CRISIS

MANAGEMENT
GUIDELINES
Before a crisis. During a crisis. After a crisis
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. PRO Office, Archdiocese of Bhopal: Media Relations.................................................................................1
2. CRISIS communication guidelines Process for catholic church...............................................................2
Types of Crisis............................................................................................................................................2
Procedure for Communicating at Crisis Onset.............................................................................2
Communicating during a crisis/disaster (General Guidelines)................................................3
3. CRISIS management planning in catholic schools........................................................................................3
Phase 1..........................................................................................................................................................4
Phase 2..........................................................................................................................................................5
Phase 3..........................................................................................................................................................9
Phase 4........................................................................................................................................................10
4. Tips for Handling the Media During a Crisis.................................................................................................13
5. Guidelines for writing a crisis effective holding statement.....................................................................14
6. Steps to successfully manage a social media CRISIS.................................................................................14
7. Press Release Tips....................................................................................................................................................15
8. Guidelines for organising Press Conference.................................................................................................16
9. PRO Office...................................................................................................................................................................17
The Archdiocese of Bhopal recognizes the importance
of communication in creating and maintaining trust
with our stakeholders. Clergy, churches, parishes, lay
leaders, the media and the public are among the many
groups.
The following guidelines is designed to assist us in
maintaining effective relationships and public trust in
the event of a crisis.
This guidelines provides a process for communicating
information Diocesan-wide during crisis situations.
PRO Office, Archdiocese of Bhopal:
Media Relations
1. The Office of Public Relations, Archdiocese of Bhopal is responsi-
ble for all internal and external communications on behalf of the
Archdiocese of Bhopal of Bhopal.
2. The office serves as the primary media contact, the official
spokesperson and distributes press releases for the Archdiocese of
Bhopal and the Bishop. It also provides public relations and crisis
management assistance to parishes, schools and other social cultur-
al communication centres.
3. The Office of Public Relations, Archdiocese of Bhopal works to
ensure a clear, consistent message as we coordinate media requests
and facilitate media responses as appropriate. To ensure this hap-
pens, all media inquiries should be directed to: PRO, Archdiocese of
Bhopal
a. Covering Diocesan Events : To Invite Reporters and photogra-
phers to cover important current events also to be notified in
advance of the event so that they may assist them.
b. Media Communication Guidelines : The PRO works for the
Archbishop of Bhopal to ensure that the Archdiocese of Bhopal ‘s
mission, response to media inquiries, and presentation of events are
represented with one, unified voice in a manner that promotes
evangelization at the right place and at the right time.
4. In order to efficiently and effectively ensure a unified message, all
Diocesan Personnel (priests, deacons, seminarians, religious, dioce-
san employees, parish and school personnel, and institutional staff
affiliated with the Archdiocese of Bhopal) are required to comply
with the media guidelines.
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CRISIS COMMUNICATION GUIDELINES
PROCESS FOR CATHOLIC CHURCH
The objective of crisis communications is to maintain
potential public reputation damage by providing credi-
ble, accurate information about an unfolding crisis situ-
ation as rapidly as possible.
Types of Crisis:
A natural disaster that affects the community.
The physical destruction of church or property, either from a
natural disaster or purposeful intent.
Illegal, scandalous or otherwise publicly questionable behaviour
by a clergy, religious , staff member or parishioner.
Allegations of sexual misconduct by a clergy, staff member or
parishioner.
A community tragedy with regional or national impact.
Procedure for Communicating at Crisis Onset
For Emergencies: Dial 100
At crisis onset, call the Public Relations Officer. If the call is after
hours, you will be instructed where to call.
If needed, the PRO’s office will assign a staff member to serve as
a liaison between the parties involved and the PRO’s office until
the situation is resolved.
If you receive a media inquiry: PRO will assist as needed with
release of information, updates or a statement. Channels may
include the media, social media, the Archdiocese of Bhopal’s
e-newsletter or a written statement.
The PRO’s office will maintain contact through the liaison until
the situation is resolved. The PRO will communicate to the Arch-
bishop.
The PRO’s office will keep a permanent record of the situation
on file. Situation details and records are kept confidential.
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Communicating during a crisis/disaster Receive Situation details.
(General Guidelines)
Get caller's name and phone number
It is the practice of the PRO’s Office to take the following where they can be reached
actions in the event of a crisis:

Collect the facts prior to releasing a statement.

Call Media Inquiry?
