Let's imagine that you are a top level administrator for a park and recreation agency and you are driving to work on a beautiful autumn morning. You're momentarily poised at a stoplight while sipping a cup of hot McDonald's coffee and listening to your regular music station when suddenly your favorite Bobby Vinton song is interrupted for a news bulletin:

"There has been a catastrophic bus accident involving (your district's) vehicle. Several children were on the bus and there are known fatalities, and other children are trapped in the wreckage. Their injuries are unknown at this time."

As we all know, this scenario is not so far-fetched. At that moment in time, you have various options, the range of which include continuing on to your office, confident that at the same moment your district's comprehensive crisis management plan is being implemented, or collapsing into the fetal position muttering something about the Fifth Amendment. This article is addressed to those who may currently lean toward the latter option.

Following the October 25, 1995, bus-train accident that occurred in Fox River Grove, Illinois, that killed seven teenagers, the public was understandably inundated with radio, television and newspaper reports for weeks concerning every aspect of this tragedy. Notably, many of these early news reports immediately explored, addressed and even suggested blame towards various parties including the driver of the bus, the school, the train operator, state agencies, and the local police.

Arguably, such tactics reflect an intense public need for accountability and the competitive nature of the news industry. Negative implications based upon incomplete investigations or slanted news reporting can have a significant and lasting impact upon the public's perception, your agency's reputation, the crisis itself, and even future litigation exposure. Therefore, park and recreation agencies are strongly encouraged to develop crisis management policies and procedures and periodically review their effectiveness to help ensure that your agency and staff will be prepared to effectively manage the initial phases of a crisis, and particularly the media.

Following the Fox River Grove tragedy, most agencies that provide transportation services couldn't help but rhetorically ask themselves...could such an event happen here? And if a similar tragedy did occur, by what means is our agency prepared to manage and attend to the involved citizens, their families,

Illinois Parks & Recreation • January/February 1996 • 41

our community, our staff, investigative authorities, the continued operation of our agency, and on top of all that, the potential onslaught of media attention and scrutiny?

Given the myriad of recreational and non-recreational public services provided by Illinois park and recreation agencies, the range of potential crisis situations is almost endless. Agencies have experienced actual tragedies arising out of drownings, environmental catastrophes, sexual abuse and harassment, natural disasters, fires, communicable disease exposure, etc., that have all come under some level of media scrutiny.

Regretfully, no scientific formula enables us to predict with certainty, when and where the next crisis will occur or whether the crisis will be deemed "news worthy. "The potential of media involvement will depend on a variety of tangibles and intangibles that are hard to predict. For instance, if an agency tragedy occurred on the same day the Cubs won the World Series, it is easy to imagine the media overlooking the local tragedy. Historically, a significant factor which will influence the level of media response to a crisis situation will be the magnitude of other news events occurring on a regional or national basis that day.

Other major factors that affect the media response will be the visual impact of any video footage that can be obtained of the crisis, time of day that the crisis occurs, the weather, the political atmosphere, and situations involving controversial or "hot" topics such as AIDS, sexual harassment, criminal abuse and children being left alone. It is safe to say that a slow news day can turn your seemingly minor crisis into headline news.

Before the days of satellite feeds, the Internet, and other avenues of instant communication, the reporting of news could take hours or days before it reached the general public. Only a generation ago organizations often had more time to evaluate the causes and effects of a crisis and develop a media response. However, we now live in an electronic age where the flow of news reports is almost instantaneous, and there is intense competition between news media to provide the most current information (not necessarily accurate) to the public to achieve higher ratings. This competition between news media can result in the presentation of unsubstantiated facts, or slanted news reporting which could have a significant impact upon many facets of the crisis including one of a public agency's most important assets—its reputation in the community. Mindful that an agency will generally have but one opportunity to make a first impression, your agency's ability to respond promptly to inaccurate, fictitious, or biased news reporting may be your only opportunity to preserve your good reputation and minimize other negative effect(s) of the reporting. Let's face it, in today's fast paced society, yesterday's news is often old news. How many of us read the retractions, corrections and clarifications section of the newspaper or closely listen to them when aired on television?

Fortunately, an effective media relations plan may not only minimize the negative, but accentuate the positive. That is, the media can be used effectively in presenting balanced facts to the public following a crisis, neutralizing biased or inaccurate reporting, and enhancing your agency's reputation; particularly when your response to a crisis actually reduced the severity of the incident or saved lives. In this regard, it will be the responsibility of your crisis management team to coordinate such efforts via fact finding, strategy conferences, and fact dissemination through a spokesperson(s), press release(s), or video tape. In other words, your agency can maximize its ability to be the master of its own media destiny.

Your agency's efforts may result in the following headlines: "All Safely Evacuated During Fire at Community Center" or "Quick Actions by Daycamp Staff Save Lives." Conversely, a lack of a crisis management plan may result in these headlines: "While Personnel at Play, Toddler Drowns" or "Daycamp's Day Dreams Result in Fatal Fire."

