Any PR executive worth his or her salt knows that the first rule of media relations is to react quickly when the sky starts falling in on your organisation. So how curious is it that the epicentre of where the great and the good of all journalists gather made a fundamental mistake when managing the Jimmy Savile story.
Revelation after revelation keeps on coming, following the broadcast by the arch enemy ITV, of the Savile documentary that BBC decided not to run. Yet it took until 12th October for the Chairman of the BBC to announce that there would now be two enquiries into the whole sorry episode.
It was initially dismissed as a storm in a teacup with no apology whatsoever. So now they are on the back foot – big time! Their reputation is tarnished by the constant media coverage of what the culture within the BBC was like during 60s, 70s and 80s. It smacks of a complete lack of communication, of grown men and women in their smart suits running round the BBC boardroom like headless chickens .
Whether events were covered up we wait to see, but it’s the public’s perception of the corporation that will take far longer to win back. Loss of confidence in any organisation by the public, staff or shareholders is a major blow to any company. Once your reputation is in question it’s hard to climb back.
The key is to set the agenda from the start. Contain the situation as quickly as possible, then you can regain control and start to manage the crisis. Speed is of the essence. If you do nothing, the media will simply fill the vacuum with speculation. This is why crisis management training is essential to any business. Having the opportunity to put your crisis strategy into practice in a safe training environment is invaluable. It’s so important to make sure all your key spokespeople are aware of the rules of engagement and the plan of action. The BBC will obviously survive this but I’m sure it will be a hotly debated topic within the media for many months to come. Not good.