Work with affected parties or individuals to formu- PRO Office Talk to PRO
for Media &
late a statement. Communication
Provide details
to PRO's staff
Release information via statement in any of the fol-
member
lowing media: traditional news outlets; social media
platforms; Diocesan communication vehicles or other PRO maintains
contact with PRO will report
channels as appropriate.
Archbishop back to
until resolved Archbishop
Follow up with affected parties or individuals
PRO office works
throughout the duration of the crisis/disaster period with church
and take appropriate next actions. during crisis

PRO Team Bishop's Office

meets to debrief, keeps permanent,
update crisis plan confidential record

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CRISIS MANAGEMENT PLANNING
IN CATHOLIC SCHOOLS
In an era of ‘instant communications’ the handling of
information surrounding an alleged or actual incident of
abuse, neglect or impropriety is critical.
Phase 1 : Mitigation and Prevention
Phase 2 : Preparedness
Phase 3: Response
Phase 4 : Recovery
With eyewitnesses and participants able to upload
photos, videos and commentary about incidents as they
develop to gather and verify information and navigate an
extended approval process before issuing an initial state-
ment.
Phase 1
MITIGATION & PREPARATION OVERVIEW:
The primary goal of mitigation and preparation as they relate
school crisis is to form teams and create plans to address the
unique needs of each school. Advanced planning and team build-
ing can mitigate the impact of crises on school functioning once a
crisis has occurred.
A school crisis is a traumatic incident that disrupts school function-
ing. Crisis can be sudden, unexpected, or unanticipated. They can
affect one individual or the entire school. Crises can occur before,
during, or after school and on or off school grounds.
School crises affect all areas of school functioning including atten-
dance, learning and behaviour. During a crisis, school resources can
become overwhelmed and additional support in the form of “crisis
intervention” might be required. Crisis intervention refers to a set of
responses that schools can plan and implement to mitigate any
disruption of school functioning caused by a crisis incident.
The School Crisis Plan:
Additionally, the plan should include structured meetings to assess
the need for resources, a strategy for communicating details about
the incident, and a method to target individuals most affected by
the incident who need crisis intervention.
CRISIS TEAMS:
The School Crisis Team:
The Crisis Team consists of a group of individuals who will perform
specific roles and responsibilities during the crisis response. Some
of the responsibilities of the Crisis Team include: debriefing, assess-
ing the nature of the crisis, informing the school community about
the crisis incident, identifying the counselling needs of students
and staff, assigning follow-up on high-risk students, coordinating
support of outside agencies and re-establishing school stability to
the pre-crisis level.
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School Team vs. PRO Office
The School Crisis Team consists of individuals employed at a partic-
ular school. The diocesan PRO office team is always available to
assist during the crisis or otherwise.
Additionally, PRO office will deploy the team in the event that the
crisis overwhelms the School Team’s resources. Team will provide a
response that best meets the needs of school.
Who should serve on the School Crisis Team?
Below is a list of individuals who typically comprise the School
Team. The following page lists their responsibilities in more detail.
• School Administrator (Principal, Assistant Principal, Manager)
• School Based Crisis Team Leader
• Security Officer(s) Teacher Representative
• PRO office
• Other supportive person
School-Based Crisis Team Roles & Responsibilities:
• Activate the crisis response plan and team.
• Verify facts.
• Inform diocesan PRO Office and request deployment, if needed.
• If the media is involved, coordinate response with PRO Office.
• Contact the Police for additional support, if needed.
• Preside over all planning and debriefing meetings.
• Coordinate all crisis team responders.
• Facilitate gathering material resources.
• Contact agencies for additional support/counselling
• Prioritize crisis incidents over everyday responsibilities.
• Assist with crisis response until closing meeting.
Address follow-up issues with high-risk students, teachers, and
parents.
• Follow up with students, staff and parents during the days after
the crisis incident occurred. Plan for immediate and long term
recovery activities.
• Identify high-risk individuals.
• Maintain a sign-in sheet to account for all students and staff
seen during a crisis response. Make parent contact, as necessary.
• Assess medical emergencies.
• Inform administrators of medical emergencies.
• Provide acute and emergency care in the school setting.
• Maintain contact with area hospitals, as appropriate
• Address medical facts and concerns with the school community.
• Evaluate overall school climate and need for additional resources.
• Identify witnesses for police interviews.
• Secure campus and crime scene, if needed.
Phase 2
PREPAREDNESS OVERVIEW:
The primary goal of any school crisis intervention is to help restore
the school to pre-crisis levels of functioning. Additionally, provid-
ing intervention ensures that traumatic events are not ignored,
decreases the spread of rumours and speculation and provides
assistance to students, staff and community members. A secondary
objective of the response is to prevent psychological trauma by
providing interventions to the people and community affected by a
crisis.
