Posted by Matt Purdue
What a strange predicament out in my hometown, Los Angeles. All PR professionals should watch this closely. On September 12, a commuter train collided with a freight train in the L.A. suburb of Chatsworth. The crash killed 26 people, making it one of the deadliest U.S. train accidents in years.
The way the story was fed to the press following the crash has become simply bizarre, and a case study in crisis management. The day after the accident, Denise Tyrrell, a spokesperson for the public commuter rail agency, Metrolink, admitted to the press corps the results of a preliminary investigation: the Metrolink engineer had apparently run a red signal.
Two days later, Tyrrell announced her resignation. She claimed that the Metrolink board had undercut her by telling the press that her statement was premature and unauthorized by the board. Tyrrell then brought all of her PR skills to bear, landing an exclusive interview with a local television station to profess her shock and outrage. She was just doing her job as a PR professional in getting her organization out in front of a breaking crisis, she argued. What’s more, she trumpeted, she was doing her duty as a public servant: telling the truth to the taxpayers—come what may.
In a strange twist, she told the press that her CEO, at her urging, had given her the green light to make her announcement. The CEO backed up her story, and fell on his sword, telling the media that it was his decision to reveal the findings of the red-light investigation.
So Tyrrell is out, and this blogger is still wondering why. It seems that she made all the right moves in this crisis—insisting on being proactive and candid with the press--until she quit. She said she resigned not only because she was sucker-punched by the board, but also because she felt she would be fired. Why not stick by her guns and wait for the pink slip? That would have only strengthened her position.
Not only does her organization appear to be run by buffoons, but in a way, her own reputation is tarnished. At a time when Southern Californians should be mourning the loss of 26 innocent lives, we’re hearing about her righteous indignation. Certainly there’s a time for her to call out her bosses, but is now the most appropriate time?
The lesson is clear: During a crisis, sometimes the most damaging moves can come from the inside. Make sure that your crisis communications plans account for this.
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