| Ring, ring, ring!
The phone jingles while you’re in the middle of writing
a press release. It’s your boss ... and he’s
in a state of frenzy. A crisis involving your company has
gone public. Reporters are on their way with questions and
they’re looking to you for answers.
No matter who you work for, your job as a media professional
is to maintain grace under the fire of the media. Your boss
is counting on you. It looks like you’ve got some explaining
to do!
 Pat
Jackson, in her eleventh year as head of the School of
Journalism and Mass Communications Continuing
Education Office, believes that advanced preparation
is the best way to cushion the blow.
“Taking precautionary steps is the best way to prevent
a crisis,” Jackson said. “However, sometimes
there are crises that arise that you or your company can’t
avoid.”
Often times, many media professionals don't realize they
need crisis management skills until it's too late; the crisis
may have already formed and with reporters on their way to
your office. “Reaction to the specific crisis is unavoidable,
but if you have a plan, you can minimize the impact,” Jackson
said.
Jackson coordinates media training workshops at the J-School
for private, non-profit, and government agencies from all
around the nation. She has organized
workshops ranging
from a half day to 10 weeks of instruction - including workshops
for the Internal Revenue Service, Social Security Administration,
International Association of Business Communicators, South
Carolina National Guard, Veterans Health Administration
and numerous school districts.
“Instructional topics include crisis management,
strategic communications training and visual communications
design,” Jackson said.
Dr. Sonya
Duhe‘ and Prof.
Pat McNeely are two of
the School's journalism faculty who lead some of the training
sessions. One of their more popular workshops includes preparation
for stressful live television interviews and interviews with
aggressive or hostile print reporters.
Other faculty and skilled professionals lead the training
sessions in the state-of-the-art facilities (read
more) at the School of Journalism and Mass Communications.
“From a print
newsroom to a tv studio, from Newsplex to knowledgeable and
dedicated
faculty, we’ve got so many resources at our fingertips,” Jackson
said. |