This document provides guidance of:
1. Major incidents: what action you need to take to ensure you are
prepared for a major incident and advice on communications activ-
ity during an incident;
2. Reputation management: advice on communications activity
when something has occurred which threatens the reputation of
the institution and archdiocese of Bhopal.
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It considers three key stages in dealing with crisis commu-
nications:
1. Preparation in advance of an event
2. Communications activity during a major incident
3. Follow-up after the initial incident has passed.
In the event of a Madhya Pradesh Catholic Church crisis, particular-
ly where the Archdiocese of Bhopal’s Crisis Management Plan is
activated, the PRO will lead the communications response from the
Archdiocese of Bhopal’s main channels (including Print, web and
social media) with all key audiences, such as the Catholic communi-
ty, the news media, the general public, important community and
government stakeholders.
Which communication channels would you are able/unable to use,
and what’s your back-up?
• Is there an alternative office you can use? What equipment does
you needs in it?
• Can staff access communications channels from home?
Can they remotely access email, voicemail, files and shared net-
works?
Consider who should have remote access to Connect Remote
Desktop Service or similar systems.
• Can those people tasked with issuing communications: - send
mass emails from home/a remote location? - Remotely publish to
the website and/or the intranet?
• Can you operate in the office? - Do you have mobile numbers for
all the key people?
• Do you have personal email addresses for all the key people?
• Are conference call facilities available so that all the key people
can talk together during a crisis?
Identify your potential audiences
• Who would be directly affected by an incident (eg staff/ students
in the building) and who would be indirectly affected (eg people
in neighbouring buildings, parents of students)?
• What information would they need?
• Where would they get those messages (eg online, email, the news
media, social media)?
• What about external audiences who would be interested but not
affected (eg prospective students and staff, donors, alumni, fund
ing bodies)?
How would you communicate with them?
• A serious incident will certainly attract media attention. Make sure
you inform PRO office straight away in the event of an incident
and use them to help manage the news media.
Plan your channels
• What are the communications channels you’ll need to use in a
fast-moving situation (eg email lists, TV display screens, social
media, websites)?
• Did all relevant staff know how to access these, remotely if neces
sary, including logins and passwords?
• Some of your audience may not have computer access (either
generally, or if systems are down in an emergency). How will you
communicate with them?
• If the incident is isolated from your department/school/ college,
do you needs to think about the volume of calls from people ring
ing through for the latest information?
• Ensure all contact details, crisis plans and materials are available
in multiple places: in mobile phones, on computers, on memory
sticks, uploaded securely to the web and on paper. You never
know when and where you’ll need them.
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Prepare draft material in advance
• If there are known risks with predictable consequences, prepare
draft material in advance.
• Ensure that your department/college’s up-to-date emergency
plans and business continuity plan includes communications and
that your communications planning is consistent with these.
• Prepare an incident updates template for use on email and/ or
other channels. Include update number, date and time so the
sequence and recency is clear.
Identify sign-off and roles well in advance
• Time will be critical and organisational leaders will be tied up.
Ensure communications professionals are empowered to act
during an incident.
• It is essential that a light-touch sign-off process of crisis commu
nications content is agreed. Aim for no more than one person to
d. Prepare drafts statements and Q&As (with the PRO Office) that
be checking and signing off content.
• Ensure a clear chain of command so that if anyone is out of action
their authority is passed to someone else.
e. Sometimes preparing these responses reveals that there would
• If the Archdiocese of Bhopal’s Crisis Management Plan is activat
ed, you must follow the sign-off and decision-making structures
outlined in the plan or set down for the specific incident.
Planning for reputational risk
An incident may impact on the Archdiocese of Bhopal’s reputation
for two ways:
a. Sometimes a crisis is purely reputational: information has gone
into the public domain that casts a negative light on the Archdio-
cese of Bhopal. This might be a negative issue already known to
you that had not been public until now or that only becomes
known to you at the point of becoming public, even though it hap-
pened some time ago.
b. an event that threatens/involves a physical threat (eg explosion,
flooding, fire) may have a reputational impact if it is badly handled
or gives rise to inaccurate information about the Archdiocese of
Bhopal’s role or involvement.
