I am a firm believer in reading and absorbing research and surveys done nationally for how old and new media interact. There are lessons to be learned from this national research on how we should interact in our own communities.

The merging of old and new media continues to play out in the world of journalism.  No longer do people just read the New York Times or Wall Street Journal for news, but also a growing number of online entities such as HuffingtonPost, Drudge, TechCruch, GigaOm, and even social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. In our own communities this could mean the community paper, Twitter, Facebook and micro news websites.

Earlier this year, Pew Research Center issued a report analyzing this trend and examining how blogs and social media agendas relate and differ from traditional press.  The report, New Media, Old Media, takes into consideration a year’s worth of analysis, making it very in-depth.  It answers the various questions that are increasingly becoming difficult to track, such as “What types of news stories do consumers share and discuss the most? What issues do they have less interest in? What is the interplay of the various new media platforms? And how do their agendas compare with that of the mainstream press?”

Some highlights from the report include:

• News today is increasingly a shared, social experience
• In less than one third of the weeks did the blogosphere and traditional press share the same top story
• The stories and issues that gain traction in social media differ substantially from those that lead in the mainstream press, but they also differ greatly between social media platforms
• Of the three social platforms tracked in the survey – blogs, Twitter and YouTube – they only shared the same top story once
• Bloggers gravitated toward stories that elicited emotion, concerned individual or group rights or triggered ideological passion and unlike other forms of media, don’t favor one partisanship
• Traditional media news agendas are more event-driven and institutional
• While most original reporting still comes from traditional journalists, technology makes it increasingly possible for the actions of citizens to influence a story’s total impact
• 44% of online news users get news at least a few times a week through emails, automatic updates or posts from social networking sites
• In 2009, Twitter’s monthly audience increased by 200%

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As you may recall this past September 1st, a man armed with guns and explosives entered Discovery’s HQ building in Maryland and took three individuals hostage for several hours. Thankfully no employees were hurt or killed; the gunman was shot by police during their operation to rescue the hostages.

Often I am asked by PR execs from for profit corporations what protocols I feel they should put in place in the event of a crisis, whether it is fire or law enforcement that might occur on their premises.

The Discovery experience taught their internal communications team some valuable lessons for communicating to their employees during a crisis. The protocols they put in place are based on a vivid and real situation and certainly trump and exceed any suggestions I have ever laid out to a company.

These lessons can also teach us how a business should be structured to deal with a major crisis.

Tim Redd, Manager of Discovery’s Internal Communications said that nothing could have prepared them for this event but already being a cohesive team really helped them quickly jump into action. In a crisis, humans instinctually go into auto-pilot so it’s useful to have a frame of reference for what that might look like in a crisis situation. Redd recently shared some tips for successful crisis communications that could benefit any organization that I share with you:

• Have back-up communications methods in case one system fails.
• Use specific and serious words in messaging (for example, “gunman” “explosion”) to ensure people take the situation seriously and understand what is happening.
• Consider setting up a phone bridge to allow executives to be informed of the developing situation in real time.
• Don’t forget about employees in other offices. They may see news reports or get calls from a customer. They are also concerned about their friends and co-workers.
• Assign an official out-of-office meeting place where you can store grab-n-go bags with spare computers, chargers and supplies.
• Essential team members should not also be assigned “floor captains.”
• Keep checklists and contact lists ready in your wallet, badge sleeve or on a jump drive.
• Assign the role of “head checker” to a team member who is further removed or not experiencing the crisis first-hand.
• Monitor colleagues’ behavior and relieve them of duties if necessary.
• Extend counseling resources.

Redd also discussed how and when to respond to press phone calls. He said that for Discovery, the first priority was employee safety and well-being. They felt it was their number one concern was to do whatever was needed for employees first. They tracked press inquiries and returned press calls immediately after the situation was resolved.

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Over the holiday weekend I have had the opportunity to do some reading and investigation to attempt to put together the facts from a PR perspective of how things could go so terribly wrong in terms of the “they against us” attitude most folks now have towards the TSA. A number of PR gaffs has lead to this perception.

First off the lame TSA Administrator John Pistole used a worn out administration card saying the TSA knows what right for our citizens but unfortunately they haven’t done a good enough job educating people. Again, we’re so stupid that the wonderful changes they put in place and the stellar way in which they presented it to the public is above our scope of appreciation.