In conjunction with the development of your crisis management plan, your agency should closely evaluate any existing written emergency response plans. As we know, emergencies do not necessarily develop into crises. Often tragedies and crises can be averted, prevented or minimized through effective emergency response planning, which typically includes procedures for severe weather, fires, utility failure, chemical leaks, bomb threats and related unexpected events. Employees must be trained in their individual and collective roles following an emergency. In this respect, "practice makes perfect."

While each agency's written crisis communication plan will be unique, all should include certain basic components:

Crisis team members and their respective roles

Crisis head and spokesperson chain of responsibility

Designation of a spokesperson

General and specific crisis team action steps

The role of employees and elected officials

Sample generic press release

Emergency phone list

Media phone list for television, radio, and newspapers

Post-crisis evaluation form

One of the first steps in the development of your written crisis communication plan is to establish a crisis team. This team will typically consist of the agency director, a member of the governing board, agency attorney, superintendents, and other key staff. A chain of responsibility should then be developed to identify alternative crisis team heads and spokespersons in the event that the designated persons are not immediately available or will not be available at all. Each alternate crisis team head and spokesperson must be intimately familiar with the agency's crisis plan, operations and management philosophies.

The crisis team is the heart of the decision making process when a crisis occurs at your agency. All official agency responses following a crisis should arise from the flow of verified information to the crisis team. Important information needed by the crisis team typically includes verified information pertaining to causes of the crisis, those affected, damage estimates, public reaction, and current media reports. Based on the circum-

42 • Illinois Parks & Recreation • January/February 1996

stances of a crisis, the crisis team may choose to hold a press conference, provide a press release, or make no statement to the media.

Staff and Board Member Roles

Your crisis plan should clearly define staff roles for the director, superintendents, office staff, other key employees, elected officials, safety coordinator, and spokespersons.

The general duties and responsibilities of each member of the crisis team and other staff should be determined and documented within your written crisis plan. Often, the agency director will act as the official crisis team head and will be responsible for the overall coordination of the agency's crisis management plan. The crisis team head should ensure that each component within the crisis plan is being implemented as necessary, and that there is consensus among the crisis team when important decisions are made.

An agency department head or other key manager should be responsible for the coordination and documentation of all incoming information to the crisis team, such as witness statements, employee statements, investigation results, radio, television, and newspaper reports. In essence, this manager is assigned to determine the who, where, what, why, and when of the crisis.

If your agency has a parks department manager, he or she should be responsible for coordinating any needed agency resources to manage physical aspects associated with a crisis. One of the first duties should be to ensure that the crisis team has access to the facility where the crisis team will be meeting. Depending upon the nature of a crisis, the superintendent may be responsible for coordinating the efforts with other governmental public works departments, the police department, utility companies, etc. Your parks manager may also be responsible for establishing of a media center where news agencies can gather to monitor the crisis.

Agency office personnel also play a vital role in the management of a major crisis. Staff should be assigned to answer and document telephone inquiries, public visitors, reporters, photographers, or others who inquire at your administration building. The following information should be obtained and logged from all incoming calls and public visitors:

The name and address of callers or visitors

Their title and organization

The name of the newspaper, radio, or television station (if applicable)

The telephone and fax number where the inquirer can be reached

A reporter's deadline (if applicable)

The board president or other governing board member should be a member of the crisis team. This person provides valuable insight from an elected officer's perspective and can be an important link in keeping other board members apprised of developments in the crisis.

It is recommended that board members and elected officials should not make any individual statements to the news media until after meeting with the crisis team to ensure that their statements are consistent with the spokesperson. This will help to ensure that the agency provides a unified voice to the news media and avoid inconsistent statements.

If the agency has a safety coordinator or risk manager, they can assist the crisis team by conducting or contributing to the internal agency investigation of the incident, verifying information and preserving evidence through photographs. The safety coordinator should also complete any applicable accident reporting forms to be submitted to the insurance carrier. In circumstances when a professional investigation is warranted, the safety coordinator and can assist and serve as liaison between the district and outside investigators. The safety coordinator could also be responsible for contacting any necessary governmental agencies as required by law. For example, the Environmental Protection Agency may need to be notified following a chemical release or the Department of Labor should be notified following the death of an employee. Another responsibility of the safety coordinator at the conclusion of the crisis should be to formulate a plan of action which should be presented to the agency director to eliminate or prevent a similar future crisis.

The role of individual employees during a crisis situation can have a direct impact on what information is provided to the media. The phrase "loose lips sink ships" would certainly apply if inaccurate information provided by an individual employee concerning the crisis conflicts with information provided through the agency's designated spokesperson.

Media Training

Your crisis communications efforts could result in the following headlines: "Quick Actions by Day Camp Staff Save Lives" or "Day Camp's Day Dreams Result in Fatal Fire."

All employees should be trained to direct any media inquiries regarding the crisis to the agency's spokesperson or director. Training should take place during the new employee orientation process, including part-time and seasonal staff. Specific training elements should include directing all inquiries to the spokesperson, never discussing liability on behalf of the agency, and to never make "off record" comments concerning the crisis. Do you remember when noted news anchor Connie Chung asked the mother of Newt Gingrich to share her personal opinion of First Lady Hillary Clinton as an "off-the-record" comment? Mother Gingrich whispered her opinion in Chung's ear, only to have Chung reveal the secret on national television.