Once you have identified the reputational risks, try to assess priori-
ty: decide which risk(s) to mitigate most urgently. Red flags are:
a. Anything where there has been genuine wrongdoing.
b. Anything likely to command national-level media interest.
c. If the reputational risk relates to something that is genuinely
wrong, the first course of action should be to correct it. If correct
ing the problem is a long process, you will also need to put short
er-term mitigation in place.
you would use if the issue became public. These should follow
the process outlined below for preparing media responses.
be useful facts and figures to back up your points that are not
currently collated (eg figures on the national picture that put
your figures in context). Do the work now to get them together.
f. If you have identified things that are uncontroversial when
understood properly but which are liable to misunderstanding,
can you act now to explain them more clearly to the public, for
example on your website?
g. Decide in advance in consultation with the PRO Office.
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Make sure people know about the plans
a. Communicate all the plans, contacts and materials to your crisis
team members.
b. Brief new staff and remind staff regularly.
c. Hold an annual crisis exercise to test your plan, then revise your
plan accordingly.
Crisis Management Team
a. Create a small group of key decision makers who meet immedi
ately when a crisis is reported to share facts, etc.
b. Discuss options on releasing information
c. Make recommendation to Bishop/ PRO
d. Assign internal and external Communications tasks with dead
line
PRO office consisting of Senior staff will regularly advise the Arch-
bishop on Crisis challenges.
Effective communication is critical for the Archdiocese of Bhopal to
achieve its vision.
Crisis communications guidelines
a) Inform the PRO Office as soon as possible and use them as the
conduit with the media.
b) Ensure the mobile phones of all key operational people are
switched on and charged.
c) Implement your communications cascade/call-out procedure.
d) Establish key facts and agree key messages.
e) Log all decisions made and keep a record of all communications
activity.
f) Issue regular updates to key audiences – include update
number, date and time so recency is clear. Set up regular team
debriefs for all key operational people.
Follow these basic principles:
a. Maintain a ‘single source of the truth’ – a document containing
key facts and messages. Use this as the basis for all your com
munications.
b. Review this as new information comes to hand to ensure your
facts and messages remain accurate, relevant and appropriate.
c. Keep a log of all risks, actions and decisions and ensure it is reg
ularly updated as the crisis event unfolds.
d. All crisis communications should follow these principles.
i. Empathetic: showing the Archdiocese of Bhopal under stands how a
crisis impacts staff, students, their families or members of the local
community, and accepting blame and apologising unreservedly
where it is demonstrably at fault.
ii. Transparent and responsive: any response should be accurate, timely,
consistent and courteous, even when faced with hostility.
iii. Action-focused: providing reassurance by outlining what the Univer
sity is doing to take control of the situation, either itself or in conjunc
tion with other agencies, and giving examples where possible of
actions already taken. Key phrase: ‘I want to reassure you that we are
taking control of this situation and as soon as we have any news we
will update you.’
e. Where information is not yet available, tell your audiences this
rather than saying nothing or saying things that are uncon
firmed and that later need to be retracted or corrected.
f. Correct misinformation and scotch rumours promptly
Manage your communications team
a. Keep each other informed. If possible, get all the key people to
catch up for ten minutes in each hour, ideally face-to-face but other
wise on a conference call.
b. If a crisis is likely to extend beyond a single working day, put a rota in
place to ensure that there are always qualified people available or
on-call and that everyone gets a break.
c. Once the worst of the crisis has passed, ensure those involved are thanked;
acknowledge difficulties and stress for all those affected.
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Phase 3
RESPONSE OVERVIEW:
The three levels of crisis response are listed and defined
below:
1. SCHOOL LEVEL RESPONSE: The crisis incident can be managed
by in-school resources.
2. DISTRICT LEVEL RESPONSE The traumatic event overwhelms
the in-school resources and further support is requested from
the PRO Office.
3. STATE/NATIONAL LEVEL RESPONSE: The severity of crisis
whelms not only the in-school resources but also the dis
trict-level support. After reporting to the Crisis Management
Unit and consulting with PRO Office; Archbishop Intervention is
requested.
Goal of Archdiocese of Bhopal is to promote Gospel values using
various tools of communications.
2. Identify key messages and make produce a statement
Message should convey empathy towards ‘victims’, context of the
situation and actions of the Archdiocese of Bhopal to deal with the
crisis. Statements should be short sentences and direct. Statements
should come from ‘The PRO’.
