The Rules of the Road for Church Spokespersons

1
The Rules of the Road for Church
Spokespersons

• by
• Barry McLoughlin Laura Peck
• McLoughlin Media
• Ottawa Canada Washington DC

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Objectives

• Focus on news particularly earned media
• How to be an effective spokesperson for the
  Church
• Risk and crisis communications

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Be Proactive When

• youve got a story to tell which is important to
  your credibility
• its a positive story but waiting for the media
  to call is unrealistic
• its a negative story and will inevitably emerge
  but you want to control the announcement

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Media Frames

• The media have some natural frames they use to
  tell their stories
• the little guy against city hall
• hypocrisy say one thing do another
• Incompetence
• Unusual, unexpected
• unfairness, outrage

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Issues in the Media

• Turn the telescope around from focusing on the
  Church to focusing on the issues
• Who do we have as expert talking heads on those
  issues?
• If we proactively focus on these hard news
  issues, we can bring to bear Catholic
  sensibilities on them
• The result can be a powerful, reinforcing,
  ongoing positioning of the Church and its
  teachings without making the Church the issue!

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A Proactive Approach

• Planned effort involving a story, a strategy,
  and a plan
• Feature or soft news story
• Requires relationship-building over time
• Choose an all-media approach (for major story)
  or offer the story to a selected journalist (for
  feature piece)

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Proactive Communications Focus
Set up operate Direct Parish/Diocesan Channels
Identify Third Party Supporters
Website Management
Proactive Communications Focus
Manage the message get the message out.
Anticipate and meet journalists needs
Manage perceptions expectations
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Pro-Active Tools Activities

• Information-for-file
• Letters-to-the-editor
• Backgrounders and fact sheets
• News release
• Media kit
• Media Tours
• Web site

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Keys to Effective Media Relations

• Build relationships over time
• Get to know your media
• Be strategic in your approach
• Invest the time to prepare

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Shifting Off the Defence

• Merely reacting well is not good enough.
• Political Axiom Even when youre doing well on
  your critics issues, youre already losing

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A Credible Spokesperson

• is knowledgeableplugged in..- speaks from the
  heart
• conveys caring, empathy, conviction, a sense of
  authenticity.
• - not a plastic, prepackaged, bland, slick
  talking head spin doctor

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When the issue is hot.or the Church is in
trouble..

• Lower the emotions surrounding the issue
• Establish credibility for the Church
• Stop the flow of negative stories

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The McLoughlin Wedge
Initial Question
Initial Brief Answer
State Your Message
Follow-up Question
STOP
Support It
Elaborate
STOP
Tracking Question
Further Expansion
Illustrate It
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Bridging and Deflecting
Reporters Question
STEP TWO Bridge
STEP ONE
STEP THREE Your Message Track
1. Acknowledge or 2. Refute
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Bridges

• Lets look at this from another perspective and
  that is
• Have you considered an equally important
  question and that is?
• Thats merely one part of a much bigger issue
• Lets not lose sight of the underlying reality
  which is.

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Avoiding Out-of-Context Quotes

• Be 100 consistent
• Avoid off-hand comments
• Prepare self-contained quotes
• Repeat quotes and key messages
• Try not to be accidentally interesting
• Be intentionally interesting!

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Source of the believed message(When people see
you)Source UCLA
55 Visual
7 Verbal
38 Vocal
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When people only hear you...
16 Verbal
84 Vocal Tone and Delivery
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The Spokespersons Focus

• Remember you are NOT talking to the media - you
  are talking to the public
• Stress the positives or the action
  youre taking
• Focus on your issues -
  dont just react to others
• Speak from the heart

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Definition of a Crisis

• An event, revelation or allegation which
  threatens the integrity, reputation, or survival
  of an individual or organization. It challenges
  the public's sense of safety, values or
  appropriateness.

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Crisis Communications

• The focus of crisis communications is to rapidly
  de-escalate the crisis through timely and
  effective communications methods.

