Communications in the Wake of Tragedy (and Other PR Blog Jots)

Social Media and Citizen Journalism at Virginia Tech
Tough Sledding
While the unspeakable tragedy at Virginia Tech unfolded yesterday, many students and others used social media to communicate what was happening to the outside world. Bill Sledzik compiles the various outlets used to get information to the media and public, including student blogs with firsthand accounts, the now-infamous cell phone video, and the websites of both the student newspaper and the university itself, each of which updates frequently with new information. “The Va. Tech website shows an institution prepared for crisis, and we expect that in today’s world. But it’s a sad reminder for PR pros that nothing — and I mean nothing — can be left off our list of worst-case-scenario planning.”

Communicating Through Tragedy
Online Public Relations Thoughts
Jim Horton wonders how the university will deal with the potential forthcoming backlash for what many perceive as an error in judgment: allowing classes to continue after the first early-morning shooting (indeed, the university is already taking heat from the media, as Matt Lauer grilled Virginia Tech’s president this morning on the timeliness of the school’s response to the first shooting). Horton argues that with a situation of this magnitude, all that can be done is to communicate as many facts as possible as often as possible. “The university's president is dealing with a crisis that will define the school for decades. There is no communication at this point that can make what happened any better. The effort now should be to explain what happened in as great a detail as possible.”

Media Insensitivity, or Thoroughness?
Cybersoc.com
Linking to a student blogger who was inundated with media requests after posting an account of his girlfriend’s experiences during the Virginia Tech shooting, Robin Hamman questions how the media should interact with citizen journalists in the midst of a crisis. The Live Journal blog in question included dozens of comments from journalists seeking interviews, even as other commenters condemned such actions. Hamman wonders how thorough the media needs to be when it comes to linking to blog accounts of media-covered events. Is hounding the citizen journalist for confirmation necessary? Or does it turn the media into vultures? “Unsubstantiated rumour should never be presented as fact by news organisations but, perhaps, it's just fine to link to it so long as we add clear disclaimers. Surely that's better than dozens of journalists, researchers and reporters contacting the same student, who, along with his girlfriend, is likely to take months or years to fully understand the emotional and psychological effects of yesterday's tragic events.”