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In Victoria, British Columbia, safety expert Steven Adelman and I visit the Parliament Buildings. I later spoke about the media at the International Association of Venue Managers regional conference. One of the first issues I discussed with the audience was bracing for breaking news. I explained how I once covered an accidental shooting at a gun show. That story raises the following questions for business owners to consider before news breaks:
- If news breaks at your business and you’re not there, how quickly can someone contact you even on weekends? The accidental gun show shooting happened on a Saturday.
- Where will the media park their vehicles? We parked our vehicles wherever we could find a space. Would you corral the media into a specific location?
- How will the general feelings of your staff or clientele toward the media impact how you handle reporters? Most people I met at the gun show were suspicious of the media. However, some were more accommodating toward me because I worked at a Fox TV station.
- Will you or someone on your behalf answer questions from the media about the breaking news?
- How would you handle questions about information you don’t have or are not ready to give out?
- Will you be able to answer questions in plain English without sounding like a stiff spokesman obviously choosing every word carefully?
- Will you use the phrase “no comment”?
- Will you present yourself and deliver your words calmly or get caught up in the adrenaline of the moment?
- Will what clothes you wear matter? Should you dress like an executive or roll up your sleeves like someone hard at work gathering information? Will you wear jeans if news breaks on the weekends?
- How will you handle social media?
- How will you handle reporters who want to walk onto private property and interview witnesses and bystanders? The accidental shooting happened at a convention center. Do you clearly understand which areas are public and which are private? What authority do you have in this situation?
- How will you handle photographers who want to walk onto private property to shoot video related to the breaking news?
- How will you handle media who request to enter your business to shoot video inside related to the breaking news?
- Do you need media training or to put together a plan for your staff to prepare for any of these possibilities?