Crisis Communication
Guidelines for Public and Private Organizations
Agricultural communication faculty and media relations professionals at Ohio State are involved in a variety of activities related to crisis communications. While faculty have been conducting research on various aspects of crisis communications, writers in the Section of Communications and Technology have been handling crisis issues for the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences and providing media relations training for faculty and staff. This site was developed based on these experiences with the primary goal of providing helpful advice to those exploring this issue or who also face such situations in their organizations.
What is "crisis" communication?
Crises can happen to any public or private organization or business. "Crisis communication" is needed when some event, either internal or external to the organization, is:
1. Newsworthy to the extent that media are aggressively seeking information, and
2. The attention and media coverage have the potential to negatively impact the organization’s public image and reputation.
"Events" that trigger crisis situations may not always be real! Public perceptions of a problem may be based on incomplete or inaccurate information, but still draw media attention. Remember the old saw, "Perception is reality."What is the goal or objective of crisis communication management?Successful crisis communication occurs when the organization takes steps to get control of the situation and turns a potentially negative outcome – damage to the organization’s reputation and credibility – into a positive outcome.
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