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6 Crisis Concepts

• 1. In a crisis, issues mutate
• 2. A crisis occurs with little or no warning
• 3. The media are not the sole channel
• 4. It is easy to manage the wrong issue

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6 Crisis Concepts

• 5. The media can help or hinder your response
• 6. If you wait until you know everything, youll
  never say anything

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10 Principles of Crisis Communications

• 1. Be proactive
• 2. Designate a single spokesperson
• 3. Communicate early and often
• 4. Encourage the front door approach
• 5. Get ahead of the curve

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10 Principles of Crisis Communications

• 6. If there is bad news to come - YOU announce it
• 7. Get all the bad news out at once
• 8. Dont Break into jail
• 9. Quit while youre behind
• 10. Mop up after the mess

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Expert Definition of Risk

• Amount of Hazard X Likelihood of Occurrence Risk

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New Definition of Risk

• Amount of Hazard Outrage Risk

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Risk Issue

• A threat to life, health, safety and/or the
  environment

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Risk Management

• Systematic identification and analysis of risks
  and ways to control them

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Risk Communications

• Interactive exchange of information and opinion
  concerning risk.

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Risk Communications

• Includes activities such as
• issues and stakeholder identification
• facilitating engagement among stakeholders
• building consensus around the appropriate risk
  management decision
• delivering timely and appropriate messages
• working with the media
• Interactions among stakeholders
• monitoring and evaluating public dialogue

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Definitions

• Risk an actual, perceived or potential threat
  to life, health, safety or the environment. It
  usually includes elements of high threat and low
  trust

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Goals of Risk Communications

• to overcome panic and fear
• to establish credibility for the organization

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Perception of Risk

• Most dangerous mode of transportation
• Experts.cars
• Non-experts - planes

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How the Public Perceives Risk

• The public tends to
• Over-estimate the frequency and danger of rare
  risks
• Under-estimate the frequency and danger of
  everyday risks

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Perception/Expectation

• If the public perceives something as high risk,
  they will act on that perception
• Dont raise expectations that cant be attained
• Managing both perception and expectations is key
  to gaining understanding and support

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Top Three Sources of Risk Information

• The media
• Advocacy groups
• Opinion leaders

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Six Factors Which Influence the Public
Acceptability of Risk

• Choice
• Familiarity
• Similar Events
• Power
• Consultation
• Spokesperson

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The Strategy will Help Identify

• The nature of the risk issue
• The key stakeholders
• The core messages
• The communications initiatives and tools
• The mechanisms to evaluate the strategy

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What to Watch For

• Any reduction of public safety tends to trigger
  outrage
• Actions speak louder than words trust is built
  over time
• Acting quickly and responsibly does not mean you
  are admitting legal responsibility

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What to Watch For

• Just because the public is non-expert doesnt
  mean they are stupid.
• If the hazard level is low, the risk can still be
  significant in the publics view
• When the sense of indignation is high, the public
  may not be listening to dry numbers and
  statistics. You could be talking the language of
  morals power, greed etc
• In order to be heard the sense of outrage must be
  reduced.

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3 Guiding Principles

• Consultation is key to credibility
• Communications must be open and coherent
• Understanding risk perception is essential

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Risk Comm. Strategy Goals

• Identifying, listening providing information
• Shared understanding of risks consequences
• Development of shared goals
• Acceptance of principles
• Achieving consensus behind decision

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Centers for Disease Control Advice in a Crisis 

• Communicate with the public right away, even
  before the facts of a situation are known. 
• Succeeding does not mean having all the answers,
  it means demonstrating that there is a system in
  place responding to the crisis. 

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Structure of Your Statement

• Express empathyacknowledge peoples concerns
  and fears.
•  Share what you know.  Confirm facts and discuss
  the action steps underway.  Be as candid as
  possible.
• Be frank and forthcoming about the unknowns and
  describe plans to fill in knowledge gaps.
•  State the Churchs commitment to helping people
  through the crisis.
• Tell people where they can get more information
  and when you will be back in touch with them

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Several Cautions

• Media are not your mouthpieces
• Reporters hate being manipulated or lied to
• Media look for an angle.
• Try to anticipate how
• they will play thelatest wrinkle

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Several Cautions

• Media are not your mouthpieces. They will not
  automatically cover your story or focus on what
  you think they should
• Be straightforward. Dont string them along.
  Reporters hate being manipulated.
• Both parties deserve respect

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Summary

• Work with the media - not against them
• Give to get - cooperate
• Know their deadlines
• Be friendly. But if you need a friend, get a dog
  (Harry S. Truman)