Communications channels that will help get the word out in an
emergency situation
a. Email lists
b. Mass texts (watsapp etc.)
c. Online (website, social media)
d. Local and National media
Media Approach:
The absolute foundation of media relations is honesty. Whether the
situation requires immediate response or allows a leisurely oppor-
tunity to develop a thoughtful reply, an honest and straightforward
approach is mandatory. Many organizations choose to develop a
series of ‘backgrounders’ to keep on hand for all occasions. ‘Back-
grounders’ (one page handouts) may include such subjects as:

Archbishop and PRO should be made aware of any past, current or i. Mission/purpose of the institution
future areas that may garner negative attention for the Archdiocese ii. History of the institution
of Bhopal and the wider Church of Madhya Pradesh. iii. Policies governing noteworthy and newsworthy events and
activities in the institution
Issues that fall into this category should try to adhere to the follow- iv. Summary of significant events in the institution
ing guidelines:

1. Decide whether to go public

If the incident is not yet public, judge the risk of the likelihood for
it too. In 75% of cases, being pro-active is less damaging than
being reactive.

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Social Media
The person managing social media for the practice needs to be
part of the crisis communications team and have access to all of
the same information. It’s important to monitor what’s being said
on social media to get insight into what people are thinking and
saying about your practice and the current situation. Some general
guidelines on using social media in a crisis situation:
1. If the crisis is widespread (such as a data breach), you may want
to use your website or social media channels to acknowledge
the event as soon as possible and let people know what infor
mation is available. Get guidance of your risk management
helpline.
2. Reassure people that the practice is stable (if that’s true).
3. Let the public know what they need to do (if anything) and
direct them to sources of information that are appropriate, such
as an affiliated clinic for testing or the surgery center coordinat
ing the investigation.
4. Take sensitive issues offline so that a potentially negative con
versation is not happening online and in front of other users.
5. Get legal counsel on privacy laws. De-escalate situations by
acknowledging a problem and then, if appropriate,
explain that it cannot be discussed for legal reasons.
6. Periodically keeps audiences up to date on the status and
explain what steps have been taken to improve the situation.
7. Gradually returned to posting routine information – this will
signal to the public that things are back to normal.
Reputation Management
1. Many of the same communications principles used in major
incidents apply here. The most important are:
a. let the PRO Office know immediately of a significant reputa
tional risk (whether or not it has become public);
b. identify potential reputational risks and mitigate them where
possible.
c. Plan in advance for these known reputational risks by pre
paring reactive material; and
d. ensure that you can communicate at speed and that you
have an agreed sign-off process.
Phase 4
RECOVERY OVERVIEW:
Prospering After the Crisis
If a practice’s reputation is damaged, restoration will not happen
overnight. The public will respond most favourably if they feel the
practice was truthful and forthcoming. Colleagues and others are
often willing to help after a crisis, so when it is appropriate, use the
media to announce information and related stories that will cap-
ture the admiration of the community to re-establish your good
standing.
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The importance of communicating:
It is crucial to communicate accurate information to students, staff
and the community in an efficient and effective manner. Providing
accurate information up front helps to avoid speculation and the
spread of rumours. Additionally, it is important to make the school
community aware of what supports have been made available.
Letter to parents/guardians:
A letter should be sent home to guardians informing them of the
incident and details about how the school responded. If significant
changes are made to the letters provided in the manual, they
should be approved by PRO Office prior to being sent out.
Guidance to Parents on Supporting Children
at Time of Crisis
Children may react to crisis events differently, depending on the
degree of exposure, level of emotional/cognitive development,
parental response and their personal experiences. Below are some
common reactions associated with children who have encountered
a crisis event and some ideas about how parents can help.
• WHAT PARENTS CAN DO
1. Stay calm and stabilize your own emotion.
2. Avoid spreading of rumors. Provide crisis facts and be selective
of appropriate information in the news reports for sharing with
your child.
3. Let your child feel accepted and supported. Respect his/her
feelings. They are genuine even if they are different from yours.
Never deny or mock a child’s fears and worries.
4. Listen to your child’s concerns and needs. Do not forbid the
child to mention or talk about the incident. Suppressing feelings
may have aversive effects in the long run.
5. Offer opportunities for your child to share what he/she fears
and worries most. Discuss arrangements which will make
him/her feel more secure, e.g. keeping him/her company,
letting him/her go to bed with the light on, etc.
6. Encourage your child to express their feelings in different
means, such as storytelling, drawing and doing crafts.
7. Do express words of comfort but do not be anxious to give
advice. Excessive concern can result in undue stress.
8. Encourage your child to continue with normal routines as far as
possible.
9. Arrange activities that are good for the body and mind, such as
listening to music, doing sports and helping child to relax, to
encourage your child to focus on other matters.
10. Observe and monitor your child’s progress. Refer him/her to
the teachers or school guidance personnel for follow-up sup
port if necessary.