The President uses this excuse every time he talks about healthcare, the stimulus plan etc, yet to my knowledge these alleged communications blunders have not lead to the firing or demotion of even one PR or communication person in the White House or any other agency in Washington DC. If lack of decent PR is such a detriment to clearly explaining administration positions why hasn’t reorganizing DC communications across the board become an administration priority? Why hasn’t the TSA reorganized their public affairs department? Time to stop beating on communication folks and look at yourselves in the mirror.

Back to the TSA. Considering the controversy, threats and headlines regarding the newly announced TSA screening procedures, I imagine the agency wishes they could have a do over.  Maybe not, but in any case, I wish I could have been a fly on the wall of the meeting room where plans were made.  There were plans, right?

I’d like to know if the following issues were discussed:

1)   Public Announcement – I can’t find anything from the TSA that formally announced the new procedures and timeframe to implement well before they took place.

2)   Timing – Why was the full blown implementation of these policies introduced during the biggest holiday air travel week of the year?  How was the implementation of the new procedures factored into the security process that has to take place when a massive amount of people go through airport lines? The public really had no advanced warning of what to expect.

3)  Anticipation of Issues – All good plans anticipate issues.  In this case, I’m wondering how many issues like consumer reaction, training uniformity, advocacy group backlash and political posturing were anticipated and plans made accordingly to counter those arguments.

4)  Collateral Tools – You had to drill down through the TSA website to find any information or tools to demonstrate what travelers should expect with the new screenings.  The website’s statement from Administrator John Pistole was as lame as he is.  The TSA has tried to play catch up by posting better information in recent days but the dour tone of the website still does not do a great job of justification.

5)  Testing – While the new procedures were tested at a few airports, I went through one of these new scanners during testing close to two years ago if I recall, did they try to gauge consumer reaction?  I don’t remember being asked what I thought or given a survey. Were media invited to a “screening of the screening” to provide insight on rationale and benefits of new procedures?

The point here is that when you’re dealing with change, especially when it impacts a lot of people, you can’t plan enough.  A solid PR and marketing plan seems to never have been put in place to deal with new screening procedures.

An investment in good creative advertising, PR and marketing would have eased the public’s angst and fear of the unknown.

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As a PR and marketing guy I have over the year been confronted, when a consumer or customer thinks that an injustice has been done to them, spew the old line “I’m going to the papers with this.”

I used to love to hear this sentence spoken when I knew someone with no case, truth or validation to their complaint assumed the “papers” would hold the presses so the masses could hear that we were out of blue logo tees or a donation receipt was not mailed to a donor within moments of the envelope being opened. The chance a journalist or reporter had in receiving a Pulitzer Prize for the irate information usually tended to have them pass on the story.

While this type of unfounded consumer threat used to make me laugh, today that same threat needs to be taken seriously when anyone with a computer can post their grievances on Facebook, Twitter or even set up their own blog to pound on who they conceive to be the perpetrator of the injustice.

We as PIO’s and PAO’s have to grit our teeth and bear it in how we answer members of the community and their perceived grievances. I know it can become tedious and time consuming but our jobs now dictates we cross every T and dot every I or else suffer the consequences of being smeared in the cyber world.

 A case in point was how Alaska Airlines recently handled a flyers complaint and how the world including I found out about every sordid detail. The example does involve though a consumer with what I think was a legitimate complaint.

Alaska Airlines stepped into a PR mess that could’ve been avoided with a “dotting” patience I mentioned.

A few weeks ago, Colleen Roberge, Dan Blais, and their son had to make a last-minute restroom pit stop before boarding their flight. Blais spoke with the airline agent about the situation, but in the time that it took to change a diaper, the airline had given away two of the family’s tickets. And, according to Blais, when he said he wouldn’t board without his family, the agent said she’d give away his ticket too.

Mom and baby were crying, the family’s bags left with the plane, and it cost more than $1,000 to rebook the next day. Now Blais has started a blog called “Alaska Airlines Hates Families.” If that isn’t bad enough, there’s the response from the airline.

