Today on the 5WPR blog we are going to breakdown some tools to help clients work through crisis PR issues.  Throughout our experience with a crisis communications situation PR professional’s have found that a simple, forthright approach to crisis public relations offers the best short- and long-term results. Five steps that are important for any successful crisis PR strategy…

When the police want to talk to you, your first call should be to your lawyer. This is not an admission of anything. It is simply the best way to protect your interests, whatever they may be. The same holds true if the press calls. In a crisis situation under no circumstances should you speak to the press without your PR representative present. In fact, you should not speak to anyone until after you have spoken with your PR firm and completed step 2.

From the PR industry perspective, a public apology can improve a PR Crisis or it can make a small PR crisis into a much bigger public relations controversy. Perhaps ESPN made things worse than they needed to be when they issued a public apology over comments made by announcer Brent Musburger while he was covering the Alabama v Notre Dame football game.

Musburger was obviously enamored by Katherine Webb, the girlfriend of Alabama Quarterback A.J. McCarren. Musburger repeatedly commented on the appearance of Webb, a former Miss Alabama, calling her “beautiful,” “good-looking” and suggesting that scoring a girlfriend as beautiful as Webb, is ample motivation for young boys to start practicing their football skills.