When an issue breaks in the media
Usually you will be contacted by a journalist in advance of a story
being published or aired and given an opportunity to comment.
Involve the PRO Office immediately. Depending on the severity of
the reputational risk, the PRO will either lead on handling it or will
take an advisory role (anything being covered by a national or
international media outlet should be seen as a serious reputational
risk).
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Before publication/airing:
Preparing a response important principles:
a. Know the full truth (and the PRO office must be given the full
truth): any reputation management strategy must be informed
by the full, unvarnished facts, including any that do not directly
pertain to the specific question but could become relevant if the
story broadens.
b. Act fast, but ensure factual accuracy. Responses would usually
be given in writing (as a statement). The PRO office will take you
through the following process.
c. Establish the media agenda: Different media outlets come with
different political stances. What is the agenda? What story do
they want to tell? What else is topical that this may play into?
Who else will enter the public debate and what will they say?
d. What is the damaging headline? The question is not which facts
are objectively the worst, but which feed into the most atten
tion-grabbing and negative headline. You need to deal with the
hypothetical headline, not the facts as you know them. If you
were a journalist for this media outlet, what headline would you
be aiming for?
e. What’s the evidence for that headline? What facts, or indeed
falsehoods/potential misunderstandings, exist that would sup
port that worst-case headline? How likely are they to be acquired
and used by a journalist?
f. Is this evidence sound? - If not, show it: often the apparent sup
porting evidence for a worst-case headline is actually a misunder
standing, or even a falsehood. You need to spell this out very
clearly and robustly. Perhaps the figures that seem to tell a bad
story are simply wrong, or taken completely out of context.
This context or mitigation must be given to the journalist and
passed on to their audience. - If there is no balance, apologise: if
the story is a ‘fair cop’, the best way to manage reputation is a frank
apology and an explanation of what measures will be put in place
to stop something similar happening again. Time is of the essence.
g. In managing a crisis, time is crucial – this is particularly true for
a reputation crisis. Once something has gone into the main
stream media and social media, it can quickly be seen as ‘estab
lished truth’ and will be extremely difficult to undo. The longer it
stays there uncorrected, the more it hardens into the accepted
history of the situation and of your institution.
h. You must act quickly to correct this misinformation and protect
your and the Archdiocese of Bhopal’s reputation, first by doing
everything you can before publication or airing – in what may be
a matter of hours or even less in which to respond – and by acting
rapidly afterwards.
Follow-up after the initial incident
1. Depending on the scale, there may be little follow-up required
beyond the initial incident. However, you should assume that
there will be some ongoing activity that will need to be managed
in addition to business-as-usual work. Consider:
a. Is there likely to be ongoing interest? Consider key dates or events
(eg reopening of a building, publication of any review into the
incident).
b. If the incident has caused ongoing disruption to your department/
School/college/service activities, how will you keep people informed
of interim arrangements and progress with managing the aftermath?
c. How will you reassure key stakeholders once you are back to ‘busi
ness as usual’?
d. What have you learnt from the event? Do you need to amend or
revise your crisis communications plans in light of practical
experience?
12
Create the framework : 4. Take responsibility: While some lawyers will urge us to keep
quiet, nothing diffuses a situation quicker than someone ‘owning
a. help to achieve the Archdiocese of Bhopal objectives. up’. However, with litigation trials on the increase, there’s possi
b. identify ways to engage effectively with stakeholders. bly a middle ground. We could say something like: “Our experts
are telling us we are not to blame. But at present, we feel as if
c. demonstrate the success of the Archdiocese of Bhopal’s
we are and, until someone confirms differently, we’ll act as if we
work.
are, and do all we can to put things right.”
d. help the general public to understand what the Archdiocese
of Bhopal does. 5. There’s no such thing as ‘off the record’: Some journalists will
encourage you to talk to them ‘off the record’, i.e. they won’t
e. change behaviour and perceptions where necessary. report what you’re telling them. In fairness, most journalists will
f. strengthen the identity of the Archdiocese of Bhopal. keep this agreement, but there are also those who won’t and you
won’t have any comeback should the worst happen by then it’ll
g. improve skills and strengths of staff.
be too late.