The airline’s social media manager Elliott Pesut replied via blog, Business Insider reports: “Reservations are subject to cancellation if customers aren’t ready at the gate within those times because many tasks must be completed before departure…We can’t push the plane back from the gate till everyone is sitting down. And so on.”

The best part is the “And so on.” Way to go Alaska Airlines.

Update: Way to go Alaska Airlines. The family behind “Alaska Airlines Hates Families” now says “Alaska Airlines Doesn’t Hate Families.” Apparently, the family has been reimbursed and the issue resolved.

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Over the last year or so I have been closely watching how various corporations, emergency service arms and organizations utilize social media to report on a serious incident or crisis. I am not totally convienced that reporting details rapidly on Twitter or Facebook is the most advantageous way to let the public know about an emergency. With things moving so quickly and so much at stake in giving details, social media can trap you into churning out information before we can actually put the unfolding events into perspective. A case in point took place in Singapore last week.

A Qantas flight from Singapore to Sydney had to make an emergency landing after the plane had a problem with one of its engines.

A far scarier version of the incident spread lightning quick via social media, with pictures showing damage to the plane, people supposedly holding pieces of the plane, and false reports about a plane crash.

Ultimately, the airline did post a statement on its website with assurance that no one was hurt and there was no plane crash. And eventually, the airline posted an update on its Facebook page, according to Tnooz.com, but its Twitter accounts sat idle for some time.

Everything turned out fine, but it raises the question: Is Twitter now the proper place for first response to a crisis situation?

Kudos to Tnooz.com, a technical travel site.  The story on the social media angle of this story was well done and the follow-up comments are interesting.

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As of this writing the 14^th miner has been rescued from the Copiapo, Chile cooper and gold mine. I like many, especially those of us in the emergency services, were up all night watching the human drama that was unfolding before our eyes. I was riveted to the raw internet feed from CNN. To this point it has been a flawless rescue effort.

I am duly impressed by the skill and professionalism of the entire rescue team. From those at the mine shaft opening to the rescue workers who went down to supervise the efforts in the mine to the EMT’s and medical staff and mine and government administrators, everything has been done in an organized and flawless manner.

Whether in Chile, the US or anywhere else in the world we are of the same breed. We train and practice again and again to prepare ourselves for these type of once in a career incidents. We can see that the repetition of drilling these scenarios over and over are paying off.

My PIO hat is really off to the staff in Copiapo who is orchestrating the public information end of the operation. The media has been kept at a safe distance and well informed of each aspect of the rescue and history of the miners being rescued.

The pool video coverage has been riveting and compelling. Whoever is directing the TV feed has been able to keep on switching the cameras from the surface, to the mine floor and the triage center to capture each and every salient moment and family reunion without missing a beat.

BRAVO CHILE

The one thing that does irk me though is the news coverage of the event. I decided after watching a couple of reports from the scene that I would much rather observe the raw feed then network coverage.

It makes my blood pressure skyrocket to hear and see some of these reporters. More concerned about how their new North Face jacket looks and how wonderful it is that we are having the privilege to watch them reporting live from the scene cheapens the story. A picture is worth a thousand words. Go back to your warm mobile homes and suck down a cappuccino and let real life events unfold without your overused blather.

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I’m pretty lucky in Smithtown, NY where I serve as the FD PIO. Most of our day to day press initiatives are covered by the local media which consists of three weekly newspapers and two or three websites which maintain hyper local sites.

If I have a specific alarm report that I want to disseminate to the press, I send a release with photos and let the editors do their thing. In almost all instances the locals do a great job of rewriting the story to fit their papers styles. I always try to place a quote or two in the body of my release but if an editor calls for more information or quotes, I’m happy to provide.

My problem lies with one of the weeklies in that they take my releases verbatim. When I write a release I write it in “fire-ese.” I tell the facts, give the numbers of the apparatus, give hours in military time etc. I use parenthesis around the military time, or other fire jargon to better explain, but this paper prints it all, as mentioned, verbatim.

I would like them to edit the story to fit the rest of the papers style. I have even mentioned this subtly to the publisher, but it continues.

I cannot tell them that they really should edit the release, but on the other hand, I do not want to do their work for them and write a story separate from the release I send to the other area publications.

What would you do?

