Public spokesperson

So now you have a foot in the door— what next Well, it all depends on you. Are you interested in investor relations Would you like to work in-house as the PR Director and public spokesperson of a company Do you want to be in charge of PR for a product on the market Would you like to specialize as a science writer, and perhaps work from home Do you want to be in charge of a PR department at an agency, and manage a lot of people Would you like to eventually start your own PR agency You will find that a lot of options are now open to you. 

Facility Manager. In the EMO, the facility manager has the overall responsibility for protecting people on-site, facility property, the environment, and the public during and after an emergency. With the assistance of the public affairs and communications chiefs, the manager usually serves as the spokesperson for the facility and the company, communicating with representatives of the media and other concerned audiences. 

Whether one agrees with the critics or defenders of the news media, for crisis responders the lessons of the 9/11 horror and the anthrax case are compelling Although response professionals must focus primarily on preparedness measures in their specialized fields, they also need to establish chains of command with knowledgeable and articulate spokespersons designed to deal with the equally important tasks of public information and press relations. This lesson was further reinforced following Hurricane Katrina s impact on the Gulf Coast. 

In fact, these recommendations are drawn from the Draft Guidelines for-Investigators System Validation (USFDA, 1998) and private and public remarks of FDA spokesperson Mr. David J. Bergeson, 1998-1999. 

A noteworthy indication of the variance in public attitudes toward plasma arc is that in one case, after careful consideration, the Assembled Chemical Weapons Assessment program Dialogue Group accepted plasma arc as a valid alternative to incineration. However, in contrast with this, a spokesperson for the Non-Stockpile Chemical Weapons Citizens Coalition characterized plasma arc as a synonym for incineration and expressed concern that NSCMP was prematurely embracing the technology. As with incineration, the degree of public concern about plasma arc may vary with specific implementation and specific location (NRC, 2002). 

Does a public relations plan exist and is a spokesperson designated to provide information about the disaster to the press and public ... 

SPI represents and serves as the spokesperson for the industry locally, nationally, and internationally, with emphasis on influencing public policy on issues of concern to the industry. 

We begin the first act of our first story Olympic champion Cassius Clay challenges World Heavyweight Champion Sonny Liston. Rumors are spread that Clay is spending time with Malcolm X, spokesperson for the Nation of Islam. Fight promoters want Clay to deny the rumors he refuses, and after he defeats Liston, he publicly announces his new Muslim identity Muhammad Mi. 

Practice, practice, practice The crisis communication management team and spokesperson should practice how to communicate with the accident investigators, respond to hostile press, respond to a hostile public, and always, always be as open and transparent as possible. 

The response. The cardinal rule of crisis commrmication is First do no harm. Whether you or a company spokesperson addresses the media, be aware that a threatening or actual crisis often poses a volatile equation of public action and reaction. Remember A crisis + heightened public emotions + limited access to facts + nimor, gossip, specrdation, assmnption = an rmstable information environment. 

---