Crisis Communications At Penn State | BeckermanVoices

In the immediate aftermath of the Penn State tragedy the emotions ? anger, sadness, despondency ? are still raw and the media, the aggrieved and Joe Public are prowling for the pelts of the criminals and their accomplices. All of this is understandable. The alleged perversions and sociopathic behavior of? Sandusky defy human language precisely because they defy human nature and the normative standards of a healthy civilization. For the purposes of this blog, however, I will focus on Penn State qua the institution and what it must to do protect its brand and ensure its future as Pennsylvania?s foremost public institution of higher learning.

Penn State?s first challenge is to reassure its stakeholders that there is someone in a position of authority who understands the gravity of the situation and is empowered to take action to hold the ?enablers? accountable. The perceptions in the aftermath of the scandal are that Penn State was a rudderless ship with leadership that was at best feckless and incompetent, and at worst corrupt. Stakeholders, none the least being the State of Pennsylvania, which provides the university with hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars, must demand a new leadership team with resumes that scream integrity and character.

Penn State must also resist the challenge to spin. There are certain controversies that can be explained and others that are so egregious and existential that spin does nothing but extend the news cycle and invite more opprobrium. BP made this mistake with the Horizon rig debacle and the banking industry continues to do it.

A strategic crisis communication effort must include a tactical approach that directly addresses the core organizational weakness. For example, in the Horizon rig crisis, BP?s initial messaging, which consisted of? ?this has never happened before? and/or ?there is no practicable solution,? did nothing to assuage the ongoing concern that the company was washing its hands of the whole mess. Eventually, BP stumbled upon a stroke of tactical genius, which was to provide real-time video access of the leak and the various solutions being deployed to fix it. Penn State must do the same thing.

The fundamental anxiety is that this matter was handled by the organization behind closed doors and in smoke-filled rooms by arrogant, clueless people who believed they were unaccountable. Penn State must open those smoke-filled rooms, including the board of regents meetings, and invite the world to see that this is how it will now be conducting business. Cloaks of secrecy must be removed, replaced by transparency.

Along these lines, the university must engineer ways to include the greater community in rebuilding the institution. Although there seem to be specific villains, it is ultimately an institutional failing that is systemic in nature. The community is aware of this and must be a part in correcting the systemic flaws.

As CEO of Beckerman and Antenna Group, Keith has earned an industry-wide reputation for savvy counsel, dynamic account leadership and industry best practices. Under his leadership, Beckerman has attracted a diverse and extensive international clientele. Keith previously founded Avalanche Strategic Communications, a company that merged with Beckerman in June of 2009. Under his leadership, Avalanche grew, in four short years into one of New Jersey's largest and most dynamic public relations agencies, with clients that included multinational corporations, foreign governments and high-profile non-profit organizations. In addition to his responsibilities at Beckerman, Keith remains dedicated to community service. In 2003, Keith was elected to the Paramus Borough Council, becoming one of the youngest elected officials in the state of New Jersey. He is active in a number of non-profits and charities. Keith is married to Dr. Sara Zakheim, and has three boys, J.J., Max and Alex and a daughter Isabelle

Source: http://beckermanpr.com/blog/2011/11/crisis-communications-at-penn-state/

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