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In one of the more bizarre recent occurrences surrounding the amazing story of the 33 trapped Chilean miners it seems that need to express themselves clearly is towards the top of the agenda. It appears that PR types are yelling instructions down the shaft telling these guys the appropriate way to speak to the media upon rescue. If there ever was a way for the miners to get good nights sleep it would come as the result of some media consultant telling them what to say upon seeing the sunlight for the first time in months. Enough for anyone to go into a catatonic state!

The good word now is that the 33, who have been trapped a half mile underground since their shaft collapsed on August 5 will be pulled from the mine ahead of schedule, possibly in just a few weeks.  At first, it was anticipated that the miners wouldn’t be rescued until the end of the year

Alberto Iturra, head of the team of psychologists working with the miners told reporters from Agence France-Presse and The Daily Telegraph that media trainers have begun working with the men on “public speaking and public relations” to prepare them for the 700 international journalists that are expected to show up for their rescue.

“The training aims ‘to teach them to express clearly their ideas and how to handle situations so that the microphones and cameras do not turn out to be stressful for them, or become a problem that they do not know how to face,’” the article says.

No doubt there will massive media coverage the day these men are rescued and they should be prepared for the frenzy. But I’m sure these men have more on their minds besides how to respond clearly to a reporter’s question. And it would seem maybe psychologists and authorities would work to keep the media away from them while they get hugs from their families and go have a hot meal. No one can really expect that these guys are going to emerge from this mine and start giving interviews, can they?

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A new form of reporting local news is taking root across America. It’s called hyperlocal and is much more nimble and reactive then traditional community news sources.

Next month I am inviting the editors of Smithtown Patch to the firehouse for a media open house. I hold these events several times a year in which I invite one media outlet at a time to come and tour our department and get to know a little better about who we are and how we serve the community. This is the first time I am inviting what at this point can be called a non traditional or newly emerging form of media.

In Smithtown we currently have three hyperlocal web sources, Smithtown Patch, Smithtown Radio and Smithtown Matters. All three have been contacting me when news breaks and posting the stories almost as fast as I get them up on the web. Hyperlocal seems to be able to capture community news in almost real-time.

The biggest of these hyperlocal operations is Patch. The parent of Patch is AOL. The home page is constantly being updated with breaking news, restaurant reviews, community profiles etc. Here’s a look at the Smithtown Patch .

Currently there are Patch editions in communities in 11 states.

Although hits are currently sparse, I see hyperlocal news sources as a growing form of local information gathering.

It appears that many hard copy local papers that print on a weekly basis will have to come up to speed and create their own hyperlocal websites. Many community papers have engaged reader of their weeklies with fresher information via the web, but a large majority of these publications have, for what ever reason, shied away from providing daily web based news, and only provide it once a week in newstand and delivery print editions.

This may  prove to be a bad strategy, as hyperlocal sites such as Patch start grabbing both readership and local advertising revenue.

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There is a certain group of trend arbiters around whom I envision being skinny, wearing all black, with black framed glasses who think that when they speak the entire work of public relations will turn on a dime to do their bidding.

Over the last several years I am becoming progressively irritated when PR pundits keep saying that the standard press release is dead. Maybe the body is cold from where they sit, but in our line of work the old tried and true, boring and predictable press release is our lifeline to the media.

I read both the hard copy and online editions of Advertising Age. I get great perspective of trends and ideas in the for profit world of advertising, PR and marketing that in many instances can be transcribed to the not for profit segment in which we work.

I just read a story by Simon Dumenco, the media columnist for Advertising Age who says that Twitter is killing the press release. As you can see by Simon’s picture he wears black but does not have glasses. Simon says:

The long-suffering, much-maligned press release, I’d argue, finally died this summer, thanks particularly to JetBlue and BP, with a little moral support from Kanye West and just about every other celebrity with thumbs. (Of course, press releases will probably continue to stumble along, zombie-like, for years to come, because too many PR folks are still heavily invested in grinding them out.)

I don’t think it is zombie like when we have to report deaths in a fatal fire, or a devastating MVA. According to those dressed in black we should Tweet or Facebook these occurrences as though they are trivialities.

Maybe in your work of pr and advertising glitz, the press release is dead, but don’t speak on behalf of our sector, where news is still delivered to the media in a straightforward and dignified manner.

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