Tips for Handling the Media During a 6. It’s OK to cry : In the middle of a crisis, especially one involving
casualties or even something less dramatic but still upsetting. On
Crisis camera, this type of so-called professionalism translates into: ‘I
don’t care’; showing emotion does not have to mean we’re out of
1. Agree your ideal outcome: In the immediate aftermath of a control, just that we care.
crisis, resist the urge to panic , get key people round a table,
even if it’s only for 10 minutes and agree where you’re heading 7. Never EVER say ‘no comment’ : No comment means: ‘we’re
with this issue and then you can all arrive there together. guilty write whatever you want about us and being unavailable
2. Own the crisis: If you’ve acknowledged it’s your crisis, ensure to comment means the same. There’s always a way to say very
you take and keep ownership of it. If you don’t, someone else little if you need to without saying ‘no comment’.
will usually the media (or nowadays, social media) and the real
facts will be overlooked or distorted.
3. Get ahead of bad news : If something has happened, but it’s not
yet leaked into the public domain, ask yourself two questions:
1) Are we 100 per cent sure this won’t leak? and
2) Are we 100 per cent sure that if it does, we won’t be
accused of trying to effect a ‘cover up’, which will be far
more damaging than the issue itself? If not, get ahead of
bad news and be the ones to break it.

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Guidelines for writing a crisis effective
holding statement
1. Hurry and use all possible mediums: Time is of the essence
be quick and try to make the initial response within the first hour.
Use all the available communication channels including the Inter-
net, Intranet and mass notification systems. It’ll help spread the
message to a wider audience and faster.
2. Sympathize : Provide some expression of concern/sympathy
for what has happened. Lack of concern makes you seem insensi-
tive, rude and selfish. Tell that you are investigating the incident
and doing all you can to reduce the chances of another incident
and to make any amends.
3. Answer the 5Ws about the crisis accurately: Carefully check
all the facts and double check them before releasing statement in
media. Answer: What happened? Where did it happen? When did
it happen? Who was involved? Why did it happen?
4. Content of statement : Make public safety the number one
priority and mention the same in your statement. The statement
must be concise and written in clear simple language. Don’t use
jargon. Explain technical points in simple language.
5. Organize your approachability : Provide a time line for when
you will address the media again and how the media can contact
the organization for more information. Tell if and when the spokes-
persons of the Archdiocese of Bhopal will be available to address
questions and concerns.
6. Do not have multiple spokespersons: This could lead to con-
tradictory statements and add to the chaos. Have strong internal
communication and do not allow anyone apart from the designat-
ed spokesperson to speak with media or anyone outside the orga-
nization about the mishap.
Steps to successfully manage a social
media crisis
1. Acknowledge
Your first response should always be “yes, we realize something
has happened” even if you have ZERO answers.
2. Fight Social Media Fire With Social Media Water
Once you have some information, you should respond first in the
venue where the crisis first broke. If the crisis initiated on Facebook,
respond first on Facebook. Then circle around and respond in
other venue that have picked up on the crisis.
3. Be Sorry
You’ll be forgiven too, if you say you’re sorry and mean it.
4. Create a Crisis FAQ
Create a Web page and put all the information about the crisis in
one place. This allows you to respond to questions with a link
instead of an answer. This saves times and prevents misinterpreta-
tion of your responses (especially on Twitter).
This Crisis FAQ should include:
• Acknowledgement of the crisis
• Details about the occurrence
• Photos or videos, if available
• How the Archdiocese of Bhopal found out
• Who was alerted, when, and how
• Specific actions taken in response
• Real or potential effects
• Steps taken to prevent future occurrence
• Contact information of PRO office
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5. Build a Pressure Relief Valve
This may be counterintuitive, but you want people to vent on a
venue you control. Whether it’s your Facebook page, blog, forum
or comments section on your Crisis FAQ site, you want ire to accu-
mulate on your turf. There are four benefits to this approach:
• It allows you to keep more of the conversations about the
crisis in a single venue, making them easier to track.
• It’s an early warning detection system for new dimensions
of the crisis.
• It gives your stakeholders an official place to come to your
defense (sometimes).
If you do not proactively provide a pressure relief valve, complainants will
create their own, giving you no recourse or control whatsoever
6. Know when to take it Offline
Social media crisis management isn’t about winning, it’s about
damage control. Some people will be angry enough that you’re not
going to convince them of anything.
Do not get in an online tit for tat, ever (and certainly not in a crisis
scenario). Keyboards embolden us all and sometimes the best
course of action is to offer your phone number or email address,
and encourage the troll to contact you that way. Will it take the
kettle off boil? Sometimes, but even if it doesn’t the rest of the
community sees that you went the extra mile and provided an olive
branch. That matters. Crisis management is a spectator sport.
Remember the rule of 3. Never send a third reply. A third reply is
an argument, not an answer. On the third reply, you take it offline.
