The role of the mass media in crisis – or perceived crisis - situations

Whether it’s something really significant like how BP and the federal government are responding – or not responding – to the undersea oil gusher in the Gulf, or something less important like how the ungracious exodus of LeBron James from the NBA’s Cavaliers impacts the city of Cleveland, how the media acts and reacts impacts us.

Although I know LeBron’s immature antics probably don’t qualify as crises, (or perceived crises!) the role of the mass media during crises is an age-old topic of discussion and criticism of how media handles itself dates back centuries. Thomas Jefferson once wrote: “The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers.”

Many people still hold that type of mistrust today.

During times of crisis of any kind, there is a great deal of uncertainty and fear among the people who have some sort of investment, either money-wise or emotion-wise. People turn on their televisions, or log onto the Internet, to get the latest information, analysis of the current circumstances, and to make sense of things. Most people look to the media to reduce uncertainty and fear by receiving what they believe to be accurate information.

There are several questions that are raised about this. First, is the information sources are providing journalists accurate? For example, news reports seem to change by the hour regarding whether BP has or has not capped the oil well leak. And, if you are a sports fan, how many different reports did you read stating that James was headed to the Knicks, or that he was staying in Cleveland?

Sometimes CEOs and spokespeople publicly react too quickly, without having all the facts, or the right facts. This can compound the crisis. Also, are the journalists accurately reporting the information? Are journalists reporting inaccurate information too quickly in order to be the first to break the “news”? Sometimes accuracy cannot be guaranteed during crisis situations. It’s up to professional communicators to monitor the reporting and speak up when inaccuracies are reported.

The news business today moves at lightning speed. Many stories now are broken on blogs rather than in the Sunday morning newspaper or the 11:00 p.m. news. The race by news organizations to be the first and the fastest to report a big news story means that now, more than ever before, it is vitally important that the news sources – CEOs, Board Presidents, and other executives – must learn how to react accurately, promptly and properly during crises.

Newspapers, news radio stations, 24-hour cable news operations and every other media outlet imaginable can have great impact, both negative and positive, on any given situation. A company cannot control how a news organization reports a story, but that organization can control how it interacts with a news organization and how it provides information.