Illinois Parks 8 Recreation • January/February 1996 • 43

The designated agency spokesperson should be the primary voice of information arising from your agency. When choosing the spokesperson, it is important that this person has in-depth knowledge of your agency, and presents themselves well on camera. The spokesperson may not always be the agency director. An elected official or superintendent may have better public speaking experience and be more comfortable speaking to the media. This individual will be a reflection of your agency's professionalism associated with the crisis.

Press Conference vs. Press Release

In making a determination as to whether or not your agency will respond to the media by holding a press conference, the crisis team must weigh all known facts, speak to witnesses, separate truths from untruths, review media reporting, and understand legal implications of their actions or inactions. This determination can only be accomplished through a thorough analysis of available facts, and the benefits or pitfalls that could occur in holding a press conference. If the crisis team decides that it is the best interest to use a spokesperson, this person should be asked tough questions through mock scenarios that could be asked by reporters. This training will help to ensure that your spokesperson has the ability and demeanor to handle difficult questions and remain positive.

Until now, we have discussed the science of crisis management; however, at times, crisis management becomes more of an art and less of a science. The decision as to whether to initiate media relations or respond to the media can only be determined on a case by case basis. From both a common sense and legal viewpoint, it is ill-advisable to admit guilt, make admissions against interest, or otherwise be placed in a situation which may ultimately have an adverse affect on your agency. At times, chances must be taken.

Again, there is no steadfast rule of thumb as to when to cooperate with the media. Understandably, if you don't cooperate with the media they might speculate on causes or conditions, interview anyone who will talk, dig into your past problems, highlight the suffering you have caused, or imply you have something to hide. In such circumstances, "no comment" will be interpreted by the media and the public as pleading the Fifth Amendment. If it is more likely than not that your agency committed a wrong, it would not be advisable to have a press conference or to necessarily voluntarily cooperate with the media. Rather, the more prudent course of action would be to issue a press release.

For instance, let's presume that a child has drowned at the agency's pool and it appears through witnesses that the lifeguard on duty at the time of the incident abandoned his/her lifeguard station to make personal phone calls to friends. Clearly, the prudent approach would be to minimize contact with the media. However, the agency could issue the following press release:

The Anytown Park District has been informed that early this afternoon at our pool facility a child drowned. At this time, the specific facts and circumstances surrounding this event have neither been fully substantiated nor confirmed. We are currently in the process of investigating this matter in full cooperation with the Anytown Police Department. Pending the outcome of our investigation and in fairness to the families and parties involved, it is premature to discuss this matter at this time. We anticipate being able to provide further details in the near future.

In circumstances where the crisis is not objectively the result of any fault on the part of the agency, and agency efforts helped minimize or contain the crisis, the agency should be more willing to initiate contact through the media and designate a time and place for a press conference. The gray area exists where there may be two sides to the story, and the agency is faced with the dilemma of determining whether or not to balance the facts in response to negative news reporting or initiate contact with the media in an attempt to maximize the potential of the story being reported in a light most favorable to the agency. This difficult situation would require conducting mock press conferences with the crisis team so that the agency can try to anticipate difficult questions and develop responses.

In some cases, invaluable to this effort may be the services of a consulting attorney expert in the legal aspects of the incident. If the agency is not entirely comfortable that its spokesperson can successfully address the most outlandish press questions, the agency may simply choose to release a written statement. Alternatively, the agency may wish to conduct a press conference with more than one spokesperson. A seasoned attorney may very well compliment an agency director at the time of the press conference. This is particularly true where legal obligations or implications will be addressed by the media. However, it is best that the primary spokesperson's responsibilities be delegated to an agency spokesperson, not its legal representative.

A decision should be made relatively soon after the incident as to whether or not it would be prudent to contact the media and suggest a press conference. The advantage of doing so is that by designating a specific time and place for the news conference, the media will be more likely to delay any news reporting until the news conference is held. This delay may minimize the need to respond to negative newscasting and maximize the potential that the news reporting of the event will be cast in a light most favorable to the agency. The caveat is that the agency spokesperson should be prepared to address convoluted, inaccurate, or even absurd questions in an effort by some reporters to get their story. As we now know, some media will go as far as generating news rather than report news.

In the age of instant communication and voluminous litigation, the successful development and implementation of a crisis management plan is a powerful asset to any agency when the unthinkable occurs. Just as important, it will affect public reaction which will ultimately boil down to "they had no plan and people got hurt" or "they did a great job under very difficult circumstances."

Kevin Hoffman, ARM, is the loss control manager and Steven J. Kleinman, JD, is general counsel for PDRMA (Park District Risk Management Agency). If you are interested in obtaining a sample crisis management plan, contact PDRMA at (708) 769-0332.

44 • Illinois Parks & Recreation • January/February 1996