7. Arm Your Army
We know where everyone works, because it’s listed on their Face-
book and Linkedin profiles. it’s imperative that you keep all team
informed about the crisis. Whether it’s email, text message or
internal blog, you must keep your priest at least as knowledgeable
as the public.
8. Learn Your Lessons
After the crisis subsides, and you’ve dried the tears off your laptop,
reconstruct and deconstruct the crisis. Document every facet:
• Make copies of all Media coverage, video, tweets, status
updates, blog comments, etc.
• Make copies of all emails
• Where did the crisis break, and when? Where did it
spread, and how?
• How did your internal notification work?
• How did your response protocol work?
• Did specific person rise to your defense? (thank them)
• How did the online crisis intersect with offline coverage
(if any)
Press Release Tips
A press release is a standardised way of communicating with journalists.
If written well it will succinctly say what the story is – making their
job easier and making it more likely they will use your story. Jour-
nalists get hundreds of press releases every day so you need to
make sure yours stands out from the crowd.
1. Make sure your story is new
Let a journalist know something is going to happen before it does
(remember to specify whether you want them to run the story
immediately). If you do they may be able to send a photographer.
Otherwise let them hear your story as soon as possible after the
event.
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2. Who, What, Where, Why?
Remember to include the basics. What is the story about? Why did
it happen or what was it in response to? Where did it happen? Who
was there or who is/was affected by it?
3. Take photos
Pictures make it much easier for people to engage with a story.
Take high resolution photos or ask someone you know to. Avoid
taking photos on a phone as journalists may not be able to use
them.
4. Emphasize your story location
People are much more interested in stories if it’s from their local
area or community.
5. Human interest stories
Quotes, and stories of local people are always of interest. People
want to know how this story has affected the community or the
people who attended the event.
6. Short and sweet
Keep the story to a maximum of one A4 sheet.
7. Contact details
Include contact details and make sure the named person is con-
tactable.The named person needs to be easy to contact and know
all the facts about the event/story.
Guidelines for organising
Press Conference
This guidelines is designed to highlight the main issues that should
initially be taken into account when preparing a press conference
1. Choosing a date
a) Try to obtain as much information as possible about inter
nal deadlines of the media you are targeting, and schedule
your press conference accordingly.
b) In general, scheduling a press conference in the morning
hours of a working day is preferable.
c) Try to avoid a date parallel to other events that are likely
to attract considerable public interest .
2. Choosing and preparing a location:
a) Make sure the location can be reached easily, and with
little effort for journalists.
b) Locate your press conference at a meeting room of your
organisation, at a conference venue, or in a hotel where
you can talk without being disturbed by others.
c) Make your organisation/network visible (e.g. with a
banner, standee, poster).
d) Provide good signage so that journalists arriving late can
still join.
e) Provide sufficient chairs for journalists.
f) Ensure that the venue is accessible in case either one/more
of the speakers or journalists is/are disabled.
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3. Invitations
a) Build a good list of contacts in advance and try to use
existing media directories.
b) Send out invitations by fax or email, about one week in
advance.
c) Keep it short and simple (maximum one page), highlight
ing the date, time, duration (45 to 60 minutes) and loca
tion, and invite a well-known speaker if possible.
d) Include contact data at the end and ask for feedback on
planned attendance and accessibility requirements (are
physical access, alternative formats and a sign language
interpreter required? – if so, these must be provided).
e) Follow up by telephone a few days before the press con
ference .
h) Prepare written or printed information on the topic; you
can add information on the speakers and organisation(s)
involved (cf. a media kit).
i) Invite journalists to ask questions.
PRO Office:
The PRO Office team is committed to building our Catholic family
in our Archdiocese by connecting people with the celebration of
the sacraments, supporting pastors in strengthening parish life and
connecting each person with their unique vocations and God’s call
to love through evangelization, continued education and service.
The PRO Office is at your service and is here to support parishes,
schools and departments in re telling the story to the people of this
Archdiocese and the world at large.

4. The press conference itself For further information please contact Fr. Maria Stephen at
9425192954 and email: muthainmaria@gmail.com
a) Have a moderator/facilitator to host the press conference.
b) Each speaker should prepare a short presentation or
statement.
c) Communicate clear messages.
d) Align the whole programme around one key message,
e.g. think of the headline that you would like to see the
next day in the newspaper.
e) Keep input short and easy to understand.
f) Do not assume that journalists necessarily understand
technical terminology.
g) Be prepared to answer critical questions regarding your
topic or organisation.
Draft by PR Solution Team

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