immediacy and visibility in crisis management part 3

when disaster strikes a company and it turns into crisis management mode, for families of the victims, the prevailing sentiment is hurt, sorrow and hunger for relief and an insatiable hunger for information for the victims of the families involved in the disaster like what happened to sulpicio lines (princess of the stars), abs-cbn (wowowee) and ayala land (glorieta explosion).

the general public will automatically give their sympathy to the families of the victims of the disaster. the overwhelming feeling will be "awa" (pity) and to some degree fear as it reminds them that no one is safe, that they too or a family member could have become a victim. they will search for sympathy points, completely hungry to gorge on more information on the disaster and what the families of victims have to say about it.

media is on heightened alert, it's a scoop mentality where they go into full coverage and will pry into every angle. they will send teams of news reporters to look at all angles all at the same time and will try to get them as soon as possible. aside from making sure they have full round the clock coverage of the location of the disaster, they will send teams to look into possible issues elsewhere that they can feature in the near future. they will not only look at the present, they will look into what they will print in the next few days and weeks.

it is this forward thinking and the scoop mentality that will get them a bigger audience in the future. the present events will get the same coverage from all media competitors, they will not stand out. what will make a media outlet stand out is the angle that they will be investigating now that their competitive media outlets have not seen.

the law enforcers, politicians, government officials and government regulators will also step into the picture. they are drawn into it not only because they are ultimately responsible for the safety and security of its citizens, they are also attracted to the magnetic power of media exposure, hopefully for better and not for worst.

in all of the above, and this is the most immediate time from the disaster, perhaps within the next five to seven days, blame and legal accountability is the farthest thing from their minds. it is some kind of relief from the pain that is most needed. and reassurance from someone or some group is there for them is much more important and of course information and facts.

the families of the victims are the most important in this time frame.

more on this in WAWAM! next........