communications Crisis Communications:the communicator • Keep good relationship with the news media all the time. This goodwill will help you when crisis emerge • This person (and her team) should be involved also in planning so that she will be able to prevent communication crisis • She should be part of every crisis management team • The firm’s communicator should have the authority to make decisions Source: Fink 2002

33. Crisis Communications Rule #1: each coin has two sides • The core strategy – each coin has two sides (at least…) • Tell your side of the story • Layoff 200 people or kept the work of 800 • Retail level tax or wholesale level tax • There are various facts and they can be re-arrange in various ways Source: Fink 2002

34. Crisis Communications Rule #2: tell your story • If you will not tell them your story (i.e., "no comment"), someone else will give them their side of the story • News come from the word "new" – reporters need to write something for their newspaper. • Meet the press • Proactive not reactive • Controlling the message • Correct misinformation • Otherwise you will look not in control and arrogant

35. Crisis Communications How to meet the press • Not clear that a press conference is the best way to go (although it provides a quick output) • The problem: it might get out of control • One-on-one interviews might be able to do a better job • From almost day one in the Tylenol crisis the J&J executives made themselves available to one-on-one interviews • Do your homework – know everything about the journalist and her style • If this is a live interview • There are various techniques to change the subject and to revise the question (or the information in the question) • I do not recommend it – the public is already sophisticated enough to understand it • You should “buy time” to think • Kennedy: “Let me say this about that… • Nixon: “Let me be perfectly clear…” • Reagan: “Well, here you go again…” Source: Fink 2002

36. Crisis Communications Rule #3: Do it early • If you will delay, it might look that you have something to hide • It will allow you to educate reporters • Make sure that you can give them all relevant information about the topic • It will allow you to control the debate (i.e., to define the terms of discussion)

37. Crisis Communications Rule #4: define the debate • This comes back to our discussion of agenda setting and framing • The example by Sitrick* • "honestly in journalism"

38. Crisis Communications Rule #5: be honest • Being dishonest will only escalate the crisis into proportions that will stagger you • It will serve to destroy your present and future credibility • “Never get into an argument with someone who buys ink by the barrelful” • “The truth is always the strongest argument” • Sophocles • “I did not have sex with that women” • Begelman told Roberson that the responsible is a young person in Columbia who was already fired…

39. Crisis Communications Rules 6 and 7 • 6: Take responsibility (if needed) • 7: Speak about the future and how you will make sure that it would not happen again • and be specific about it

40. Crisis Communications Additional issues • Do not forget to communicate also to • Employees • Customers • Investors • Government • Insurance companies/lawyers • Families of victims • All spokespeople should speak with one voice Source: Fink 2002